Visio Divina - Fabric of Community

Fabric of the Community by Jackie Kresak @ 4202 Penn Avenue, Garfield, Pittsburgh

Step 1: Gaze

Begin by taking three slow breaths--for the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Let your body settle. Now, look gently at the mural. You’ll see a quilt-in-progress, stitched by a pair of hands—those of the artist finishing a quilt begun by her mother. Notice the colors. The patterns. The precision. The quiet patience.

Nothing in this mural shouts. It simply holds space.

What part of the image first draws your eye? Let your gaze rest there.

Step 2: Reflect

This mural is more than fabric. It’s a story being finished across generations.

This week’s scriptures tell us of Jethro, an elder who lovingly corrected Moses, and Anna, a prophetess who recognized the Messiah in his infancy. Both are reminders that elder voices do more than remember the past—they weave the future.

This quilt is the same: someone began the work… someone else must complete it.

• What has been passed to you unfinished?

• What wisdom or work might you be called to carry forward?

• Have you taken time to listen for the slow wisdom of those who stitched before you?

We live in a world where handmade things are discarded—quilted blankets at yard sales, stories forgotten, elders overlooked. This mural reminds us that sacred things are sewn slowly. That community isn’t bought—it’s built, repaired, and remembered.

Step 3: Respond

Sit quietly with the image. Then pray or journal from your heart, or use this prayer:

God of stitch and memory, thank you for the quiet work of those who came before me. Help me to honor what they’ve left unfinished—not by preserving the past, but by continuing the pattern. Teach me to see beauty in what others dismiss. Let me become a keeper of wisdom, a stitch in the story of belonging. Amen.

Step 4: Rest

Close your eyes. Breathe again, slowly and deeply. Imagine yourself holding the thread—not to control the design, but to keep it going.

Let God remind you: you are part of the pattern. Not forgotten. Not too late. Not too small. You are still being sewn into something beautiful.

Join us Sunday to go deeper as we remind ourselves of the value of elders and of becoming an elder in God's creation and how it is a rebellion to the way of the world. Come journey with us in finding and creating belonging in the way of Christ. Worship is at 9:30 am in person or online.