From Dark to Light

Art ushers the Resurrection into a rented daycare space.

Easter in Frisco, Texas, dawned cold and rainy, but at Redemption Church, parishioners walked in to a beautiful sunrise against a milky blue sky. Behind the altar at Kids R Kids Learning Academy, a colorful cross and nine panels of polyfiber building installation hung from the ceiling on fishing lines. A flush of new life came with brushstrokes of pink, purple, yellow and red, as people greeted one another with “He is risen” and “He is risen indeed.”

It was a striking transformation from the previous weeks. Ash Wednesday through Palm Sunday, black textured panels framed the altar, depicting the 14 biblical stations of the cross. Bowed figures roughly painted with a pallet knife and acrylic paste evoked contemplation, repentance and strong emotions about Jesus’ sacrifice.

The two backdrops, however, fulfilled the same purpose: to enhance the worship of God. That’s what artist Lauri Diamond, who supports and shares responsibilities with the church plant’s other three staff members, strives for with the Creative Arts Ministry. Her other roles at the church include women’s ministry, world missions, prayer and administration.

A wife and mother of four grown children, Diamond discovered her artistic talents several years ago at a large Bible church in The Woodlands, Texas, where she collaborated with the pastor on how to best illustrate his sermons. Now, instead of adorning a 63-foot-stage, she uses her gifts to transform a modest preschool into a worshipful setting.

“When I came to Redemption, we realized that the environment could be distracting from our church family’s ability to focus on worship,” she says. “Pastor Jason Bowman said, ‘Do your thing.’”

Diamond designed Redemption’s first seasonal backdrop, portraying the “Marks of Discipleship” sermon series, in a parishioner’s garage the summer of 2013. She used building installation sheets because they were light and cheap, and their 4′ x 8′ size covered the wall of primary-colored storage bins and mirrors behind the altar. Each subsequent backdrop costs about $200 and lasts months; it can be painted over when the season changes, stored in trailers and transported easily.

In addition to different tools and mediums, Diamond incorporates unexpected elements like a Spanish crucifix from a flea market for Lent, as well as colored papers and collage. She enlists parishioners’ creativity to help her design, paint and hang each backdrop. She and parishioners Angie Snyder and Katie Gallimore painted the Easter sunrise backdrop separately, texting each other pictures of their work.

“God keeps providing the people and the materials for our Creative Arts Ministry,” Diamond says.

While it serves the church, Diamond believes art should ultimately be outward-focused. That catalyzed the Rev. Jason Bowman and Redemption to take the panels of the Lenten backdrop to a local park on Good Friday and set them up as stations of the cross, open to the public. Bowman wrote a guide for guests and led three guided walks. Diamond also leads artistic activities like guided painting at Restored Hope—a local refuge for victims of sex trafficking—and on mission trips to Guatemala, where she incorporates art into teaching for women and children.

“My vision for Creative Arts Ministry is to involve the people, connecting them to God,” she says. “It’s not just an illustration or a project, it’s a ministry—and it’s inclusive.”

Since Diamond began doing the backdrops, she says people are surprised by the reverence of the space—and often forget they are in a preschool. Thanks to the ease and affordability, any church plant can use her methods.

“Transforming a simple and very distracting space allows people to rest and reflect on The Lord in worship,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be artistically detailed… it just has to cover the things that distract. Visual Worship leads people to God the way music and teaching do, and they all work together for His honor and pleasure. The ministry happens when you allow creative artists to use their gifts to worship God and take these gifts out in missions and local outreach settings.”

Interested in learning to transform spaces with visual arts? Contact Lauri Diamond.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]