By The Rev. Susan Balfour

Beloved,

Greetings in Christ! I give thanks to God for you, and I pray that I may continue to grow into the pastor you need me to be.

You may have noticed that I love photography. I come by it honestly; my grandparents, uncle, aunt, cousins—it runs in the family. The single-lens reflex brings the life around me into my heart. I see the youths crouching behind the shoulder of the ancient statue. I see the private thoughts of a young woman gazing upon the lake surface. I see the wrangling of a soul in the cloud of smoke exhaled from a drag. I see awe on the face of a pilgrim. I see comfort on the face of one who is at home, even away from home. I see peace in one who lives in turmoil. I see the ancient ones greeted by the modern ones. I see joy. I see peace. I see presence. I see prayer. I see the image of God.

No matter how profane the immediate subject, divinity glows through the cracks. Each portrait shows the moment when God’s own image shines through the face of one of God’s own creatures. The joy, the introspection, the sorrow, the wonder, the highs, the lows, the place where the divine meets the mortal, the place where Jesus happens—when God and humanity meet. I have photographed Jesus so many times. And his frame is the face of Myra, Robin, Peter, Andreas, Stan, Peninnah, Ashley, Elizabeth, Laura, Mary, Bob, Jeremy, and so many others. Jesus illumines each face.

And I see that image in yours.

In Christ,

Rev. Susan