(Each Saturday, a faith leader offers a personal perspective in this space. To become part of this series, email religion@recorder.com)
Ella Fitzgerald inspired me long ago with this quote: “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
Not too long ago, I watched a documentary about her life. She certainly had more than her share of times when she could have thrown her hands up and quit, but she didn’t. We, in return, are blessed with recordings of her amazing talent.
Music is not a talent I excel in, although I love to sing. However, there are other gifts I have been blessed to share with others — photography and writing, to be precise.
When I was a teen in Boston, I was blessed with the opportunity to take a Summerthing course on photography. As a teen from the projects, I relished being able to take pictures of the world around me, a world many never saw.
I not only learned to take the pictures that spoke to others, but I also learned the magic of developing them. One of the greatest joys I have from that time is the memory of watching as the images I captured on my wanderings around town appeared on the blank photo paper.
Blank paper, however, was not new to me. Long before I discovered photography as an art, I had found and nurtured my writing voice. Turning a blank page from my notebook into poems and stories was just as thrilling. Poems and stories captured images of the reality that played out daily around me as well as those worlds that lived within my mind.
Fast forward to the years I spent as a young mother and inspirational quotations became something I used to affirm, inspire and nurture my own soul as well as other people’s. I would cross-stitch quotations or create calligraphies with the words gracefully painted on beautiful parchment. Framed, these bits of art became gifts for friends and family.
Now, some 40-plus years later, I have combined my passions to bring hope, inspiration and light to my Facebook followers. The pandemic has caused so many people to fall deep into despair. Combining photos of the ocean, flowers, birds and nature with my poetry or quotes that inspire, educate, or invigorate has become a joy-filled ministry.
Gratefully, we live in one of the most inspirational areas of the world. Between my trips throughout New England and my own garden, subject matter for my art is never far away. Just the other day, I was able to capture the hummingbird that visits our yard lounging on the clothesline. An amazing close-up photo op, I was able to get several pictures sitting at my desk. Telephoto lenses are wonderful when trying to photograph wild animals and birds.
Once I downloaded the photos to my desktop, I quickly found the best one to use for a “poster,” as I call my art. My next task would be to find an appropriate quote to superimpose onto the image.
Hummingbirds are symbolic of joy. Therefore, I looked for an inspirational quote that would enhance the picture. I found this: “May my faith always be/at the end of the day/ like a hummingbird … returning/ to its favorite flower,” by Sanober Khan, a poet and freelance writer from Mumbai. Putting the two together made me smile. I hoped it would do the same for others.
What’s the point, you might ask? For me, combining these skills and talents that I have been blessed with during times that for many around the world are dark and confusing, allows me to minister is a very concrete way.
I often recall the story of the boy throwing starfish back into the sea after a storm and when someone asks what difference it makes, he says, quite emphatically, “It makes a difference to this one.” If what I create helps just one person find a little beauty, gain a little insight, acquire newfound inspiration, or soften a pain that has lasted too long, then I am happy.
Ministry doesn’t have to be about rites and rituals, although these are a vital part of ministering. Ministry is also about sharing our passions, our talents, our skills and our art with others as an unconditional gift of love. In my mind, it doesn’t get better than that.
Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas is an ordained interfaith minister. She graduated from The New Seminary in New York City. She often fills the pulpit in local Franklin County Churches. She maintains an international online ministry through Facebook. Rev. Neas can be reached at revlindaneas2013@gmail.com and https://www.facebook.com/revlindaneas/