A space to try new things

DREAM grant recipients tap into both courage and imagination

by Melody K. Smith | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE – The intersection of faith and art. That is what Rev. Shawna Bowman, cofounder of the Creation Lab calls this intentional space. “It grew out of a selfish desire of its creators to have and share a space that can serve as a creative outlet and safe space for experimentation,” says Bowman. “It’s about making, collaborating, and failing together.”

Tony De La Rosa, interim executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency listens to Rev. Shawna Bowman, cocreator of the Creation Lab tell their story during the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board Executive Retreat. Photo by Kathy Francis.

Bowman is just one of the cocreators of the Creation Lab. Megan Cochran, Shelley Donaldson, Jennie Martin, Tara Thompson, and Alex Wirth make up the other five. Four of the six are pastors serving three different Chicago congregations. “This is a sacred space apart from our homes and full-time church gigs,” Bowman explains. “It is our space for experimenting, for collaborating, and for unstifling our creativity.”

The Creation Lab was the recipient of a 2015 DREAM Grant from Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries in the Presbyterian Mission Agency. In 2009, the Developmental, Risky, Experimental, Adaptive Mission (DREAM) grants were created to encourage risk-takers who are not afraid to fail in church cultures.

Embracing the risky and experimental part, Bowman is quick to remind you, “We aren’t the new thing. We are the place for trying new things.”

The Creation Lab is a working studio that serves multiple purposes. They offer workshops on various art forms and creations. Cofounder Shelley Donaldson recently offered a workshop on bookbinding, and it evolved from a tactile functional education to a spiritual experience in discussing the prayerful ways the attendees could use the journal they just made. Artists and other creatives can also use the open studio times for their personal projects.

Rhashell Hunter, director of Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries; Barry Creech, director for Policy, Administration and Board Support; and Sara Lisherness, director of Compassion, Peace & Justice take part in a creative exercise during the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board Executive Retreat. Photo by Kathy Francis.

The Creation Lab often hosts church groups, youth organizations, and just recently, the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board Executive Committee during their retreat in Chicago.

DOOR Chicago is also a frequent visitor to the Creation Lab. DOOR is a faith-based network of cities that provides opportunities for service, learning, and leadership development within the urban context. DOOR Chicago is housed at First Church of the Brethren in the East Garfield Park neighborhood and partners with established and well-rooted organizations and churches that have been serving the city for many years to provide service opportunities for participants. DOOR is a Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) national site of service.

“We don’t have the pressure that traditional new church development experiences,” explains Bowman. “Because this is not our 9-5, we just need to raise enough money to meet our expenses. The DREAM grant helped with start-up so we can help others.”

Cocreator, Alex Wirth and Presbyterian Mission Agency Board member, Nancy Ramsay. Photo by Kathy Francis.

Recently, a new and organic purpose revealed itself. The Creation Lab is getting requests from congregations across the country for creative ideas for worship, retreats, etc. These “creative consultations” have given the cocreators reason to vision the future of Creation Lab differently. “We don’t know what the church will look like in the future. We need space to try on new things,” said Bowman. “These are gifts we didn’t anticipate—pastors calling us, and together at the table we are able to share. The creative juices start flowing.”

Part of that visioning includes “satellite R&D studios” where intentional space is offered regionally through synods and/or presbyteries to teach and learn from one another through art and creativity. The cocreators of the Creation Lab would like to see “learning laboratories” across the country.

The creators of the Creation Lab are all grounded in the Presbyterian faith, and they believe this type of creative space can bring together a diverse group of individuals with varied backgrounds, both sociologically and spiritually. “Together, through their creativity, they can discover who God is to them,” says Bowman.