Participants gather around candles during “Parable of the Bell Tower,” where art, story and Scripture meet in a liturgy of Parables ministry and led by mission developer Benjamin McKelahan in Williamsburg, Va.
of consolation” (comfort, hope, energy and connection to life). Next they study a Bible story and its context. In September guest curator Amy Kienzle, pastor of St. John and English Evangelical of the Messiah Lutheran churches in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, passed her iPad around to show Medieval and Renaissance renditions of the sacri- fice of Isaac.
After reacting to the text and art, and sharing a meal of bread and wine, everyone re-envisioned the story with art supplies. Their tangible expres- sions resulted in a mini-clay sculp- ture, a drawing, poetry and a balloon ram. In the tandem spiritual practice of “Parablesong,” the group created a song based on the Bible text and per- sonal stories they had shared. Finally, instead of an offering plate, Parables uses a “Creative Energy Storage Jar” to collect ideas and what they call “financial energy” needed to turn the ideas into reality. Every month the group releases this energy for a service project, donation to charity or field trip.
Public art
“People get excited about the art proj- ects we do in public,” McKelahan said, citing their “Crossroads and Crosswords” project. Subway riders fill out a group-sized puzzle set up on subway wall tiles. “People get a sense of satisfaction and teamwork,” he said. “And every seven minutes another G train comes, bringing more people.”
Parables also organizes collab- orative art exhibits in the St. Paul sanctuary. “One of my major goals in using art is to find connections that
transcend language since gentrifica- tion is a major community issue,” McKelahan said. Art exhibits like “¡Crucificado!” (“Who is crucified today?”) attempt to get the lived theological experi- ences of different communities to relate with one another, he said. “¡Crucificado!” featured more than 40 artists.
In the September exhibit
“Renacimiento,” more than a dozen women artists expressed the theme of resurrection in their lives. “I also hoped to bring the church closer to a reality where male and female are one in Christ,” McKelahan said. Parable projects are NEFAR: Noticeable, Easy, Fun, Affirming and Relational, he said. Participants determine the content and use skills they already have. “I don’t have a visual arts background, so I make sure the art projects are simple enough for everyone to do; otherwise I can’t do them,” he added. “But like the parable of the sower, you seed where you can and trust that you will have more seeds to throw. If people already have a church home, they can still go there. Then if they want to, they can join in at Parables for a crazy Bible study with heart.” In essence, it’s about sharing sto- ries. “Younger generations hunger to
know the stories of older generations but also need to have their own sto- ries heard,” he said. “And listening to someone’s story means being will- ing to be changed by it. At Parables we are simply lifting up everyone’s voices in God’s love.”
McKelahan has degrees from Reed College, Portland, Ore., and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif. From his mother, a Roman Catholic, and his father, an Episcopalian, he learned to cherish spiritual seeking, a spirit of hospitality and diversity. In 2009, through a Fund for Theo- logical Education fellowship, he visited U.S. organizations that create community through collaborative art. Then the Freestyle Arts Associa- tion of New York showed him “how principles from art forms other than theater could be used for ministry,” he said.
Theater of the Oppressed tech- niques influenced him as well, bridging the gap between actors and spectators for social change. “Church is like theater,” he said. “You rely on others and only control small parts of the greater whole. You also need to trust that people will respect you, not take advantage of you, and not condemn you when they find out who you really are.”
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