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MANIFESTO
In the myriad of spiritual seekers and creative folks we have encountered in our life, work, and study, we recognize a growing and instinctive desire to reimagine and reenergize the ways in which we practice and celebrate both art and faith. We see this longing as motivated by a great compassion for community building, a desire for radical inclusivity, and an openness to reemerging insights from both eastern and primal religious traditions. We sense a heart-felt need to explore how our current patterns of art and faith and worship can be renewed, transformed, and actively engaged in the healing of a world too often broken and divided. We sense profound and positive cultural and institutional shifts …
ora et labora The path forward is not entirely clear. Like the work of any art practice, or the work any spiritual discipline, the journey changes us and shapes our imagination. The creative process and the spiritual quest are both forms of meditation and prayer and thus critical avenues of creative insight. The yearning to restore Thomas Chapel as a place for religious assembly, retreat, meditation, and prayer is rooted in the awareness that love, mindfulness, and the search for truth are ultimately anchored in a ministry of imagination and pilgrimage. In other words, art and faith are both shaped in doing in community at prayer, and by necessity, evolve and change over time. Without a doubt we can work and pray anywhere, but there is something to be said for having a place that is reserved for an encounter with the God in which we live and move and have our being. The beauty of Thomas Chapel is not just the physical building or the rural vistas, but its long history as a sacred space where a community of believers came to celebrate what God did and who God is. Thomas Chapel came to life during extreme political turmoil, existed through over a century of profound social change, and ended when the community drifted away for a myriad of reasons. This place knows transformation. We imagine the actual work needed for restoration of the chapel happening in tandem with activities centered in prayer, contemplation, and opportunities for intentional social action. Thomas Chapel is not just an historical restoration, but also an ongoing exploration of new ways that the scared and the imagination come together. catholic + evangelical + incarnational + activist It is our desire for this undertaking to be catholic, evangelical, incarnational, and activist. We seek to be catholic in that we see ourselves within a continuity of spiritual seekers and creative folks gathered to remember and celebrate God’s work in creation and throughout human history. We seek to be evangelical by our deep desire to share the transformative stories of divine and human collaboration and proclaim the ways in which the divine has been and is now made present among us. We seek to be incarnational by understanding the gifts of the imagination to be in direct partnership with God’s work in the world and for the benefit of all of God’s creation. We seek to be activists by putting our creative energies into use in a ministry of imagination that is committed to finding creative ways to foster social awareness and change and envision alternative constructions of society. non-attachment Finally, we believe that discernment of new ways of seeing and doing are often found in the prayerful and intentional practice of selfless and simple actions performed for the benefit of others. We believe in spiritual or creative enlightenment through creatively working for the good of others without being attached to the product or being swayed by what the results might bring. We believe that this dedication to selfless service for a right cause and with like-minded spiritual seekers and creative folks can be a powerful form of worship and spirituality and discovery. Because the creative life and the intentional spiritual journey changes you, grows community, fosters social change, and shapes our world for the better. Patrick Ellis and Mitchell Bond Trustees of Portiuncula Guild, Inc. |
The Evolution of the Portiuncula Guild Project
Patrick Ellis is co-owner of Goose Creek Studio. Patrick has a BFA from the University of Georgia, a Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies from Drew University. Before moving to Bedford, Patrick was Director of the Art for Theology and Ministry Program at the Washington Theological Union. Patrick had formerly served as Director of the Dadian Gallery and Artist-in-Residence at Wesley Theological Seminary. Patrick is an artist focusing on large mixed media totems based on primal religious imagery, icon painting in the Coptic tradition and other forms of devotional art. Mitchell Bond, a native of Bedford, VA, is co-owner of Goose Creek Studio. He has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from James Madison University and a Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary. Before coming back to Bedford, Mitchell worked in student services and administration at Wesley Theological Seminary and Drew University. In 2016 Mitchell completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training at Bedford Yoga Center and currently teaches at Bower Center for the Arts and Bedford Area Family YMCA. Mitchell is also an artist working in fused glass, mosaics and pen & ink doodles. Patrick and Mitchell have enjoyed three decades working with a myriad of collaborative partners (mentors, friends, artists, pastors and arts institutions) that are dedicated to the belief that an active engagement with the arts and spirituality have an profound ability to change you, grow community, and the potential to shape our world for the better. Foundational institutional models of imaginative ministry for Patrick and Mitchell include:
In August 2009 Patrick and Mitchell opened Goose Creek Studio, a gallery and frame shop in Bedford Virginia, with a mission rooted in hospitality, exhibitions that explore faith and creative imagination, and of the spirituality of the art making process. In the past ten years Goose Creek Studio has mounted over 75 exhibitions showcasing local artists as well as hosted dozens of outdoor festivals. The gallery’s mission quickly expanded to include community partnerships working to grow local arts and culture opportunities for the community. Some of these local partnerships include:
In 2013 Patrick and Mitchell formed Portiuncula Guild, a faith-based association of creative folks and spiritual seekers working at the intersections of faith, craftsmanship, and creative expression. The intent of the guild is to build mutually supportive creative relationships, foster conversations around the connection between art and faith, as well as seek out artistic collaborations in which art can engage the entire community in the spirituality of the art making process. Portiuncula Guild began as a series of exhibitions, book signings, prayer, and social gatherings at our home studio, and later expanded to includes a website, and occasional blog posts. In 2015, Portiuncula Guild was taken “on-the-road” with a series of partnerships with local groups to explore the spirituality of the art making process. Some highlights include:
A few links to local news coverage … https://www.newsadvance.com/entertainment/arts/bedford-art-gallery-debuts-year-long-journey-in-grief/article_609ff89e-8cb8-5871-9652-b25242d01723.html https://www.newsadvance.com/entertainment/arts/goose-creek-tackles-myths-in-new-exhibit-while-breaking-them/article_1bc6dfab-fa28-5713-9b31-a106e7de2daf.html https://www.newsadvance.com/entertainment/features/vietnam-veteran-to-discuss-new-book-at-goose-creek/article_dbbbbd18-0599-5410-8e7d-75a7cbc920c7.html https://www.newsadvance.com/entertainment/features/goose-creek-exhibit-explores-memory-in-the-wake-of-d/article_e2be0eed-c77f-5c3c-beb8-b2137c35bb7e.html https://www.newsadvance.com/entertainment/features/faces-facades-virginia-artist-helen-hubler-showing-work-in-/article_165708bb-1246-55c2-b282-2e3c968a0a11.html https://www.newsadvance.com/entertainment/features/bedford-s-goose-creek-studio-marks-anniversary-of-charlottesville-riots/article_e925bbe4-d948-5031-a31f-d38e08f20a25.html |