A few months ago, a painter friend of mine expressed a desire to host a gathering for Christian creatives in our church. Our first meeting was a joyous morning of painting, writing, and crafting. People brought projects to start, to keep working on, or simply to share with others. We had our second gathering last Saturday and began our morning with the following devotional.
A Faith & Arts Devotional
At our church’s ministry fair last week, people saw the sign for our “Faith & Arts Gathering” and asked what it was. I explained that it is simply a morning for creative Christians to work together on their hobbies and projects—whether writing, painting, knitting, crocheting, crafting, drawing, or any other artistic endeavor.
But what we are doing this morning as we gather and work goes deeper than that. We are doing all of those things, but more importantly, we are:
- Choosing to be creators and makers in a consumerist society.
- Prioritizing community in an isolating era.
- Practicing patience in a culture that demands immediacy as we adhere to time-consuming processes.
- Crafting loveliness and order in a world that focuses on ugliness and chaos.
- Recognizing the value of others’ work in an age of self-promotion.
In short, we are here today to make and enjoy arts and crafts but—as we do so—we are also cultivating core aspects of our faith. As we craft, write, paint, draw, scrapbook, and so on, we are practicing patience, generosity, community, charity, and orderliness. Art matters. Crafts matter. Your projects matter, not just for what they become but for how the discipline of creativity is forming your faith.
It is not just what we make that matters but what that making does to us.
Let’s pray:
God, our Maker, you created us in your image. Our love for beauty and artistry is from you. It is a gift. Help us to enjoy our making today as, above all, an act of faith and fellowship. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Ryanne Molinari 