Messiah Global Christ is a mixed media journal entry reflection on the connection between the diversity of children in the world created by our Global God and the diversity of people in the church particular and the Church universal. The art project originated from Christmas VBS 2012 where the theme was "Family Tree Christmas." The children created a mixed media panel that combined the genealogy of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew with pictures of their family and elements of "Christmas." I wanted to continue this theme to reflect on the connection between local congregation and global mission. The pictures on the far left are "ornaments" cut from close-up pictures of children from our summer VBS 2013, and the represent a wide range of socio-ethic backgrounds. The pictures on the right page are images I took on mission trips to Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Zambia. I see a connection between being intentional about diversity in the church given the diversity in God's world. The "packages" under the tree also represent the greater gifts the church can offer to the world through ministry with widows, aliens, and orphans (left side) through helping with food, shelter, and water (right side). The exercise in a conversation piece for children and adults to consider the role of the Church, the message of the Gospel, and Jesus as Messiah and the Global Christ. Merry Christmas 2013!
