Project Sparrow on Etsy

Since community is such a huge part of my life and the birth of Fishes N' Loaves and Project Sparrow, I wanted to provide those around me with an opportunity to participate as well.

A collection of sparrows will be posted on Etsy in order to share the project and also to raise money for its completion. Proceeds from these little sparrows will go toward the making of more to give away, and any additional funds will go to support Fishes N' Loaves.

The sparrows are intended to be a tangible reminder - not just for those of us who are noticeably poor and broken, but for everyone. In sharing this project in the wider community, it is my hope that the sparrows will be a link and a call to prayer, relationship, and action.

Visit http://lizzleisalive.etsy.com to view the sparrows available in my shop. If none are available, send me a message on facebook or through Etsy to request one (or several)!

Artist Statement: Project Sparrow

This project is an extension of another one, a set entitled "His Eye Is on the Sparrow"; it does not stand alone, and this is why...

God has used several gatherings of his larger church as he has moved in my life to bring about major growth and change. These gatherings are each a little different from the other. There's Downtown Community Fellowship (or DCF) - a gathering of mostly college students in Clemson, SC. There's "Little Church" in Littleton, CO - a group who comes together each week to work out what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit. There's Wellspring Anglican Church in Englewood, CO - a body of believers from many different walks of life who have a heart to engage their community in real ways. Finally, there's Fishes N' Loaves.

Fishes N' Loaves is a gathering of broken people who want to love others in word and action because of the way that Jesus has loved and rescued us. We meet each week in a local park in Englewood to share a meal, some music, some fun, our life stories, and the good news about what Jesus has done. A lot of the people who participate each week, leaders included, have histories (and even realities) of addiction, homelessness and heartache, but this is not the point. The point of this gathering is to share the love of Christ regardless of past or present, to break down walls, and to give and receive as equals.

The little sparrows were created with this amazing group in mind: to give God the glory for our very existence and to pass along the message that we are never too small or too broken to receive the love of the Father which has given us by his Son, Jesus.

My hope is to create a collection of these little sparrows and to give them away one Sunday this fall. If you would like to support this project, please contact me.


Artist: Elizabeth Rand
Media: Acrylic paint & paper on canvas

Artist Statement: "His Eye is on the Sparrow"

The inspiration behind this work comes from two places: Scripture and my experience of community. In two places in the book of Matthew, Jesus points to "the birds of the air" (6:26) and the sparrows (10:29-31) as he speaks of the way in which God cares for his people. In chapters 5-7, he speaks to the crowd gathered on the mountainside about many things, including worry. Jesus instructs the crowd to look to the birds and the flowers, to observe how God cares for them, and to consider how much more God will care for them, his listeners. When it comes down to it, he tells them (and us!) to "seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Mt. 6:33). In these verses, the birds are a constant and visible reminder to me of how God calls us to actively seek him and trust him.

In chapter 10 of Matthew, Jesus sends out his twelve disciples with some harrowing instructions. He tells them that the way will be difficult - they will be hated by some, arrested by others, and even persecuted and killed. But he also tells them not to be afraid of the things of this world... they don't change God's character or his heart for his children.

So our call is to seek God and to trust him even when our circumstances seem to say otherwise... and we have not been called alone! We've been made a part of God's family through his son, Jesus. This family is not just some nebulous concept either, but rather something we can see and touch and wrestle with as we join together as a church. To quote my friend Stuart Hayes (and many others throughout history), "the church is not a building." It's the body of Christ gathered together - locally and around the world.

The birds are each sparrows, as a reminder of how God cares for his children. Together, they point to the community that God has given us in the church. Each bird is a little different, too, because God has lovingly created each of us to uniquely portray a piece of his heart and his story.



Artist: Elizabeth Rand
Media: Acrylic paint & paper on canvas