Spirituality through Photography: Poetry of the Moment

(image used with permission from Richard C. Choe)

"Photography is the poetry of the moment, illuminated by the beauty of light.”  (Paul Sanderson)

This program is being offered as a part of our Week of Creativity where three arts-based programs are being held at the same time. Our days will be framed by gathering in community with those from the other arts programs for reflection. On Thursday evening we will gather for a 'Summer Celebration' where the general public is invited to share in the creative work that has unfolded during the week.

During this photography program we will take time to find ways to rest, reflect and rejuvenate as we seek to find the Sacred in the ordinary. Spiral conversation – a process of deep listening and sharing based on Lectio Divina – will be a way for us to engage with one another. The main purpose of the week is to simply practice seeing and being. What you connect with through photography will help you to discover who you are and where you are in your spiritual journey.

We will cover the following areas over the week:

• Photography techniques, applications, and presentations. Everyone will be encouraged to take photos, process, and select the images for sharing each day.
• Connecting inclusive and life affirming spirituality and faith with images in worship celebrations and visual presentations.
• Exploring resources that promotes and facilitate connections with people from various socio-political backgrounds.
• Discovering beauty within and around.
• Utilizing various ways and means to process one’s spirituality: journaling, poetry, etc. …

The week will be filled with self-discovery in relation to nature and in spiritual community with people who are committed to finding beauty and the sacred in the ordinary. Please bring musical instruments, if you have any, to enhance in developing visual presentation.

Who might benefit from this program:
This program is open to anyone interested in taking pictures, from beginner to advanced.

• Those who are looking for new or deeper ways of expressing spirituality.  Lots of resources will be shared and participants are welcome to share theirs.
• Those who are participating in audio-visual presentation in worship celebrations. Teams from the same congregation would be a great idea, e.g. clergy who are looking for images for worship and lay leaders who provide technical support.
• Clergy and lay leaders who would like to have a better sense of choosing effective images in worship celebrations and in other areas of ministry.
• Individuals looking to learn more about photography. Some familiarity with a camera would be helpful; however, any skill level is welcome.
• Parent/child, partners, individuals and groups looking for ways to connect and bond will find the conversations and photography immensely helpful.
• Bloggers, writers, communicators of all types.
• Those in the publicity, communication, and media ministries.
  Denominational staff who work with photographic images in their work.
• Anyone seeking fun and creative ways of engaging with this beautiful world of ours.

Leadership: Richard Chung-sik Choe is minister at Kingston Road United Church and has been photographing professionally for over 20 years. He shares his sense of beauty in and through worship celebrations, workshops, public speaking, and teaching photography as a spiritual practice.
 
Richard’s photography captures the sacred in the ordinary. Capturing Zen – zooming into the subject to capture the essence of its mood – would describe his photography technique. He believes that the essential task of a photographer is to connect the beauty within oneself with the world around. Art, a form of spirituality, is a process of discovering, discerning, encountering, and expressing the beauty experienced. Spiritual enlightenment is when harmony is experienced between the beauty within and the beauty around oneself.
 
He photographs for faith organizations and media agencies in and outside of Canada. His clients include the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its related agencies, the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Sojourners Magazine, the United Church Observer, and other mainline denominations in Canada and the USA.
 
Richard also taught photography and spirituality through the United Church’s learning circles over the past few years. He taught a course to explore the intersections of faith and world through art, culture, and education – An Active Faith: A Certificate in Church and Community – a new Continuing Education program launched by Emmanuel College in 2011.

Richard is also a recipient of a 2011 Sabbatical Grant for Pastoral Leaders by the Louisville Institute, a programme that "supports those who lead and study American religious institutions."  He started his sabbatical in March 2012 to work on the theme of “Developing & Creating a Common Language of Faith” through photography and poetry.

View Richard's Blog at:
http://imagingthesacred.blogspot.com

Perhaps you have a friend or a family member who would enjoy creative time at Five Oaks as well. The other programs being offered during the week are:
Painting
Writing