The congregation; working actors, writers, dancers, and painters looking for inspiration

The ministry; museum curators, storytellers, and teachers that spread the word

The saints; those who made sacrifices for art’s sake and are forever embedded in history

The chants and choruses; rock ballads, classical scores, and disco fever that inspire the masses

The deities; old masters who are honored for their art and have become household names

The symbols of faith; the theater masks, the paintbrush, the pen, the microphone, the dance shoes

The holy books; texts by those such as Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Langston Hughes, and Sylvia Plath whom we revere

The naysayer; critics, book burners

The holy water; the coffee and tea that fuels artists through the long, strained hours when there are no good ideas

The founders; early people who first spun tales, created the paintings, danced around a fire, and acted out the story

The belief; art is a way of life worth living, anyone can create and anyone can destroy a creation, art is practice and true works are those worked at, it

is an expression of a soul brimming with creativity, true art will never die