Unifying Creativity and Faith: UIW Invites Community to Inaugural Artful Worship Celebration

On Wednesday, April 15, the University of the Incarnate Word will host the inaugural Artful Worship Celebration from 6 - 8:30 p.m. at the McCombs Center Rosenberg Sky Room, hosted by the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS). Artful Worship is funded through the Lilly Endowment Inc's Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, a national initiative designed to help Christian congregations more fully and intentionally engage children in intergenerational worship and prayer practices. With the Lily Endowment's support, for the next five years, UIW aims for the program to create enlivening and contemplative programming that engages children in prayer and worship through the arts.

With the first year of the Artful Worship initiative now complete, this event intends to showcase the impact Artful Worship has had in just one year.

"This celebration offers a first look at the project's pilot year-what we've been building, testing and learning-and invites the broader community into that work as it continues to grow," explained LuElla D'Amico, PhD, associate professor of English. "This event also brings together the intellectual, creative and spiritual dimensions of the University in a shared experience centered on beauty, storytelling and formation. In sum, I want not only children to be inspired by the arts but also everyone here at UIW who gets to be involved in this project, helping lead these children closer to God."

This event is free and open to the public. Participants will hear from special guest speakers discussing Catholic education and the Catholic imagination, engage in a book signing, see an artistic presentation of Pinocchio: A Musical Storybook, view creative works from UIW students and faculty collaborators and hear original musical pieces composed by Kevin Salfen, PhD, associate dean and professor of the Department of Music. The evening will welcome adults and children alike to harness their inner creativity and recognize how faith and art beautifully intersect within our lives.

D'Amico hopes that joining guests will gain a renewed sense of how powerful the arts can be in forming the moral and spiritual imagination of children, and perhaps of themselves, too.

"This project is grounded in the belief that children encounter meaning not only through practical instruction, but also-and often more deeply-through story, music and beauty," expressed D'Amico. "I hope people see how this work extends beyond the classroom into parishes, schools and the broader community, and how it invites collaboration across disciplines and vocations. Our faculty and students engage in this work here at UIW and then carry it outward, allowing it to grow into curriculum, community partnerships and lived practice. We often say we are involved in Mission at UIW; this initiative breathes it at every turn."

Click here to register for the Artful Worship Celebration.