Date: August 28, 2024
Most days I walked past the sculpture “Mary the Prophet”. I pause and marvel at the intensity of the piece. One can feel the Magnificat bursting forth from the young Mary’s mouth. I am, as you can deduce, an admirer of the extraordinary work of Ms. Peggy Parker. And I am excited to share with you that a painting Diyin Christ of the Diné (Holy Christ of the Navajo People) was commissioned by the Rev. Canon Cornelia Eaton and was painted by Peggy Parker for the Episcopal Church in Navajoland (ECN.)
Peggy Parker wrote this about the work: “It was an honor to be trusted with this commission. The final painting emerged over two years and was informed by a two-week pilgrimage to Navajoland; by study about the land, people, and traditions; out of worship and conversation with the clergy, elders, and people; and from extensive consultation with Canon Cornelia and Pastor (and Elder) Alice Mason. It was particularly moving at the unveiling to see Cornelia already beginning to teach from the painting and to hear Alice chanting from the Beauty Way prayers in response to the image. May Diyin Christ of the Diné become an integral part of the healing mission of the ECN.”
Thank you Peggy for the many gifts you bring the Church through your extraordinary art.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary