The fi rst in a series of 46 pieces of art created at Christ Lutheran Church,


professional the artist Greg


Charlotte,


N.C., was this 36-inch-by-36- inch oil “Order from Chaos” by


Barnes. Inspired by images from


Hubble telescope,


Barnes painted the swirling colors of the cosmos guided by the hand of God.


created by more than 57 artists, ranging from amateurs to professionals and using many artistic mediums. All ages participated, with a 12-year-old depicting the baptism of Jesus and a 78-year-old’s art that shows the church rising from the desert. By the time the congregation was halfway through the


“Baptism of Jesus” was created by middle school student Maggie Keller. An embossed metal and ink piece, it depicts Jesus and John the Baptist in the Jor- dan River with the descending dove overhead.


W


hen Scott Suskovic returned from a church trip to the Holy Land two years ago, the pastor realized


that many in his congregation knew Bible stories but didn’t know biblical chronol- ogy and history. So he and the staff of Christ Lutheran, Charlotte, N.C., set out to identify 46 top stories from Script ure for a sermon series (during the school year) that walked the congregation through the Bible.


Suskovic called the series “Connect the Dots.” As it


progressed, the series expanded: Sunday worship grew to daily devotionals via email, discussion groups and Bible studies. But even as the series evolved, the congregation looked for another way to cement their learning. Enter Stephanie Burke, a staff member and artist, who


had the idea to tap into the congregation’s artistic talents by asking them to create original art pieces for every story they studied in the Bible. “We have a lot of talented people, and we wanted to


bring forth their talent in the worship setting,” Burke said. “Aſt er a few meetings, we realized the idea had taken hold. Now we have a huge art gallery depicting diff erent stories in the Bible chronologically.” “Huge” is almost an understatement. Christ Lutheran, with more than 3,000 members, now houses 46 art pieces


46-week sermon series, there was a waiting list of people signing up to complete the art pieces. “To my knowledge it is the only such gallery in the U.S.,” Burke said. Each piece of art refl ects the variety of interests and


talents of those involved: quilts, sculptures, metal and wood pieces, paintings, sketches, photographs and more. “We wanted to hit a home run on our fi rst piece, the


creation piece,” Burke said, “so we reached out to one of our members, Greg Barnes, who is a professional oil painter. He ended up painting an image from the Hubble telescope, all the light and color of the cosmos, and added the hand of God under it.” Neither Suskovic nor Burke had ever seen such excite-


ment in the congregation. “It gave people a new idea as to how to look at their


most beloved Bible stories,” Burke said. “It was a visual invitation. And for the people who created the art, taking the time to focus on those stories had a huge impact.” Lee Luce, a metal worker, recalls feeling a spiritual


connection when he created his piece depicting the feed- ing of the 5,000. His sculpture is a cast of two hands done in metal, reaching out over a basket of loaves and fi sh. “I was coloring the metal using heat, and the hands


turned purple,” Luce said. “It was remarkable to me. Purple is the color of royalty, and it seemed signifi cant.” T e gallery, on permanent display in the education


building of the church campus, has attracted viewers from outside the congregation as well. “T e church is so


proud of what has been put on display here,” Burke said. “T e level of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration has been engulfi ng.” 


For more information contact Burke at sburke@artandsoul.pro.


Author bio: Accettura is a student at Valparaiso [Ind.] University, and was The Lutheran’s summer intern.


February 2014 27


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