A Pandemic, A Movement and A Mural

In Dallas, when pandemic energy was coupled with BLM energy, things got wild. Some folks took to the streets to protest and march. Others used the moment for personal gain and started breaking into storefronts, looting and destroying businesses downtown. Perhaps it was another method of demonstration, but nevertheless, it was scary and felt like a mini version of The Purge.

Businesses were boarding up their storefronts to both protect and deter, but it left the city looking like a post-war battlefield. So a local organization (Dallas Army of Artists) took it upon themselves to call local artists into the streets. "Paint murals on the boards!" was the task WITH business-owner permission of course. Put your message up in with all the vigor and bright colors that you can! Now, I'm not really a painter but it sounded like a good way to contribute: some beauty, some thought, some peace. I dig it. So I got a hold of Hayes Austell who is a local artist and a member of our church, and we went down to a restaurant to get to work on their plywood fence.

Cafe Izmir serves Mediterranean Tapas and so when we asked the owner what came to mind during this time, he said "Peace. An olive branch and a dove - a symbol often used in my country." So we went with it! As we painted, more church members came. We outlined - they colored in. Random folks on the street would stop and help. Lots of interesting conversations took place and some tears dropped as well.

It was one of the most satisfying and divine moments of my ministry and I am thankful in the midst of such turmoil, God allowed me to use my "voice" in a way that aligned with my nature and identity. D Magazine (among others) wrote about the murals here and many of them were preserved for an exhibit. The DAA Facebook page also did a great job cataloging all the murals and some of them are incredible.

It was a pure joy to paint. To think. To be together to create in the midst of some really painful realities we all were struggling through. It reminds me that God makes ALL KINDS of paths for us to demonstrate. Some traversed by foot, but others by paint brush.