For several years, a small piece of calligraphy hung above the corner table in my dining room, in the little nook where I would sit each morning with my cup of coffee, easing myself into the day. To my left, I could gaze out the window, watching the trees sway in the breezes and the birds flit from branch to feeder and back again. To my right, I could read these words from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
“A [person] should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
That line became a kind of prayer for me. A daily reminder that beauty is not just decorative. It is essential. It is one of the ways God keeps our hearts open and alive.
In a world that bombards us daily with violence and cruelty, division and despair, beauty is a form of resistance. So is joy. Making art, singing music, writing letters, walking in nature – these are not escapes from reality but ways of reclaiming it. They keep “worldly cares” from obliterating our capacity to see ourselves and every neighbor as a beautiful bearer of God’s image. These are wonderful things to do on our own, but they are often better together!
Week after week, Bert, Abbie and Robert faithfully rehearse our choirs, teaching beloved classics and old favorites, composing new songs and fresh arrangements that meet this particular moment and deepen our worship. Artists are preparing for our annual Easter art show. Authors are offering words of wisdom in our Lenten Voices series.
For decades, our Redeemer youth have gathered each year to cultivate their God-given talents and work together to embody a meaningful story. Led by Josh, Maggie, Laura, and Val, RYG is bringing to life this year’s musical, The Wizard of Oz, the story of a young girl swept up in adventure, who gathers companions along the road and discovers that courage, compassion, wisdom, and home are found in community. Dorothy and her merry crew sing and dance, face trials, and learn what creates belonging.
All around us, creativity is blooming: writer and knitting circles sharing their work, Sunday school children coloring and dramatizing Bible stories, flower arrangers shaping beauty for worship, parents and volunteers cooking meals, painting sets and making costumes, dancers moving on stage and in the labyrinth… I am continually bowled over by the collective creativity God has implanted in this community. The Spirit is at work in flowers and fabric, in harmony and poetry, in imagination and play. Are you seeing and sensing it, too?
This week, I hope you will come. Especially if worldly cares are obliterating your sense of what God is doing. Come to worship. Come to the RYG musical. Come to Voices. Come walk the labyrinth. Come sing songs of courage and belonging. Come see the art, hear the choirs, and witness the beauty God is bringing to life among us. Come for solace and strength for the work ahead.
“No one is getting left behind this time… we get there together or never get there at all.”
Much love,
Anna