Director

2025 Artists Salons

03/21/2025

Simone Monique Barnes, Wildflower’s Director of Membership and Spiritual Life, hosts an annual gathering of artists and creative thinkers for virtual living room-style conversations, in the tradition of the Harlem Renaissance. This six-week salon series of artist-led, artist-centered conversations uses a mix of art, music, poetry, dance, essays, film, current events, and/or spiritual texts as springboards for dialogue and community.

Salons are open to anyone, especially those who self-identify as an artist (in any visual, performing arts, literary, or other creative expression), art lover, or as a creative thinker. You do not need to be a professional artist to attend a salon.

Held on Monday evenings, March 24 through April 28, 2025, on Zoom.

During these salons we focus on the artist, rather than solely on their artwork, engaging in conversations that artists want to discuss, such as imagination, creating during hard times, survival, rejection, criticism, racism, oppression, the creative process, fear, artistic expression, developing new work, spirituality, faith, religion, and more.

This year’s theme is Keeping Pace, inspired by the poetic words of Kahlil Gibran (b. 1883 – d. 1931): “You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth,” which is a line from the poem “On Work” in The Prophet in which Gibran reminds us that “Work is love made visible.”

Join us for one or more of the six Monday Virtual Artists Salon dates, held from 7pm – 9pm Central Time, on Zoom.(Note: The first 30 minutes are for checking in, getting settled, and socializing. The salon topic of conversation begins at 7:30 pm CT.)

Register in advance for these Zoom meetings:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NSu0XJYdSsuZdBAVhP6JYw 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

SALON DATES

Mondays, 7 PM Central Time

  1. Mar 24 – Instead of a Scream: Creating in Hard Times
    We explore the work of Maisara Baroud, a Palestinian artist born in Gaza.
  2. Mar 31 – House of Dreams: Transformative Grief
    We explore the work of artist Stephen Wright.
  3. Apr 7 – A Conversation with Carl Gonzalez
  4. Apr 14 – A Conversation with Lisa Rogers
  5. Apr 21 – A Conversation with Preston A. Patterson
  6. Apr 28 – Blood Memories: Memories and Feelings That Fuel the Work
    We explore the work of Alvin Ailey and Judith Jamison, including.

Notes for Artists and Creatives:

The artist salon is a day off, not a day on for artists. There is no expectation of performance or art exhibition. There is no expectation to talk about “the work.” The salons are an invitation for artists to participate in conversations with other artists, art lovers, and creatives about topics they are interested in.

Why Lent and Why Artists?

In many Christian traditions, Lent is a solemn forty-day period of self-examination, reflection, spiritual discipline, fasting and prayer leading to Easter. The word “Lent” comes from the Old English “lencten,” referring to Spring and the “lengthening” of days that occurs at this time of year. 

In the book The Cross and The Lynching Tree, Black Liberation theologian James H. Cone writes about how it was artists who pushed the Church into social change during the Harlem Renaissance. “Most black artists were not church-going Christians. Like many artists throughout history, they were the concerned human beings who served as society’s ritual priests and prophets, seeking out the meaning of the black experience in a world defined by white supremacy. As witnesses to black suffering, they were in the words of African American literary critic Trudier Harris, “active tradition-bearers of the uglier phases of black history.””

This Artists Salon Series honors artists, as a whole, as society’s ritual priests, prophets, and tradition-bearers who demonstrate our understanding of people’s experiences. In this series, the Artist’s Lent is an inter-religious, spiritual season of creative reflection, self-examination, reading, meditation, and connection.

As Cone notes, “More than anyone, artists demonstrate our understanding of the need to represent the beauty and the terror of our people’s experiences.”

“Artists force us to see things we do not want to look at because they make us uncomfortable with ourselves and the world we have created.”

This year’s series extends past the season of traditional season Lent, as we explore together the experience and themes of transformation.

We Must Continue Our Theological Tradition of Dissent

02/27/2025

A message from The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, tenth president of the Unitarian Universalist Association

We must continue our theological tradition of dissent—as it emerges in our legal strategy to protect the most vulnerable and in our continued commitment to community building, even amid the anxiety-inducing chaos intentionally created to rob us of our hope and demoralize us with fear Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt
We must continue our theological tradition of dissent—as it emerges in our legal strategy
to protect the most vulnerable and in our continued commitment to community building,
even amid the anxiety-inducing chaos intentionally created to rob us of our hope
and demoralize us with fear — Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt

Faithful dissent is our theological inheritance. Today’s Unitarian Universalism emerges from a heritage of dissenting churches that is hundreds of years old, a tradition of faithful people who grounded their religious living in how best to be of service to one another. We have a long history of holding our values collectively and living them in community.

Today, many of the institutions and ideals that our Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist forbearers worked for across our long history are under attack – including public schools, children’s access to learning supports, protections for individual rights, and the value of diversity and pluralism in society at large.

In such times, communal care matters perhaps more than ever. Communal care is the living promise of faith communities; it encompasses all that we offer to each other and all that might come into being because of our choices. Communal care is also how we work for justice; how we teach one another and learn together.

Communal care calls us to become good ancestors, to provide a foundation of love and justice that will sustain those who are yet to come. And so, we must continue our theological tradition of dissent – as it emerges in our legal strategy to protect the most vulnerable and in our continued commitment to community building even amid the anxiety-inducing chaos intentionally created to rob us of our hope and demoralize us with fear.

Let us rise on the efforts of our ancestors and heed the call of generations yet to come. There is much faithful work to do today in our Unitarian Universalist congregations and communities. Find resources for this time at the link below:

https://sidewithlove.org/responding-and-organizing-toolkit

Lin McKissick Celebrates 10 years at Wildflower

02/13/2025

This week, we celebrate the ten-year work anniversary of our Office Administrator, Lin McKissick!

As the office administrator, Lin is often the first voice, face, or email people connect with at Wildflower. Her work maintains that connection, as she serves our congregation in so many ways, often behind the scenes, but never unnoticed. She is supportive of all our teams, our staff, our Board, our lay leaders, and our community partners. And she knows our congregation and our neighbors by name. Her many years of service and commitment to our congregation and the community help to create an environment for everyone to grow spiritually together, spreading love, justice, and joy.

Sign our thank you card for Lin.

Lin McKissick

Spiritual Life Team Planning Retreat Reflections

02/06/2025

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at Wildflower. The Spiritual Life Team (a cross-team gathering of Wildflower lay leaders and staff) had a wonderful retreat and planning day on Saturday, February 1st, at Austin Youth River Watch‘s location in Del Valle. And the weather was perfect for indoor and outdoor discussions and walks! It was a great time of bonding and getting to know one another better, and imagining our upcoming season of worship, music, learning, and activities at Wildflower this spring and summer. We are thankful to AYRW (one of our past Second Offering recipients) for generously sharing their space with us, and we express much gratitude for the Wildflowers who helped to make the day successful and nourishing for all (including a yummy breakfast, snacks, and lunch for our full day of work).

While we worked a lot, we also made time for worship and spiritual practices, as nourishing ourselves is important as leaders. We learned a new song, “There is Only Love” (lyrics can be found here), and we sang some familiar songs, too, like “Rise Again” by Urban Voices Project, and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher).”

Vidas Robadas (Stolen Lives) – Installation January 26

01/16/2025

On Sunday, January 26, Wildflower Church and Faith Presbyterian are joining a coalition of congregations, universities, and local advocates to display Vidas Robadas installations Texas in collaboration with Texas Impact and TXUUJM. Faith and Wildflower will work together to create and install 100 shirts to be publicly displayed outside as part of this state wide project.

Vidas Robadas (Stolen Lives) is a Texas Impact project focused on addressing gun violence. Through memorializing victims of gun violence, Vidas Robadas localizes and makes visible the reality of gun violence for communities across our state. The installations honor and memorialize the thousands of Texas residents whose lives have been stolen by gun violence since 2018.

Schedule for Sunday, January 26:

  • 11:00 am Coffee and preparing the shirts & plant the stakes for display outdoors
    • Faith and Wildflower congregations and friends (community members are welcome) will work together in Faith’s Fellowship Hall (located across the courtyard from the sanctuary and Wildflower Community Room), immediately following the 10 am worship service of Faith Presbyterian.
  • 1:00 pm Outdoor installation of the shirts, reflections, and Closing Circle
    • Faith and Wildflower congregations and friends (community members are welcome) will work together, immediately following the 11:45 am worship service of Wildflower Church.

Wildflowers (and friends) are encouraged to come to church early and to stay late to participate in this meaningful, shared experience with Faith Presbyterian. All are welcome to participate in this hands on installation and community project.

The project could use a few additional people to help with set up or clean up, or participating in the program (a reading, sharing a personal experience, poem, music, etc.). Please let us know you’re interested in volunteering by signing up here, or reach out to Daniela or Simone at Wildflower, or Marilyn at Faith if you are interested.

This shirt will be installed on Sunday, January 26th, and will remain on display for 2 weeks (through February 9th).

ABOUT VIDAS ROBADAS

Vidas Robadas is a state-wide installation campaign, where congregations, universities, and any other interested locations display t-shirts that name or represent victims from their community whose lives where stolen by gun violence.

This project seeks to connect the various silos of advocacy and violence prevention, and to unite communities of faith with other advocates to create positive change. The project starts with municipal initiatives, connecting city leaders with advocates to enact gun violence reduction measures.

Vidas Robadas will be active up until the Texas legislative session in 2025, when all of our partners and allies across the state will head to the capitol to demand legislative change.

Gun reform is hard, especially in Texas. But not impossible. We have seen progress this past session that would have been impossible years prior. We have to capitalize on this moment. Lives depend on it.

And Save the Date:
February 27th Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy Day Event at the Texas Capitol

2nd Offering recipient: BRAVE Communities

As we continue living out our mission and values, this quarter (January, February, and March 2025) we are focusing our outreach and donations to an organization who uplifts the Beloved Community: BRAVE Communities. You are invited to learn more about them at this link: https://bravecommunities.org/

Their mission is to cultivate BRAVE spaces for people of diverse backgrounds to come together and Build Relationships Awareness Voices and Engagement so we can co-create more just and equitable communities.

Below are programs offered by Brave:

  • BRAVE Young Leaders: Equipping local young people, ages 14-24 year old, with the tools to be agents of change for social good, while creating meaningful connections, and gaining hands-on experience to be community leaders and organizers.
  • BRAVE Communities Connections: Experience powerful, free community-building events with neighbors who want to change the narrative by listening deeply, and connecting with others in a brave space. 
  • Global Social Impact Programs: BRAVE partners with the U.S. Department of State to empower young global leaders, to facilitate their city immersion experience in Austin, for their social innovation programs, fostering leadership and collaboration to address critical community issues worldwide.
  • MakeATXBRAVE Health & Well-Being: Support communities disproportionately impacted by health disparities. From providing meals and resources to tackling food injustice and mental health stigma, this initiative engages young people in learning and advocacy while driving solutions for health equity and climate change.
  • BRAVE Fest: This citywide event unites local underrepresented artists, businesses, nonprofits, and community groups to foster connections across cultures and generations. 

The objectives of our Second Offerings is to deepen our understanding and work with the chosen nonprofit recipient, and to highlight the good work happening in the community outside of our church walls.

Throughout the quarter we will highlight other ways we can engage with BRAVE Communities including opportunities for Wildflowers and friends to volunteer, to learn, to participate in BRAVE programming, and to serve as a sponsor for events held in our Community Room.