Art as an Avenue to God: The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition at Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Norfolk, Virginia–When Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church first welcomed The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition for its “Season with The Saint John’s Bible” in December 2024, it was the beginning of a new era for the Church–one of even more expansive encounters with scripture.
For The Rev. Noah Van Niel and the rest of the Christ & St. Luke’s community, the appeal of The Saint John’s Bible transcended pageantry. “There was no need for another Bible,” Rev. Noah reflects. “But there was a need for the way in which this particular Bible could be experienced differently, as another doorway to God.”
During the Church’s few months with two volumes of the Heritage Edition, that doorway swung wide open. The Church’s Arts Guild took charge and developed programming such as hosting collective Visio Divina exercises during Adult Formation, art workshops inspired by The Saint John’s Bible illuminations, and inviting outside groups to come in and experience the Heritage Edition at Christ & St. Luke’s.
Through each avenue of engagement, the sentiment was similar: “The illuminations explode your hardened understanding of what you think a passage means,” said Rev. Noah.
That invitation towards curiosity resonates deeply at Christ & St. Luke’s, a parish with a longstanding commitment to the arts. (Indeed, St. Luke is the patron saint of the arts.) Heidi Anderson, who helped found the Church’s Art Guild, describes the congregation as one that already sees beauty as a pathway to the divine. “We consider art as an avenue to God. Art gives us another lens,” said Anderson, “one that can unlock new ways of understanding that our logical brain hasn’t reached yet.”
Natalie Henry, a docent and passionate advocate for the Heritage Edition, is driven by her personal emotional connection to the work. That emotional accessibility has proven especially meaningful for visitors from outside the parish. Natalie recalls one day when she brought in visitors, fellow docents from the Chrysler Museum of Art, where she is also a docent.
“Some of the docents I brought in from the art museum weren’t religious at all,” said Henry. “But they still saw the beauty. The illuminations spoke to them.” In this way, the Heritage Edition has expanded the church’s reach, offering a point of connection for people who might otherwise feel distant from scripture.
“When I look at these volumes, it’s emotional for me,” said Henry. “They move me. And I want other people to be moved emotionally too.”
The Openness of Permanence
Over time, the congregation’s relationship with the Bible deepened. So, when a parishioner stepped forward and offered to gift all seven Heritage Edition volumes permanently to the Church, the community was ecstatic. The donor, Priscilla Trinder-Roady, generously gave the Bibles in memory of her late husband, another beloved parishioner of the Church, Sam Roady.
Now that the Bible is at the Church full-time, Rev. Noah has noticed that parishioners are more able to relax into its presence. “More people are willing to spend time with this text. They want to flip the pages and sit with it,” said Rev. Noah. “That unhurried access has opened new possibilities for worship, formation, and private devotion—especially now that the Bible is a permanent presence rather than a temporary guest.”
Children, especially, have responded enthusiastically. “Art and text working together isn’t foreign to kids,” said Rev. Noah explains. “They naturally understand the illuminations of The Saint John’s Bible as the pictures to the story.” Through children’s programming, young parishioners have even created their own illuminated names, engaging in calligraphy and design as forms of sacred expression.
As Christ & St. Luke’s moves into their first year of many with the full Heritage Edition, it is clear that the volumes are not just relics or display pieces. They are living works of art and scripture—handled with intention and returned to often. Page by page, the Church uses the volumes to engage in a faith that is both rooted and open, ancient and contemporary.
The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition: Ignite the Spiritual Imagination
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