Hello, I’m Lori Strauss, a member of the Anti-Racism Team here at Good Shepherd. Last year, one of our goals was to expand the ways the face of Jesus shows up in our church. We selected Jesus of the People by Janet McKenzie. Her goal was to create a work of art that reflects groups previously uncelebrated in God’s image—especially African Americans and women.

By adding this image to others in our church, like the stained glass behind me, we remind ourselves not only that Jesus never was European, but also that we are all created in God’s image. This is similar to the way we show multiple versions of Jesus through the nativity scenes in our windows at Christmas. We hope it will serve as an enduring reminder that every face we see every day is a child of God.

We ask you to reflect yourselves—and know that it’s normal to feel a little uncomfortable. We hope it helps each of us think differently about our place in this church, in this community and in our world.