Outdoor art gallery deepens rural connections, sets creative, activist spirits free

Pablo Picasso, the father of modern art, viewed artists as “political beings, alert to the heart rending, stirring or pleasant events of the world.” 

Art was for him “an instrument for the offensive and defensive war against the enemy.”

The visionary painter and sculptor, whose famed Guernica (1937) captured the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War, would have been proud of the creative activist spirit pulsing this summer throughout one Vermont village.

From August 3-16, truth-telling images were displayed on the front lawn of Greensboro United Church of Christ. The watercolor and acrylic masterpieces — encased in shrink wrap to protect them from the elements — flapped in the wind, beckoning all to come, see and take comfort in knowing that no one walks alone.

A solution to isolation

The Greensboro UCC’s outdoor art gallery is a product of Covid ingenuity, when lockdowns led the congregation to find ways to connect — a challenge rural Vermonters face even in times of no pandemics.

“In Vermont, we are already isolated,” said the Rev. Dr. Ed Sunday-Winters. “But the pandemic led to hyper isolation.”

It was then the pastor saw on social media how one church in another state was utilizing its outdoor space as an art gallery. Greensboro UCC followed suit.

“We got word out to the community that blank canvases were at the church to be picked up to anyone who wanted to create a painting. It was fun, and a lot of people who weren’t regular church folk participated,” he said.

The outdoor art gallery has continued since with yearly themes anchoring the artwork.

Resistance imagined

When conversations started among the deacons as to what the 2026 theme would be, the pastor already had one in mind: resist.

It was one small, yet powerful word that excited the deacons.

“They all lit up,” said Sunday-Winters.

The resistance theme also dovetailed with the nation’s 250th birthday, the pastor added, as it was a reminder of our forebearers who “resisted tyranny, oppression, and injustice while seeking liberty and justice for all.”

Sunday-Winters also credits the theme to what has been the “highest rate of return” of completed canvases since the outdoor art gallery began.  

“Out of the 50 blank canvases that were made available to Greensboro and its neighboring communities, 31 came back beautifully painted,” said Sunday-Winters.

Deepening community connections

While Sunday-Winters admits that he does not carry the artist gene, he appreciates the talent of others and found himself moved by the paintings displayed on the church lawn.

One painting, he said, was from a church member who painted the Greensboro village landscape. She then overlaid it with black paint. After the paint dried, letters spelling “resistance” were peeled back revealing the village beneath. At the bottom of the picture were people holding protest signs.  

Another contribution came from the Sisters of Earth, a Catholic sisterhood housed within the Green Mountain Monastery in Greensboro. The monastery was founded in 1999 with its sole focus being on the care of God’s Creation. One of the sisters went into the woods, said Sunday-Winters, and used the textures of branches, stones and flowers to paint her submission.

While the paintings were all beautiful, the true beauty of them went beyond paint on canvas. It reminded the Greensboro congregation, said the pastor, of the richness of being open and affirming.

“To be able to do something that deepens our connection to our neighbors, especially those who come from different faiths, is great,” said Sunday-Winters.

“Our eyes are not always open to the way God is working and where God is still speaking. The outdoor gallery punctuated that,” he added.

Vigils provide relief from burdens

Now that the outdoor art gallery is over — having been extended to overlap with an art festival the local grange was hosting — the work of caring for souls that are weary of those heart-rending events Picasso talks of continues.

As a congregation known to rent buses so that their voices can be heard in the heart Montpelier, Vermont’s governing seat, Sunday-Winters wants to create a healing space right at home in the Greensboro sanctuary.

On the third Thursday of each month, the sanctuary is open for a Vigil of Lament and Hope. It is space where candles are lit, silence embraced, and tears and fears are shared.  

“We invite people into a place where we have found the presence of God — where we have found hope,” said Sunday-Winters. “We didn’t want to wait for the next bad thing to happen to bring us together, because we know there will be such a thing. So, we decided to get a regular date on the calendar for a vigil.”

The vigil began four months ago. While attendance varies, Sunday-Winters says he is still “consistently surprised” by who shows up for it. The pastor isn’t talking about new faces gracing the sanctuary. Sunday-Winters’ surprise is by those who come from his own flock, revealing to him where their hearts are.

“I don’t know how all that is going on in the world is landing on them, and what the heavy burdens are that they are carrying,” he said. “The vigil is a space simply to feel what we are feeling.”

And it is in the gathering healing is being found.

“Just knowing we are all feeling the weight together is helpful,” said Sunday-Winters.

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