Life in nature is on pause right now as we wait for the warmer days of spring, but life at F Street Church is as active as ever!

Monday night Open Studio is trying something a little different for the next several weeks. Pastor Bill Thornton is teaching an overview of Revelation, and we are joining his class! Artists are given a space and materials and are tasked with the challenge to make art related to the teaching. I hope to help our creatives learn to apply their faith to their creative practices, making art in an attitude of prayer and listening.

We are moving forward with Art Chapel construction. UNL students have been progressing with some of the framing and cabinetry. We have hired a general contractor to oversee on-site operations. Meanwhile, Art Chapel Director Willow Applegate and I are developing programming in preparation for when the Art Chapel becomes operational.

I have worked with CenterPointe Residential Rehab for a couple of years now, providing monthly art outings for their participants. We are gearing up to begin offering those outings on a weekly basis. This will allow us to develop more meaningful relationships with the individuals at CP, and also to expand our art teaching to a more in-depth, sequential model. We believe the more frequent contact will strengthen our ministry to people in recovery.

Artistically, I have a lot going on right now. I’m in the middle of painting a 30 x 40” contemporary take on the Road to Emmaus in oils, which I plan to finish within a couple of weeks. I’m also working with our son Micah to design a motorized lift system to allow art installations to be easily hung above F Street’s altar. Pictures of these projects will come soon! I’m also in prep mode for a show at the Governor’s Mansion from August-November; I’m applying for a 2 week artist residency that will give me some dedicated time to work toward that.

Thanks for praying and giving so I can do this work. I believe beauty is essential for human thriving, and there is so little of it in our neighborhood. I’ve seen how intentional, faith-rooted art can be used by God to help people see him more clearly, especially those whose hearts and minds are wounded or just weary. Worship can rise to new levels when combined with creativity. The act of making art can help a person release old sorrows and loosen hidden knots. You’re helping me use my skills to serve the people of my neighborhood. I pray the blessing will come back on you!

We are anticipating the birth of a new little Higgins as Abby and Nick’s family grows this spring. Micah is busy between venues in Lincoln and Omaha. Jake & Monica and children are a constant source of fun and joy to us; Pax is doing well as he and his parents learn to navigate Type 1 diabetes. We often travel to Kade and Cameron’s basketball games, Daniel is a budding thespian, and Mariah is a lovely combination of pink sparkles and rowdy. Tad continues to work full time, writes for HuskerMax.com on the side, serves in a variety of ways at F Street, and plays his trombone with Waverly Community Orchestra. Life is very good.

May you have a meaningful and joyful Lent and Easter season.

Volunteers joined their strength to move the Art Chapel’s rolling wall from UNL Innovation Studio, where it was constructed, to its new home at the Art Chapel.

Lifting the wall off the trailer. At left are two of the student architects on the project.

The wall is safely stored and wrapped outside the Art Chapel, thanks to these gentlemen!

I am blessed to be able to combine my love for Jesus and all things art in the work I do here in our neighborhood just south of downtown Lincoln! Art ministry can be a powerful thing, and I am humbled to be able to serve the F Street Church family.

One of my favorite activities is a monthly art outing with residents of Center Pointe Residential Rehab. A couple of successful grant applications have made it possible to provide experiences and supplies that were out of reach in the past. These creative gatherings build bridges between the person in recovery and the F Street Church family that increase the likelihood of drawing that individual into our supportive community after rehab. I’ve been thrilled to see folks I’ve met in rehab putting down roots and growing in faith at F Street!

I’m also tasked with bringing elements into our Sunday worship services that add beauty and support the teaching by creating a visual or sensory “hook” on which biblical truths may hang. I made a simple colorful medallion to adorn our altar for Easter. For a new series on I Corinthians that will have an underlying theme of unity, I am demonstrating the Japanese art of kintsugi and repairing a broken pot. After making repairs with epoxy, the break lines will be covered with gold, accentuating the imperfections and turning the once broken pot into something even more beautiful and valuable.

Kintsugi has so many parallels to the work of God in our lives and relationships; I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak through this art piece. It certainly grabbed attention when Pastor Jeff Heerspink picked up a mallet and smashed the pot in our April 23 service! Now, if I can just manage to fit all those pieces back together…

On Monday nights, I host Open Studio from 7-9 pm in my space at the church. Open Studio isn’t a class, it’s just a space for folks to work on their art in community. When hands are busy, conversations flow. It’s a great time to discuss life and Jesus!

The Art Chapel project is progressing, but it currently bears resemblance to the duck that looks placid on the surface but is paddling furiously under the water! We are still working through the permit process with the city and can’t begin construction until that box is checked. In spite of this holdup, UNL architecture students have been hard at work building components for the Chapel. Because of their “furious paddling”, the building will come together quickly once we get a green light from the city.

Earlier this spring, we lost my brother Tony to suicide. As we were preparing to travel to his memorial, our household was hit with a rather potent strain of Covid, which kept several of us from being able to attend. This double blow has had me walking through some shadowlands; I wasn’t prepared for all the fallout as my mental, physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual lives were all under attack. The Lord has been gracious throughout, and his people sustained us in prayer and practical ways. Although my heart aches at the pain my brother must have been in to do what he did, I recognize the presence of Jesus in this “valley of the shadow of death”. We have been surrounded with care and support.

Thanks for cheering me on in my work at F Street and for the many ways you care for me and my family! The Lord has given us a flourishing community of friends, and I’m daily reminded that we’re held in his hands.