Central Baptist Church Chapel [10]

I gave a talk today on my short-term mission experience in Myanmar. In January/February of this year I taught at the Karen Baptist Theological Seminary in Yangon. One of the main reasons for wanting to share these pictures and narrative was because of my Karen brothers and sister here at CBC. Four years ago, two hundred or so Karen refugees arrived in Hartford from the camps in Thailand. Pastor John Endler opened the program with a prayer for peace. The Karen have become an integral part of our church and have supported my short-term missions in many ways. I left my card with one of the attendees hoping that she will follow my odyssey.

The painting 'Jesus at the Well' [1955] that hangs on the wall of the chapel is by Alan Tompkins. This painting is very muted and done with pastel colors. Tompkins was director of the Hartford Art School in 1957. My father studied art there when it was housed above the Wadsworth Atheneum and not yet a degree granting school.

A prolific artist, Alan Tompkins continued to paint into his 100th year and strongly desired one thing: to be remembered for his art. “I’m not a hobbyist, I’m not an educator,” said Tompkins. “I want to be remembered as a painter.” Tompkins produced thousands of paintings, many showing the influence of Cubism and abstract art, during a long and productive career.  Tompkins died in 2007 and his family recently donated more than 100 of his paintings to the University of Connecticut Health Center.

At the end of the presentation and again praying for peace, I announced my halting of short-term missions for a year in order to pursue My Odyssey: Pray for Peace.