by Shelley Byrnes, Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
“All of us are standing on someone else’s shoulders. Someone else that opened the door and paved the way. And so, we have to understand that we cannot give up the fight, whether we see the fruits of our labor or not. You have a responsibility to open the door to keep this moving forward.”
-Ruby Bridges, The Guardian, 2021
Do you remember the constellations projected on our Sanctuary walls in Advent? These were part of the art and activities provided by our Imaging and Imagining (I & I) team. This grant is designed to use art to cultivate sacred spaces through which children will come to know and love God and grow in their faith. (You can read more about it in our previous E-vangelist article.)
Our I & I grant covers an installment for Lent and Easter, too! We set out to coordinate with the Divine Feminine sermon series and offer another special way to help children connect with its themes. Children learn not only visually but also experientially. Therefore, we have commissioned an expanding visual experience, with beautiful paintings done by parishioner and artist Chris Sanders.
Each Sunday will have artwork honoring the holy woman being featured in that day’s sermon. And each week we will add one more painting to the installation. The pieces are large and designed to be perfect for smaller folks to view them.
We encourage parishioners of all ages to share in the experience! Every Sunday, instead of immediately returning to your pew after communion, go around and behind the altar, through the columbarium starting on the pulpit side. For those who have difficulty with the stairs, you can also access the art via the ramp and the hallway by the clergy offices. (If you aren’t familiar with the area behind the high altar, this might sound a little confusing to you. But don’t worry; there will be signs directing you where to walk. And then you’ll get the chance to get more familiar with this part of the church, too!)
The first piece of artwork in the installation will be a beautiful painting of Ruby Bridges. We hope you will take the time to experience it. Chris Sanders has done incredible work.
Ruby Bridges is also the subject of our sermon on Sunday. I was excited to be the “preacher” for this week because I love sharing what the children are doing in Sunday School, and we have an amazing story from our “Tell Me the Truth About Racism” curriculum specifically about Ruby Bridges.
Ruby changed the world as a six-year-old and continued to live a life of faith and activism. Most of us have seen the Rockwell painting of Ruby attending first grade at William Frantz Elementary School in 1960, but less is known about her grown-up life. She married Malcolm Hall in 1984 and had four sons. When her brother was murdered in New Orleans in 1993, she and her husband took in his four daughters as well.
Bridges remained tied to William Frantz Elementary: her nieces attended the school, too. Upon noticing that the school lacked after-school arts programming, Bridges set out to make it happen. Then, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused significant damage to the building, so much so that the local government intended to demolish it. Bridges stepped in—proclaiming that “I felt like if anybody was to save the school, it would be me”—and got the school placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which guaranteed its preservation. The school has since been restored and remains in operation.
She continues to pave the way for generations to come through her various advocacy efforts. She holds various honorary degrees from Connecticut College in 1995 and Tulane University in 2012. In 2000, she was made an honorary Deputy U.S. Marshal. 10 years later, Bridges was honored at the White House. As of 2024, she was also inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Join us on Sunday to hear the story of young Ruby Bridges and wonder together about how she taught us to pray for the people who are tempting us into hatred and exclusion.