2024 CONFERENCE RECAP

Elaine Burrell, director of Senior Adult Ministry at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church, shared about a photo project that celebrated the lives of members of the church and the San Diego community in their 80s and 90s.

In 2019, Burrell began seeking volunteers for the project, photographing them, and documenting their memories of their lives. Then the Covid-19 pandemic began. The head minister of Point Loma Church encouraged Burrell to find a way to continue her work.

In September 2021, the church hosted an exhibition of the photos. Members of the church and community visited by appointment due to social distancing precautions. Burrell also created a video of the portraits for the church’s virtual worship service.

Wanting the stories of these community members to be shared more widely, she published the photos and participant essays in a hardcover book, Your Life Is a Work of Art. The project has been described as “moving and exquisite” and “an inspired way to celebrate … remarkable lives”.  

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