Over the summer, I have been reading Makoto Fujimura’s Art and Faith: A Theology of Making. He believes that “beauty is a gratuitous gift of the creator God; it finds its source and its purpose in God’s character. God, out of his gratuitous love created a world he did not need because he is an artist.”
God as an artist is a very refreshing interpretation.
The power of beauty is in telling truth. We pause when we see something beautiful. Our body reacts by instinct. There is no explanation, but we know we are paying attention when beauty is spotted.
“Our sense of beauty and creativity are central to what it means to be made in the image of a creative God,” says Fujimura.
For the 2023 Delaware County Fair, I submitted six different pottery art pieces with curiosity for which one would be picked. To my surprise, a hand-built green glazed cup with the church logo was chosen for a blue ribbon - first place in its category. I suppose the big letter decoration of the word ‘Walton’ on the cup may have captured the judge’s eyes. It was a delightful experience to get recognized for something I have worked hard on the last year with the Jeremiah Pottery project. The design was my conception. The letter ‘t’ stands for an image of the cross in the word ‘Walton.’ I colored it red brick to have it stand out from the rest of the word.
You may have seen vivid red yard signs with the words, “JESUS LOVES WALTON” around town. Someone donated them to capture your attention as a reminder to pray and to share God’s love with someone living in Walton.
Art making is very near to us in everyday life. And beauty in life surrounds us all. In the fall as we pay our attention on how beautiful the trees are turning I hope you will be creative and see the beauty within all of our lives here in Walton and beyond.
Rev. Paul Huh, Ph.D. is the pastor at Walton United Presbyterian Church. He may be reached at pastorpaul@waltonup.org, 607-865-4390.
