It’s not every day that my sermon notes go on display in an art exhibition.
But on Thursday, 8 October, notes from one of my messages will be part of an exhibition at the Center for Book Arts (CBA) in New York City, NY called, “Americans Looking In” curated by Emilie Ahern & Sherri Littlefield
Inspired by Robert Frank’s, “The Americans,” the gallery invites viewers to consider the question “what does it mean to be ‘American?’”
From the CBA’s webpage:
The Americans, by Robert Frank, was a highly influential book in post-war American photography. The photographs were notable for their distanced view of both high and low strata of American society and the book as a whole created a complicated portrait of the period, interpreted as skeptical of contemporary values and evocative of ubiquitous loneliness.
Both curators of Americans Looking In have reflected on what it means to be “American.” Having multicultural backgrounds and being raised in the States has given them both moments of confusion and frustration, and has led them to wonder what this country has to do with personal identity. When forming this exhibition, the curators presented themselves, artists, editors, leaders and everyday-people with the question – “What is American culture today, and what does an American look like?”
The hope is that viewers will explore this question with them by staring through the eyes of the artists in this exhibition, leading to self reflection upon exiting the space.
When Sherri invited me to display my sermon notes — the raw, unrefined, random, doodle-filled, scrap that gets somewhat organized into a coherent message later on — as part of the exhibition, she said it was to give viewers the chance to “look over my shoulder” as I prepared.
My sermon notes will be displayed along with content from religious leaders of other traditions.
My hope is that my notes, along with the stunning works of art on display, can play a small role in helping viewers wrestle with what it means to be “American” and how we can make sense of our personal identities in light of “others” and their perspectives, practices, and traditions.
The story of American religion is central to the American story as a whole.
Throughout our history, religion played a critical role in making the country what it is, and what it isn’t, today. For good or for ill, religion lies at the heart of our identity, our history, and our future.
And so, I am humbly honored to let other Americans “look in” on my sermon notes to help them explore what it means to be “American” from a spiritual perspective.
If you’re interested in learning more, the CBA will be hosting a live, virtual opening Thursday, October 8th, on Zoom at 6:30pm. Here's the event page, where you can find out more.