Millsaps College Hosts Faces of Grace Exhibit

By Nell Floyd, Millsaps College Publications Manager
 
Photo right: Chris Donald, chaplain at Millsaps College, looks at the Faces of Grace exhibit that was on display on campus.
 
Faces of Grace, a photo exhibit highlighting the work of Grace Place, a ministry at Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church for men and women who call the streets of Jackson home, has been on display at Fitzhugh Chapel on campus.
 
Photos taken by Mark Wall and fellow members of Galloway UMC are of clients of Grace Place. The Rev. Chris Donald, chaplain at Millsaps, collaborated with Wall to bring the exhibit to Fitzhugh Chapel.
 
"It is a fitting location for the exhibit," Donald said, "because many Millsaps students involved in programs such as Challenge, Wellspring, Faith & Work, departmental internships, and 1 Campus 1 Community participate in the Grace Place ministry." 
 
"Students who work at Grace Place gain a different, grassroots perspective on the things-liberation theology, public policy, poverty studies-they are learning at Millsaps," Donald said. "They also bring the critical thinking skills they develop at the college to bear on some of our city's pressing social issues such as food security, affordable housing, and access to health care. In that process, students discover ways to put their knowledge to work in practical ways." 
 
"Students also get a feel for careers that will be meaningful to them and beneficial from the time they spend at Grace Place," he said.
 
Kelsey Hall, a 2014 Millsaps graduate, heard the call to ministry through her work at Grace Place, and is pursuing master's degrees in divinity and social work at Emory University.
 
"I decided early on I wanted to attend seminary and Grace Place solidified what I want to do," Hall said. "I first started going to Grace Place during my sophomore year when I was in the Faith & Work program. I absolutely loved it. Every semester after that I tried to set my class schedule, so I could go there two mornings a week. During my senior year, I went there almost every day."
 
Hall expects to work in the social work field perhaps at a church after graduation from Emory in 2018.
Wall said he hopes the photos will help viewers see the homeless as the individuals that they are. He hopes to produce a book that will generate funds to support Grace Place and become a "permanent record of those among us who wander but are not alone."
 
This exhibit is the first of many art exhibits or events based in the chapel, where art enables reflection on spiritual truths about human experience. The next installation, scheduled from December 1-6, will feature panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt.