My minister Steve Montgomery retired yesterday after 19 years of leading Idlewild Presbyterian Church. I don't often sketch during worship, but I felt like I needed to mark the occasion, and drawing it for me is a way of memorializing it. I did one sketch during the prelude and one during the children's sermon, and then I paid attention the rest of the time. Sketching is a deep way of paying attention, but it also distracts me from other elements of what's going on.

I was honored that they used my artwork on the bulletin for the last Sunday. Steve Berger had written a song for Steve M. that went well with it, so we used my print to illustrate the song, and it ended up on the front of the bulletin. I love this photo by Frank Kelly of Steve holding my bulletin and listening to a hymn that was commissioned for him. It's powerful for me to belong to a church that understands the importance of the arts in marking these moments and that encourages the artists and musicians who belong to the congregation.