Journal #1 - Graeme Parsons

Psalm 84 by Graeme Parsons
The excerpt reads... "O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man that trusts in you."

Graeme and I went to college together at the University of Memphis. We had many classes together, graduated at the same time, and were in each other's weddings. Thanks for participating.

Journal #1 - Richard Fudge

"Tin Man" by Richard Fudge

Inspired by this Avett Brothers song: Tin Man from their new album I and Love and You.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Journal #1 - Hannah Shipley

"Grace" by Hannah Shipley, Memphis, TN

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV) But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Video of Eli Morris and Richard Fudge discussing journal project

Video of the journal project (all slides to date) with audio of a Q&A from The Stirring Oct 11th. Senior pastor Eli Morris talks with Richard Fudge about the To Send a Prayer journal project.

You will probably need to up the volume. Eli is wearing a mic and I'm just holding one. So I sound a lot softer.

Journal no. 1 - Memphis, Tn to Rockwall, Tx

View Prayer Journal mailings in a larger map

Journal #1 makes its way from Memphis, Tn to Jason Fuller in Rockwall, Tx.
Distance = 431 miles.
Total miles = 2056
Trips: 4

Painted Prayer by Kathy MacDonald

07/09 Kathy MacDonald, Memphis, TN

"As we glance up, we are astonished to find the eyes of Jesus open with wonder, deep with understanding, and gentle with compassion." — The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

Painted Prayer by Jack Fox

Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
Psalms 42:7

Jack Fox, Terre Haute, IN

Painted Prayer by Jason Fuller

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Jason Fuller, Rockwall, TX

Journal #1 -- Terre Haute, IN to Memphis, TN

Journal #1 makes its first round trip back to me. I look forward to seeing the additions made to it by Jack and Jason.

Distance: Terre Haute, IN to Memphis, TN = 391 miles
Total miles = 1625
Trips: 3

Journal #1 -- Rockwall, TX to Terre Haute, IN

Journal #1 makes its way to Jack Fox. Jack Fox resides in Terre Haute, Indiana where he is associate pastor of eXchange (exchangemcc.org) and Director of ArtReach (artreachmcc.org). He also serves as vice president of the board of directors for Arts Illiana.

Distance: Rockwall, TX to Terre Haute, IN = 803 miles
Total miles = 1234
Trips: 2

Journal no. 1 - Memphis, Tn to Rockwall, Tx

Journal #1 makes its first trip from Memphis, Tn to Jason Fuller in Rockwall, Tx. Distance = 431 miles.

This is a 8"x5.5" Pen & Ink | watercolor journal. I'm a little concerned about this journal. It seems well constructed. In fact, the leather cover feels really nice. But my concern is durability and the perforated pages have me a touch worried.

A Still, Small Voice

God, help me to hear your still, small voice.

1 Kings 19:11-13 (New Living Translation)
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”


Journal #1, Week 1. Artist: Richard Fudge, Memphis, TN.

Prayer Journal - Start

Inspired by one of those "hey, we should do this" remarks by a friend, I went out and bought a journal. http://www.lookatbook.com/ I agreed that it looked like a lot of fun and would be inspiring to collaborate with other artists. Especially those artists that we might have met and spoken to online but never in person. It just sounded fun.

We settled on the following a few rules for structure.

1. 5 days to complete a spread. So if you receive it on Weds., you have to mail it the following Mon.
2. A visual expression of a prayer or scripture.
3. Medium: pen, ink, graphite, colored pencil.
4. Keep it moving. Finished or not you need to mail in 5 days.

I think it will be a great way to build community. Christian visual artists tend to have a harder time finding a supportive community for their work. Most galleries and other art venues typically don't want to exhibit Christian themed work. They don't show that sort of thing, they don't want to make people uncomfortable or offend anyone. etc. But then on the other side of the aisle, churches in general don't have any oppertunities for artists to share their creative gifts. Your average church nowdays has become a more multipurpose space than the beautiful churches from art history class. A church is more likely to have a scoreboard or concert lighting than stain glass windows or original art. Churches dont really get their artists and their artists typically dont see how they can use their gifts in church.

I hope that awkward relationship between artist and church will pass. Artists should be tapped for their talent much like musicians typically are. Artists have a lot to offer the church and worship experience, and the church could help the artists grow spiritually if it had an outlet for their creativity. Artists are passionate people who tell stories in provocative and unique ways. Art provokes conversation and community interaction – artist to viewer and viewer to viewer. Art encourages personal reflection and searching for meaning. Along with music and message, art is another way that God speaks to you. Art inspires creativity in others. The art work created during a service becomes a memento of the worship experience it was a part of.

Anyway, I'll be sending out a couple of journals to visual artists that I've met and posting the results here.