Enjoy a gallery display of original works by artists of all ages. Everyone is welcome, so bring a friend!
– Learn from artists describing their creative process.
– Listen to live performances of talented musicians.
– Sip coffee and tea.
Live performances include:
The 3+1 String Quartet
The 3+1 String Quartet was founded in 2018 by three violinist-violists, three alumni of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and three faculty members of Wheaton College. The 3+1 quartet featured alongside singer Camila Meza in 2019 at the Chicago Jazz Festival and has performed in educational concerts ranging from Montessori schools and junior high schools to the faculty recital series at Wheaton College and the College of DuPage. In addition to the mainstream quartet repertoire, 3+1 also enjoys exploring the music of Schickele, Bartók, the Danish String Quartet, and other eclectic works.
The 3+1 string quartet concertizes in the greater Chicago area and is currently comprised of violinist Addie Gannon, violinist-violists Lee Joiner and Lilian Chou, and cellist Diane Chou. Three are former students of Dr. Lee Joiner.
Painter Lewis Achenbach
Painter Lewis Achenbach interprets the music and atmosphere of an event in his artwork in the moment.
“It started with documenting live music through an imaginative process, but it has become much more.
“It now feels like a translation or an amalgam of two languages. To hear this painting is a meeting place of the sonic and visual arts.” More here
Hammer Dulcimer Musician Devin Pohly
Devin Pohly is an assistant professor of computer science at Wheaton College. He first saw a hammered dulcimer on a family vacation in the Smokies, and he picked up the instrument himself in 2017 after finishing college and moving to Illinois. When not writing code or playing music, he can usually be found dancing, calling, or composing contra dances.
Saturday February 1, 2-4pm
- Invite friends for original art and conversation in the culmination of this year’s festival
- Special live music performances by talented musicians in our community.
Invite your friends and neighbors to the Gallery Exhibit of original visual art, creative writing, and music by artists at Resurrection! Discover how the these original pieces reflect this year’s RezArts Festival theme, “Built Together in Love.”
Glean how the Lord works in our children, youth, and adults as they offer their creative talents. Most Artists take a step of courage to share their work publicly, often overcoming shyness or anxiety. Come and support them!
Music performances:
Enjoy live music by harpist Hannah Muzzy and hammered dulcimer musician Devil Pohly.
Hannah Muzzy began piano lessons at age six but at age 14 she saw a picture of a harp in a book and just knew she had to play that instrument. Hannah has enjoyed performing for numerous private functions and concerts including the Memphis Symphony, Masterworks Festival Orchestra, various choirs, and especially with her husband Jake across the U.S. and on tour in Argentina.
Dr. Devin Pohly is an assistant professor of computer science at Wheaton College. He first saw a hammered dulcimer on a family vacation in the Smokies, and he picked up the instrument himself in 2017 after finishing college and moving to Illinois. When not writing code or playing music, he can usually be found dancing, calling, or composing contra dances.
Top and bottom photos by Michael Johnson
Submission deadline: Sunday, January 19
Theme: “Built Together in Love”
We invite you to contribute to our RezArts Festival, a church-wide celebration of art this fall and winter. Whether you’re age 5 or 95, a beginner or experienced artist, you can participate. All regular attendees of Rez, no matter your age, are welcome to create with us.
A temple with a solid foundation, a rooted plant, a growing body, a wife. In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, he draws on these images to describe her.
This year’s RezArts Festival theme, “built together in love,” is drawn from Ephesians 2:22 and 4:16. There’s a sense of movement in Paul’s depictions throughout his letter: the building is being built, a body is continuing to grow. He calls his readers to unity, and to participate in facilitating that building and growth.
As you engage with this year’s prompt, we invite you to try the three Cs creative process that Fr. Steve Williamson employs:
- Contemplate
- Create
- Critique
We encourage you to join with others in any or all of these three Cs of creativity. You can also add the fourth C and Collaborate.
1. Contemplate:
Ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit and to communicate both to you and through you. Ponder. Pray. Listen. Journal. Converse with others. The depth of your piece will be born from this stage.
- Read and reread Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, especially the first half of chapter 4. Note what stands out to you. Ponder themes, images, emotions, desires.
Consider one or two of these questions:
- Paul paints several word-pictures of the church. Why these images? What other images might reflect the reality of the church? An orchestra? An army? A family? Explore one or more of these images. Perhaps another image comes to mind. Your work does not need to represent the theme or Scripture verses literally. We trust the Lord will work with you through this process.
- Reflect on your experience of being part of the church. You belong. What are your experiences of belonging? What are your experiences of not belonging?
- How do you experience the love of God and others in the church? What words, colors, textures, or sounds come to mind as you reflect on love?
- How does this theme/passage intersect with what is going on in your own life right now?
2. Create:
Write, carve, paint, sew, compose, sculpt, draw… Engage intuitively. Collaborate with others or work in solitude.
- What has risen to the surface in your contemplations? Choose a particular image, longing, question, or phrase as a starting point for your artwork.
- What media, colors, sounds, and styles communicate that concept? For example, the church as a unified whole made of many pieces might be communicated through a mosaic, a quilt, a choral song, or a found poem. Let the message of your piece come through the form, not just the content.
- Good art communicates intuitively, often bypassing our logical minds and speaking straight to the heart. Your piece need not be a direct portrayal of the passage or the theme.
3. Critique:
Evaluate your work. Ask others for feedback. Make changes.
Critique is not about pointing out faults or feeling bad, nor is it about perfection. Rather, it’s about giving and receiving constructive feedback on the work. What about the piece is good? Why? What doesn’t work? Can that be improved? Does the piece convey what you intend?
- Once you have created a piece, set it aside for a day or two, then revisit it. How does it impact you as a whole? Any changes needed?
- Ask friends or mentors for feedback. Be specific about what you want, and be open to receiving constructive feedback and making changes.
- ”What do you think of this?” is a broad question and not likely to lead to helpful feedback. Instead try asking specific questions such as “What emotions does this melody evoke in you?” or “Would you give feedback on the plot and character development in this short story?” or “Do you notice any ways I could improve the composition of this painting?”
- If you are not willing to make changes to a specific aspect of the piece, don’t ask for feedback on that part.
- Decide when to be done. The RezArts Festival submission deadline is Sunday, January 19.
The act of creating art can be one of worship and prayer as you submit your creativity to the Lord. As our Creator, the Artist of the universe invites us to be co-creators. While your finished art may or may not be a masterpiece, it can help others better appreciate the Lord’s heart for his people. Even if you don’t consider yourself an artist, we invite you to try your hand at creating art as an act of worship. You may ultimately decide not to submit your work to the Festival, but do consider participating in the creative process with this focus in mind.
We hope to see a reflection of how the Lord is leading you and our church body in this particular season. Thus, all submissions should be new creations made during the festival in order to reveal the Lord’s leading for this time in our Body.
You’ll find resources on creativity by artists at Rez in the section below.
We will share select submissions online and on social media throughout the Festival and beyond. The Festival will culminate with a Gallery Exhibit of all family-appropriate submissions. This will be open to the entire church on Saturday, Feburary 1, 2-4pm. Visual artwork or poetry that can be exhibited safely on a wall will continue to be displayed as much as possible until Lent. Music submissions will be available online.
Jumpstart your creativity on Wednesday, January 11, 6:30-8:00 or 8:30pm.
Try a workshop in visual arts, devotional poetry writing, or worship song writing.
RSVP below.
Devotional Poetry Writing
Discover how to enrich your devotional life by writing poetry. You’ll learn new tools and practices for engaging with Scripture by penning your own poetry. This workshop will include hands-on writing time, as well as the opportunity for small group sharing and mutual encouragement. Minimum age: high school. This workshop concludes at 8:30pm.
Facilitator: Andrew S. Backer 
enjoys writing poetry devotionally and finds it a place to witness the beauty of the Lord and respond in worship. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Higher Education and Student Development at Wheaton College.
Assistant Facilitator: Helen Wieger enjoys creative writing and has been nurturing a group of creatives for the last several years. She leans toward penning poetry and creative prose.
Visual Arts
Janice Skivington Wood is a painter, illustrator,
and former art teacher. She has collaborated with various artists to develop liturgical art that adorns Resurrection, including the large Jesus icon, the great doors, paintings depicting Old Testament scenes in the narthex, and more.
Emily Verdoorn uses anything from 
pen and pencil to teabags, inks, thread, or homemade dyes to explore the world of her everyday life. Her work often begins like a quiet conversation with places, spaces and the natural world.
Worship Song-Writing
Saturday February 1, 2-4pm
- Invite friends for original art and conversation in the culmination of this year’s festival
- Special live music performances by talented musicians in our community.
Invite your friends and neighbors to the Gallery Exhibit of original visual art, creative writing, and music by artists at Resurrection! Discover how the original pieces reflect this year’s RezArts Festival theme, “Built Together in Love.”
Learn how the Lord works in our children, youth, and adults as they offer their creative talents. Most artists take a step of courage to share their work publicly, often overcoming shyness or anxiety. Come and support them!
Photo by Michael Johnson
Visual
Such as drawing, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, textile, crafts and digital art. Artwork that will be physically displayed in its original medium cannot exceed 3 feet by 3 feet.
Written
Such as poetry, short stories, personal essays, flash fiction, devotionals, monologues, and scenes. Length: 1,500 words or less.
Musical
Voice and/or instrumental. Length: 4 minutes or less
Visual
Such as drawing, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, textile, crafts and digital art. Artwork that will be physically displayed in its original medium cannot exceed 3 feet by 3 feet.
Written
Such as poetry, short stories, personal essays, flash fiction, devotionals, monologues, and scenes. Length: 1,500 words or less.
Musical
Voice and/or instrumental. Length: 4 minutes or less
Artisan Baked Good
Pastry, cake, bread or other artisan baked good to serve 10 or more people.
Do you dream of creating your next profiterole pastry, three-layer cake, or sourdough loaf? Enjoy experimenting with flavors and using special ingredients to create unique and delightful treats?
We invite you to employ your baking talents and create for the RezArts Festival. Enable our church community and friends to savor your artisan bread or decadent pastry at the Gallery Exhibit on Saturday, January 27. Every bite will bring them delight!
Submit an online description of your baked good and ingredients in the online submission form here by Monday, January 15, 11:59pm.
Then deliver your fresh baked goods with a serving utensil to RezCafe on Saturday, January 27, between 1-1:30pm. We’ll serve up your treat for all to enjoy, first-come, first-serve.
Please prepare enough to serve at least 10 people, the more the better! Your treat must be ready to serve. Label your creation and a serving utensil with your name.
- All visual, written, and music submissions must be original works, previously unpublished and/or not performed publicly, and may not have been shared online or on the artists’ social media.
- Submissions should be new creations made during this particular season in order to reveal the Lord’s leading during this time in our Body.
- Participants must be regular attendees of Church of the Resurrection over the last three months.
- Each person or group may only submit one entry per category, up to three entries total.
- Group submissions are allowed if all individuals are active attendees or members.
- All entries must be submitted online by midnight Central Time, Sunday, January 19, 2025. Visual art and printed submissions must be delivered to the church by Friday, January 24, 1pm. Please leave submissions upstairs in the print room.
- Art that includes nudity, profanity, graphic violence or otherwise inappropriate content for young children will not be considered.
- Participants agree to allow the Resurrection to publish digital files of all submissions both online and/or in print, on its website and/or social media channels, both during and after the festival indefinitely with appropriate credit.
- Participants grant Resurrection non-exclusive rights to use their submissions in ministry, including but not limited to services, events, public displays, or performances, publications, sites, and programs, without further permission or payment involved, with appropriate credit to the artist(s).
- The RezArts Festival will include a gallery exhibit on Saturday, February 1, 2-4pm, at which time submissions will be displayed and presented for the enjoyment of the church and any guests. Everyone is welcome. Contributors to the Arts Festival should plan to attend the Exhibit. Visual art submissions that can be safely displayed on a wall will remain within the church building until mid-February.
While we will do our best to care for your submission(s), we cannot guarantee the preservation of your artwork in its original form. We also reserve the right not to exhibit any piece we deem inappropriate for a family audience
- Each work must be submitted online via an individual digital file– a Word document, a photo(s) of visual artwork in PDF, JPG or PNG files, or an audio file in mp3.
- Visual art submissions may include up to 4 photos of your visual arts submission, such as a photo of your painting, a pottery work, or a sculpture. However, if your submission is actual photography, then only one photo is allowed.
- Visual art submissions of the actual artwork must be delivered to Resurrection in person by Friday, January 19, 1pm to participate in the gallery exhibit and should be left at the building until February 15. We encourage you to mount and/or frame your visual art submission for display before dropping off.
- Musical submissions must be no longer than 4 minutes, submitted in mp3 files. If you are creating a song, you might choose to submit your lyrics in a Word document. If so, then you may choose to format and print your song on a letter or legal size document. You are welcome to mount and/or frame it before delivering to Resurrection in person before Friday, January 19, 1pm for display at the gallery exhibit and should be left at the building until February 15.
- Poetry that fits on a single page may be framed or mounted for display with the title and author’s name at the top. It must be dropped off before Friday, January 24, 1pm to participate in the gallery exhibit and should be left at the building until Ash Wednesday, March 5.
- Include a paragraph of 150 words or less explaining: a) your work (size and medium for visual art), b) your creative process, and c) how your entry reflects the theme in part or whole. In addition, please submit a 1-2 sentence bio in which you may include your social media handle, personal blog or website where you share your creative work. d) a price if your work is for sale, and contact information. e) A digital headshot is optional in case we share your work on our blog.
- Questions? Email dawnjewell@churchrez.org
Find inspiration, insights, and tips for sparking your creativity in these resources and submissions from past RezArts Festivals:
By Fellow Rez Members
Paradise Lost?
Art, Faith, and John 15: A Conversation with Hip-Hop Artist and Pastor Jonathan Brooks
Steps for Putting “Abide in me” into Practice
Winter Musings
Her Love Foretells
How to Prune a Grapevine
A Woman Held God Poem
Avent Maranatha Poem
RezArts Festival Submission: Open Offering
Sub-Creators: Mimicking the Creator’s artistry
Overcome Your Fear: Create for the RezArts Festival
Leaning into Fear
Other Resources on Art and Theology
Articles
“A Letter to A Young Artist” by Makoto Fujimura
“On Unnecessarily Owning Art” by Karen Stiller. An essay by author and wife Karen Stiller reflecting on her commitment to owning artwork as a Christian.
“The Creative Process” by James Baldwin in James Baldwin: Collected Essays. A 1962 essay by secular novelist James Baldwin describing the role of the artist in society, resonating with a biblical understanding of an artist’s role. (Note: Link is to an abridged version of the essay published by Plough)
“On Fairy-Stories” by J.R.R. Tolkien in Tales from the Perilous Realm. A 1939 essay by fantasy author and philologist J.R.R. Tolkien arguing for the redemptive value of fantasy literature
“Nourishing Our Souls” by Denis Haack at The Ransom Fellowship. A blog post in which Anglican author Denis Haack contends for the imperative need for beauty in the Christian life.
Websites
Christians in the Visual Arts
Visual Commentary on Scripture directed by Ben Quash, King’s College London. A beautiful resource that features artwork paired with scripture passages, along with accompanying essays by different scholars on various Scripture passages. (Note: Some scholars, such as Malcolm Guite, are Christian, but others are not).
Books
Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on community, calling and the mystery of making by Andrew Peterson
Art & the Bible by Francis A. Schaeffer. A short book containing two of Christian thinker Schaeffer’s thoughts on the relationship between art, the church, and the Bible
Culture Care by painter Makoto Fujimura. A manifesto on the role of artists in the church and in society.
Faith and Art: A theology of making by Makoto Fujimura
For the Beauty of the Church edited by W. David O. Taylor. An anthology of essays by artists, pastors, and scholars on the relationship between the arts and the Church.
The Mind of the Maker by Dorthy Sayers
On Beauty & Being Just by Elaine Scarry (also available in book form). Philosopher Scarry’s 1998 lectures on the power of beauty to bring about justice in society.
Placemaking and the Arts: Cultivating the Christian Life by Jennifer Allen Craft
The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
Walking on Water: Reflections on faith and art by Madeleine L’Engle
Videos
You’re Included- Music & Theology by Jeremy Begbie
“Bono & Eugene Peterson: THE PSALMS” by Fuller Studio. A 30-minute documentary, spearheaded by Anglican theologian W. David O. Taylor, in which rock musician and author Bono (Paul Hewson) and theologian Eugene Peterson discuss the artistic beauty of the Psalms.
Podcasts
“Art and the Church” with Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe on The Embedded Church Podcast. A 2022 podcast episode funded by Duke Divinity School’s Ohmond Center, featuring conversations with pastors, artists, and Christian thinkers on how the Church might serve the arts in the twenty-first century.
“Beauty Will Save the World: An Interview with Brian Zahnd” with Stephen Roach on the Makers & Mystics Podcast (published in two parts: Part 1 & Part 2). Artist Stephen Roach interviews pastor Brian Zahnd, author of Beauty Will Save the World, on the role of the arts in evangelism.
“Longing and Beauty” with Dr. Curt Thompson, MD on the Being Known Podcast. In a 2021 podcast, Christian psychiatrist Curt Thompson reflects on the innate human desire, and need for, beauty in life.
