Good Shepherd has been blessed over the past few years to host renowned iconographer, Teresa Harrison, to teach icon writing classes on our campus. Parishioner, Beth Hitchcock studied with Teresa in Pensacola, FL and it was her enthusiasm for the class that resulted in the inaugural workshop being held at Good Shepherd in 2018.

Teresa Harrison is a lifelong believer in a loving and gracious God. In 2001, she began leading workshops which allow her to combine her faith and her love of art (BA in Fine Arts, University of the South, Sewanee, TN) as well as fulfill her vocation of spreading the joy of icons in the world.

In Iconography, or Icon writing as the art is known, students write their religious image using acrylic paint and gold leaf. Participants do not need any prior experience in painting. Teresa guides the students through the spiritual process of allowing God to work in and through them. One of Teresa’s students had this to say: “I have taken the iconography class at Good Shepherd twice and found it to be both an artistic and spiritual experience. Teresa is a gifted teacher and she helps each person have a profound experience.”

The Arts and Spirituality Ministry is pleased to announce the Icon writing workshop will be held June 14 - 18, 2021 in the Parish Hall. There are a few openings in the class. The cost of the workshop is $425 which includes supplies. If interested in participating, contact Kathy Marcel at 225-937-2030.

To learn more about icons consider joining Father Bill’s Brown Bag Book Read at noon on March 9th in the Parish Hall. Father Bill will lead a discussion based on Jim Forest’s book, Praying with Icons. Forest says, “It is prayer just to look attentively at an icon and let God speak to you out of Divine silence.”