Art show links South Sudan, Adirondacks

AUSABLE FORKS – The Rev. Patricia Johnson of St. James Episcopal Church in AuSable Forks turned to painting last year to help her process all of what's been going on in South Sudan.

“Some of it is scenes from when I was last there,” she said.

“I started painting to help me process the experience. So, I've got some paintings that are for sale and I also got some photography. Just photos that I took there and around here, Northern Ireland, Scotland, just from around.”

Her art show, “Nurturing Hope: A Collection of Paintings and Photographs by Rev. Patricia Johnson,” will be held 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, at St. James Episcopal Church, 14216 Route 9N, in AuSable Forks.

“The Episcopal Diocese of Albany has been in a relationship with this Diocese of Maridi in South Sudan for about 20 years,” she said.

“We maintain relationship with the Diocese and the people there, and we visit when we can. But they have had struggle after struggle after struggle. COVID has been an issue. Violence has been an issue, flooding and wildfires in the last year.

“This past year has been especially difficult for them, and we are holding a fundraiser for them on August 28.”

Johnson wants to send money to the Diocese of Maridi because people she loves are struggling.

“There's a lot happening in the world, and there is need wherever you look,” she said.

“We don't leave our friends and our loved ones alone in their struggles if we have something we can help them with, if we have something to offer."

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NURTURING HOPE

"God called me to Sudan in 2003. I fell in love with the people, and have maintained friendships for almost 20 years.

"South Sudan gained independence in 2011, yet the nation is still struggling to find a lasting peace.

"In the fall of 2018, I was blessed to be a team member for a Peace and Reconciliation Conference in Arua, Uganda.

"On Sunday and Wednesday, the team joined five South Sudanese bishops as they visited their people living in the Rhino Refugee Settlement. "These men, women, and children had fled from the violence in their towns, and were seeking afety in the camp.

"We worshiped with them in the camp churches, listened to their stories, and prayed together. Their resilience in the face of violence and such hardship amazed me.

"While in the camp, I saw a Moringa sapling outside the church. It had been surrounded by small rocks, and dry grass had been placed around the tender shoot to hold the moisture in the hot, dry climate.

"The sapling was being nurtured and protected, just like their hope.

"I started painting as a way to help me process the experience. I did find joy and peace in the creative process, and it is my prayer that you will be able to see what I see: Beautiful people, nurturing hope," The Rev. Patricia Johnson.

References

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