2020 has been HARD, but we have nevertheless found reasons to celebrate and practice gratitude.
January:
At Art/Form, we gathered to discuss three perspectives on the artist’s calling, from Steve Garber, Madeleine L’Engle, and Andrew Peterson. We gleaned so much wisdom from these three very different voices.
February:
We gathered on Valentine’s Day for Spring Film Night, and watched the movie Many Beautiful Things: The Life and Vision of Lilias Trotter. The title is apt; this film was both gorgeous and moving.
March:
The 2019-2020 F+Arts Intensive moved online in response to the pandemic, and discussed the classic book on faith and arts, Walking on Water, by Madeleine L’Engle. So rich!
April:
The Intensive wrapped up its final meeting of the year with an opportunity for each of the participating artists to showcase their work. It was three hours of pure beauty and joy.
May:
The Faith + Arts ministry planned a wonderful evening featuring many of our performing artists and writers, as a fundraiser for our Guatemala ministry. Even though we had to cancel this event, it laid the groundwork for similar opportunities in the future, so stay tuned.
June:
We took a month off. Hooray for rest!
July:
We had our first summer book club discussion over Life in Motion, a memoir by principal ballerina Misty Copeland. This book is a quick read but incredibly inspiring, and relevant to all artists on many levels. We all decided we want to see Misty dance someday.
August:
Our second summer book club discussion was on Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson. We found this book on the intersection of community, calling, and the arts to be such an encouraging read!
September:
Christ Church artist and F+Arts volunteer leader Caleigh Taylor led an online inking class in preparation for Inktober. She got such a great response that the group decided to continue meeting every week!
October:
CC artist Eric Kaufman led us in an online class called, “Monk Habits for Artists”. Drawing on his experience and training as a spiritual director, he offered us great encouragement and wisdom, as artmakers in a pandemic.
We also had our first outdoor visual arts exhibition, DEVOTED, based on the themes of the fall sermon series.
November:
CC artist and F+Arts volunteer leader Billy Hollis facilitated our fall book club discussion of My Name is Asher Lev. We all agreed that this powerful novel is a must-read for artists of faith.
We also participated in the (East) Austin Studio Tour for the third time, which was online and outdoors only this year. You can see the online portion here.
December:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The F+Arts leadership team has been working behind the scenes to plan new events and programs for 2021. And our website got a facelift, thanks to the time and talents of Shaun Fox. Thank you, Shaun!
Thank you for being a bright spot in our 2020!
Though this year has been unlike any other in recent memory, and though there has indeed been much heartache and grief, we hope and pray that God has met you in your sadness and weariness, and has made His nearness and love known to you in a very personal way. We trust that He is good, true, and beautiful, even amidst the world’s darkness and sorrow. It is our prayer that, in some small way, this ministry might play a part in helping us each to see His goodness, truth, and beauty – and therefore to not lose hope.
“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” – 2 Cor. 4:16-18, The Message
With great affection and gratitude,
Katie Fox, Billy Hollis, and Caleigh Taylor