Through Stained Glass: Evolving Creation

Space is evolving. So is the art. But also, the conversations are expanding. Who knew that a blank piece of paper, crayons, and paint, along with a few snacks, could open the world of possibility, creativity, and friendship? The craft of creating space for community is unfolding organically, and it is beautiful. The Center for Creativity and Community is embodying the relational nature of God and reflecting the love of First Presbyterian Church.

The creative process is just that, a process. It takes time, energy, and patience. The great artists didn’t become great overnight. The painter Michelangelo was so engrossed in his projects that he would go days, even weeks, without changing his clothes. A quote often associated with the talented artist is “Critique by creating.”

The queen of poetry in the twentieth century, Maya Angelou, would rent a hotel room for months to write her poetry. She said, “To write, I lie across the bed so that this elbow is absolutely encrusted at the end, just so rough with callouses. I never allow the hotel people to change the bed, because I never sleep there. I stay until twelve-thirty or one-thirty in the afternoon, and then I go home and try to breathe; I look at the work around five; I have an orderly dinner—proper, quiet, lovely dinner; and then I go back to work the next morning." Angelou understood energy.

The prodigy rapper, Chance the Rapper is one of the hardest working artists creating music today. Chance set himself apart in the industry by being an artist who operated outside of the mainstream system. His organic approach took creative patience that has impacted the rap scene in a way, unlike any artist ever has. Up until his latest release, Chance created his music for free. In 2017, Chance became the first streaming-only album to ever receive a Grammy nomination. The patience paid off.

The commonality of all three artists is that they took the time needed to create these gifts. The argument can be made that these greats weren’t interested in being great, but to get out the creativity that was planted within them. The idea of keeping it bottled up was too high a risk to take. By sharing their light, they have made the world brighter. From Beethoven to Cher, from Salvador Dali to Dolly Parton, from Chet Lord-Remmert to Laura Elliott, from Lin-manuel Miranda to Julie Kasa, from crocheters to crock-pot cooks, from the weekend crafter to the prolific planter, and every artist in between, the importance of the creative process is as necessary to living into their light as the very air they breathe.

The world needs your creativity. The entirety of the story of God as found in our sacred text, The Bible, is about God creating order, disorder, and then reorder, by and through the act of creation. The process, like making a cake or writing a song, takes time, attention to detail, trial, and error, as well as trust—not only in the process, but also what we bring to the table.

The joy in creativity is found in the community—which is the gift of we call faith!

And it is ever-evolving, always inviting, expanding to reorder the gift of creation!