Art with ministry
12/31/2025
A stunning, vibrant nativity scene displayed at the Polk City United Methodist Church in 2023 may have resembled a typical decoration at Christmas time. Yet, upon inspection, each colorful square was a piece of trash, including an empty pistachio bag, a mouthwash ad and a cereal box. All of these squares were combined to make one giant art piece titled the “Blessed Messiah.”
Pastor Wendy Musgrave is the artist behind the unusual artwork, which combines scripture lessons with art, plus participation from congregation members.
This year, she and the congregation created another piece titled, “Word Became Flesh.”
She explains how her unusual art pieces have become the talk of the church.
In her 2023 fall worship series theme, she came up with the topic, “Bless This Mess.” It looks at stories where humans may fail, yet through the “messiness,” God is there, blessing the mess in a person’s life.
She devised a plan, sketched her idea, then asked the congregation for help. She provided 240 squares, which were labeled with a certain color. Members were instructed to color, paint or find an object in that assigned color and encouraged to use recycled items.
Once all the colored squares were turned in, she took home the pieces, assembling 12 squares on each poster board for a total of 20 poster boards.
She brought the completed poster boards to church, then assembled them to reveal a 10-foot by 10-foot piece of art.
“Our mess became Messiah. Bless this mess became Blessed Messiah,” Musgrave says. The congregation’s reaction was pure delight.
“Everyone was enamored by what we created. When you step back, it looks like a stained glass artwork,” she says. “Members eagerly searched for the square that they created. It’s incredible. Everyone said, ‘I’m not creative’ or ‘I’m not an artist,’ ” Musgrave explains.
After the 2023 creation, she took a year off and planned for another one in 2025. For this project, she instructed members to write words that were meaningful to them or things they were thankful for. Again, they returned the 8-inch squares, where she placed them on poster boards. From there, she painted over them with acrylic translucent paint.
The result is an advent display titled “Word Became Flesh,” with panels of peace, love, hope and joy.
“These words became the inspiration of the baby Jesus,” she says.
Musgrave’s first career was a graphic designer for various magazines, plus a passion for photography. When she became a pastor in 2017, she brought with her expertise, such as designing devotions and other visual aspects in the church. She melds the two passions.
“Each of us are called in different ways. A big part is using my creativity and design that impact my ministry,” she explains. “I didn’t leave that career behind. I’m both a designer and a pastor.”
She says using art with ministry helps to spread the word in a variety of methods.
“We communicate in a lot of different ways. To me, a visual aspect is a big part of it. I like to engage all our senses in worship,” she says.
Due to the popularity of the artwork, she has made prints and created ornaments. She loves the community aspect of others joining in her art process.
“It’s wonderful to use my creativity as part of my ministry,” she reflects. “It’s special when we can all create together.” ♦
