Seeds of Hope in Bloom: The Arts as a Spiritual Practice
With support from a $5,000 Seeds of Hope grant from the Watkins Fund for Innovative Ministries with Senior Adults, Gordon-King Memorial United Church in Winnipeg, MB, created opportunities for people to experience creativity as a spiritual practice through The Arts as a Form of Spiritual Practice.
Art has always been woven into humanity’s connection to spirituality. Across cultures and throughout history, people have expressed faith, processed grief, celebrated joy, and sought meaning through music, painting, storytelling, and creative expression.
Over the course of several months, the church offered free community programs, including Art as Spiritual Practice, Taizé services, an Art and Grief workshop, a Community Choir, and an intergenerational Art in the Garden program. Together, these experiences welcomed people of all ages and backgrounds, including many who had never entered the church building before.
Welcoming People Where they Are
An incredibly meaningful discovery through the programming was that spiritual curiosity exists far beyond the walls of traditional faith communities.
Participants arrived with a variety of different beliefs, life experiences, and understandings of spirituality. Some came for creative expression, others for companionship, and some because they were curious. Regardless of their initial reason for attending, each person found themselves becoming part of a welcoming community where they could create, reflect, and connect without expectation or judgment.
The project demonstrated that while not all people identify with organized religion, many are searching for opportunities to nurture their spirituality. Art and music became a common language that bridged differences across theology, experience, and age, inviting people to explore in ways that felt authentic and accessible.
Learning about diversity and belonging
A central goal of the program was to help children appreciate the diversity of cultures and communities around them.
One of the most engaging experiences came when a volunteer shared photographs and stories from their recent trip to Africa. Children eagerly compared their own lives with those of children in the photographs, asking thoughtful questions about school, family life, music, and play.
The program also included an opportunity to learn about Indigenous culture. Elders from the local Katzie Nation shared drumming, dance, and stories about the cultural significance of music in their community. The experience helped introduce participants to Indigenous traditions and supported the church’s commitment to learning and reconciliation.
Throughout the program, children discovered that while musical styles may differ from place to place, music itself is something people everywhere enjoy and share.
Creativity Builds Community
Each program offered a unique opportunity to connect with others:
The Art and Grief workshop created a compassionate space where participants could begin or continue processing loss through creativity and conversation.
A participant reflected on “being able to speak freely about my life without judgment from others.” Another shared that “[the] encouragement and support through this process is very helpful.“
The Art as Spiritual Practice workshops encouraged participants to approach creativity with mindfulness, reflection, and intention. One participant created a prayer box during the program and later wrote:
“This program helped with some mindfulness, patience, acceptance, and love… I will treasure it.”
Meanwhile, the monthly Taizé services became an unexpected highlight. Attendance grew throughout the project, reaching 29 participants at the final gathering.
“This was a powerful and moving service and gave me a break from what is happening in the world.”
Music also brought people together in the Community Choir, where more than 40 singers (many with no prior choir experience) found joy in making music together.
“It was so much fun to sing with this group, even when I had no singing experience. They made me feel welcome.”
Families found a similar sense of belonging during the intergenerational Art in the Garden sessions, where children and adults created side by side.
Space for the Spirit
Not every participant described their experience in spiritual terms, yet nearly everyone discovered deeper connection with their own creativity.
For some, painting, singing, and quiet reflection became ways of encountering God’s presence. For others, the programs offered moments of peace, healing, mindfulness, or belonging. While each person’s journey was different, the creative process itself invited participants to be present and remain open to something beyond themselves.
The initiative also strengthened community connections. New neighbours met each other, and members of the congregation experienced familiar spaces in entirely new ways. The project affirmed that creativity can open doors to conversations and relationships that might never begin through traditional programming alone.
Looking ahead
The success of the project is inspiring Gordon-King Memorial United Church to continue expanding artistic ministry within the community.
Plans are already underway to continue, when possible, regular Taizé services, grow the intergenerational art program, and build on the church’s vibrant music ministry through community choirs, coffeehouses, songwriting workshops, and other creative gatherings.
The team is using insights that will strengthen future programming, including offering activities at more accessible times, choosing spaces more strongly suited for art-making, and allowing extra time to promote in the wider community.
Spiritual practice can take many forms. Sometimes it is found in prayer or worship, it can emerge through a shared song, the brushstroke of a painting, or the quiet act of creating alongside others. By offering welcoming spaces where creativity and community could flourish, Gordon-King Memorial United Church helped participants discover new ways of connecting.
Make a gift today to help create spaces where creativity, community, and faith come together, inspiring hope, healing, and meaningful connection.
