A Beautiful Way to Begin the Holidays

Before the holidays hustle you away, slow down this Sunday, November 27, and quiet your hearts to wait and wonder as Mary did when the angel Gabriel came to her with these words:

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"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

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InSpero’s fourth annual Creation Waits will help you remember what the Christmas season is about. We invite you to wait with us in this quiet, worshipful way on the first Sunday of Advent (November 27) at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Performance begins at 6 p.m. Singer and songwriter Jenny Pruitt will share her meditations on Advent through her original music.  

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Artist Gina Hurry will paint live in response to her music.

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DO NOT FEAR

ART INSPIRED BY THE ANNUNCIATION (LUKE 1:26-38)

Creation Waits Advent offering is followed at 7 p.m. by a reception and gallery show of 30 Birmingham area artists displaying new art around the theme of “Do Not Fear.” $10 gallery donation per person through eventbrite or at the door ($20 maximum per family). Children under 12 are free.

Artists from around Birmingham have meditated on the Scriptures from Luke 1:26-38 (traditionally known as the Annunciation) to inspire them to create the works in this gallery. All pieces will be displayed through January 9, 2017. The 30+ artists participating include:

Ashley Armistead, Karina Barrington, Sissy Boone, Bill Boyd, Sally Powell Boyd, Wellon Bridgers, Holly Carr, Aaron Conrad, Melanie Grant, Amy Grimes, Vicki Hunt, Gayle Hurley, Janet Jerez, Liz Landgren, Jane Lazenby, Rik Lazenby, Abby Little, Sarah Mason, Miriam McClung, Heather Metcalf, Catherine Partain, Carrie Pittman, Cathye Price, Charity Ponter, Cathy Robbins, Tricia Robinson, Catherine Shepherd, Micah Simpson, Amy Stone, Pam Truitt, Genny Weaver

Jenny’s Creation Waits CDs, Gina’s limited signed prints, and much of the displayed original art will be available for purchase. Gina’s paintings from this evening will also be available by silent auction with all profits going to further InSpero’s dream of renaming Birmingham #thecitybeautiful.

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“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Maya Angelou

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"Stories connect us. They bring us together. Our stories allow us to understand and to know that we are not alone. Together, we share a beautiful story that is being written in us and through us. Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. Fear is the enemy of now. And right now, we are beloved and capable of more than any one of us can comprehend.

Willingness to share is a powerful beginning to tearing down the walls we build when we are alone. It takes courage, humility, and selflessness to express our 'desperate neediness,' but in doing so, let us draw closer to one another, and fall even more fully into the arms of the Father."  Billy Ivey

Based on the Do Not Fear theme for the Creation Waits Art Gallery, InSpero has installed an audience participation gallery where people can anonymously share their fears, and read others' fears, and realize they are not alone.

JOIN INSPERO IN BRINGING BEAUTY, HOPE, AND HEALING TO OUR CITY

CONSIDER INSPERO FOR YOUR YEAR-END GIVING

InSpero exists to support the growth of creative community—those artists and artisans whose work awakens our longings for beauty and truth in the midst of our struggle with suffering and search for meaning. We believe this community has a unique ability to bring healing, hope, and restoration to the brokenness, pain, and alienation of our world.

To continue to give these moments of beauty, hope, and healing to our city, to our artists, and to our churches, we need your financial help. Please consider giving InSpero, Inc. a 501c3 tax-deductible organization, a year-end gift. Click here to donate online or mail checks made to InSpero, Inc. to InSpero, Inc., 246 Marwood Drive, Birmingham, AL 35244.

Contact Rachel Hunt at rachelmillerhunt@hotmail.com to find your place at InSpero to invest your time, talents, and passions.

We are grateful to our many volunteers, supporters, and sponsors for Creation Waits and the Do Not Fear Gallery Show. They include (with many more wonderful unnamed helpers):

Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church (Technical Support: Jason Sears, Wes Smith, Michael Sutherland. Facilities Support: Gordon Thompson, Jeff Smith)

Alabama Art Supply

Administration and Volunteer Coordination/Rachel Hunt

Hospitality Team/Ami Evans, Elizabeth Dortch, Christi Wilson

Poster Design/Dawn Curtis

Program Design/Sarah Pea, Hiregin Design

Printing/UPS Store Caldwell Mill

Reception Serving Pieces/Susan Gordon Pottery

Gallery Hostess/Lucy Farmer

Gallery Installation Team/Ami Evans, Charity Ponter, Gil Weingarten, Melanie Grant, Amy and Russ Grimes

Participation Gallery Facilitators/Billy and Bethany Ivey

Do Not Fear Chalkboard Painter/Gil Weingarten

Artist Communication/Tricia Robinson

Art Display Design/Dawn Curtis

Editor/Brooks Duell

Artist Relations/Ben Donohue

Prayer Team led by Scotty Loveless

Neighborhood Brew for donating coffee for reception

Oak Mountain Missions Team

Beauty matters and so do those who create it.

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