About The series
2008
In the spring of 2008, Amy asked Caroline what she wanted to do? Her response: Art. She had no idea what that she meant, but that was her response.
Months later Caroline eagerly said yes when Amy approached her with the idea for this series. Caroline had forgotten the details of many of the Bible stories. For some an idea popped up instantly. For others, it was a struggle. And up until the very end, Caroline would easily admit to anyone that she had no idea what she was doing.
These pictures show the result of this challenge. Although far from technically perfect, the pieces surprised a lot of our congregation members, including the midwives who actually rocked their babies and the last week’s experience of gathering manna from heaven. But most of all, how the images brought the text to life. Caroline also benefited from the profound impact of living with these stories over the last ten weeks. The experience certainly confirms Caroline’s long standing belief of getting in touch with your creativity allows you, in fact, to get in touch with God.
About Telling Stories
At a Glance
name Caroline Armijo, artist & Amy Butler, pastor
location Calvary Baptist Church
City Washington, DC
subjects stories from the Old Testament
Caroline Rutledge Armijo is a mixed-media artist, who is a ninth generation North Carolinian transplanted into Washington, DC's Chinatown. She works with a variety of media from collage, Chinese Brush Painting, book arts, graphic design, digital photography and embroidery. She has studied art a variety of DC institutions, including the Corcoran and Smithsonian, along with places around the country such as the San Francisco Center for the Book, Penland School of Crafts and the University of North Carolina. Her instructors have included Lynn Sures, Katie Dell Kaufman, Susan Joy Share, Paul Johnson, elin o'hara slavick, and Dana Ellyn.
She has taught a wide range of workshops at the Paper Source, including Wedding Event Invitations, Paper Portfolios, Single Sheet Books, and Gift Wrapping. Envelopes are her specialty. She has lead hands-on activities with numerous non-profits, including The Textile Museum, The Scrap Exchange Creative Reuse Center, and Star Light Ministries. Most recently she taught one of her "make 'n take workshop" on collage and cootie catchers, a familiar children's activity, as part of Star Light's Exotic Dancer MBA. To Caroline, everyone is creative. Art should be fun and playful. She loves the power of surprise that art often reveals.
In December of 2003, Caroline received her MA in Liberal Studies from North Carolina State University, which focused on cultural institutions and lifelong learning. For her final project, she wrote a book on art and play, which shares the evolution of childhood interests into the work of six modern artists. She completed a series of coursework on art, psychology and creativity at the Lucy Daniels Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1997. She also received her BA in Journalism with a focus on advertising from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996.
An active member of Calvary Baptist Church, you can frequently find Caroline dressing the altar with Amy to add a creative visual element to the upcoming sermon. Caroline also enjoys cooking with her husband Henry and practicing Tai Chi. Follow Caroline's adventures at blog.carolinearmijo.com.
About Caroline Armijo
Before coming to Calvary, Pastor Amy worked as an associate pastor on the staff of Saint Charles Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans and, prior to that, she directed a shelter for homeless women in New Orleans. Grateful to serve as Senior Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church since 2003, Amy finds life at Calvary to be an adventure of living relationship with God, transforming us individually and our world as a whole. It’s her greatest pleasure to serve with Calvary’s community of Christ-followers who actively live in expectation of God’s transforming work.
Amy grew up in Hawaii, where her parents still live. She has lived all over the world and traveled extensively; because of the rich cultural background of her family, she loves the rich opportunity that diversity provides and treasures this unique quality of Calvary’s congregation. Amy went to college in Texas, at Baylor University, where she earned a BA in political science and religion as well as an MA in church history. In Zurich, at the International Baptist Theological Seminary, Amy earned a BDiv (MDiv equivalent) and worked on the seminary staff through its relocation to Prague, Czech Republic. Amy is currently hoping she can get her work done to graduate from Wesley Theological Seminary with a DMin in preaching in 2009.
Pastor Amy lives in downtown Silver Spring with her family, which includes one husband, three kids, one dog and four fish.
If you visit Calvary for any length of time you are likely to get an email from Amy suggesting coffee. She calls it “outreach” but the truth is that one of her favorite pastimes is hearing your story while sipping really good coffee. For Pastor Amy, there’s something holy in walking the journey with others who are asking questions, wrestling with the text and watching for the fresh wind of God’s Spirit at work right here. Pastor Amy would love to hear from you.
About Reverend Amy K. Butler
Calvary Baptist Church, located on the corner of 8th and H in downtown DC, is a community of faith with more than 145 years of Christ-centered social justice history. We are continuously engaged in creating meaningful worship and music, fostering relationships within our community, and reaching out to the city. We are a church that takes membership seriously meaning we believe in the transformative power of a Christian community that strives to reflect the love of Jesus Christ.
We believe in Gospel transformation: that relationship with God through Jesus Christ, sacred worship, and investment in authentic Christian community changes us and changes the world. We're resolutely Baptist, so we hold strongly to the ideal of soul liberty and priesthood of the believer; read here, however, theological affirmations consistent with the general ethos of our membership.
About Calvary Baptist Church