Advent 12/27/23
How Does a Weary World Rejoice?
“Recently, I was standing at The Dwelling at Richmond Hill. The former slave quarters are open and offered for visitation. After the tour, our white tour guide mentioned that Black members of the staff felt a great reverence, a holy presence at The Dwelling. The space held the presence of God; it was like entering a sanctuary.
I remember the same feeling when I was young, touring the slave quarters at Monticello. But now, listening to the Richmond Hill staff testimony, I understood these spaces in a new way, with a reverence for the God-like presence of the Black mother in the depths of oppression. I saw in that moment what Dr. Christena Cleveland so eloquently explains in her book, ‘God is a Black Woman.’
In this painting, Black Mother God has asked her daughter Mary to hold the role of surrogate for the pregnancy of infant Creator. Mary has carried the child to term. She has given birth. God embraces Mary as well as the Holy Infant in gratitude. For without Mary’s surrogacy, the incarnation could not be.”
— from the artist statement for “Surrogacy” by Hannah Garrity | @sanctifiedart
