Lilies of the City
When I was ten, I found myself walking with Gramma in the west pasture. When we reached a huge Golden Raintree, we stopped. There was a wooden bench under the tree. Gramma called it her praying bench. I curled up by Gramma as she began to tell a story about the hundreds of flowers dressed in glorious color all round us. When she finished, we sat cocooned in silence.
I sensed that something important had just happened.
I have to wonder if that was not the most important story each of us heard.
Eventually I earned a doctorate in Hebrew Scripture to add to my passion as an artist. The disability community became important to me when I discovered art spoke to them in ways words did not.
COVID was the catalyst for a change in my life. I had been the chaplain at a state institution for adults with mental and physical disabilities. During that time, I discovered there were over 5,000 children with the same kind of disabilities in our area. Most of these children were waiting for help of any kind. I also discovered that churches of all denominations were reluctant to do anything with these children simply because these kids were different. Most often the unsaid reason for not welcoming these children was that they were disruptive during church services. More polite excuses were given but Gramma’s teaching about diversity and justice kept creeping into my thoughts…all those glorious flowers in the field.
With the help and support of the Cumberland Presbyterian church I created the first Art and Spirituality Center for neurodiverse children in Nashville.
As we moved through the beginning stages, we agree that art is a direct link to the Divine. We offer a creative, gentle space designed to give children a chance to slow down, explore their thoughts, and express their feelings safely through art. As a community we began learning, too.
That means we begin thinking and speaking differently. For instance, while the church generally would say they are gifting children, adults will begin to realize it is the kids who are a gift to the community. It moves the church away from “charity” (which can feel patronizing) and into true community and awe. The kids aren’t a project to be helped but creators to be celebrated. They remind the whole church family to stay humble and full of wonder. They bring unpretentious joy, model pure trust and humility, and call the entire congregation to deeper cross-generational patience, active love, and a hopeful vision for the future.
As fall begins, I will begin the second program. It is a time to move on and create another space at another place. And so the Lilies of the Field live on and are celebrated through the lives of children who some see as irrelevant, or all the same. Each is a lily of the field. Each brings a beautiful new color to his/her/their church family. And, here in this time and place the lilies have found a place in the city. Welcome to Lilies of the City.
Pat Pickett, OblSB
