In the psalms, selah is often understood as a pause or the invitation to take a breath. This summer, we as a creative team are taking a short pause. Three of us—Lauren Wright Pittman, Anna Strickland, and Lisle Gwynn Garrity—are all pregnant with children arriving sometime this April and May.*

Yes, you read that correctly—we have three babies on the way, all arriving sometime this spring. In case you are new to our ministry, we are a small team, and the three of us who are expecting are also the ones most involved in sustaining the daily operations of our work. Therefore, instead of pressing forward as usual, we are taking a short sabbatical over the summer while the three of us bond with our children and begin this new chapter as first-time parents.

Please read over the section below to learn more about what’s coming next and how we can (and can’t) support you throughout our selah.

We happily accept your grace and your prayers as we navigate this exciting and unique time—both in our lives and in the life of A Sanctified Art.

*We are aware that pregnancy announcements can often be tender and triggering. If you hold grief or trauma related to childbearing, we see you. This blog post is a good resource for anyone navigating these issues in ministry and pastoral care.

Questions & answers for our selah:

“What does this mean for the rest of 2022? Will there be a summer bundle?”

We will not be releasing a new series for the summer as we have done in years past. Instead, we will be sharing more about the anytime series in our inventory. Please read this blog post for an insider’s guide on our series for any season to see if one of them might be a good fit for you to use over the summer months or throughout Ordinary Time.

“What does this mean for Advent 2022 resources?”

We’ve been working ahead on our Advent–Christmas resources and plan to release them in August 2022, on our usual timeline. For now, please download our free theme infographic to learn all about the resources we plan to release, the guest contributors we’re collaborating with, and our Advent theme, From Generation to Generation…

“Can I still place an order on your website over the summer?”

Yes. We are not shutting down completely and all of our ministry resources can be purchased and downloaded at anytime. You may also order a poster print from us, just know that shipping may be slightly slower than usual. However, our capacity to offer customer support will be limited in April–July, and we won't be able to fulfill any customized or special requests.

What we can (and can’t) offer to you during this time:

Throughout the months of April, May, June, & July (2022), one of our team members will be checking our contact@sanctifiedart.org inbox once a week to respond to any pressing needs or requests. Providing fast and compassionate support to you is a high priority of ours; however, we appreciate our patience and grace during the months when we have limited capacity and will be slower to respond.

During our selah, we encourage you to:

• Refer to our Customer Support page. We have lots of information there that we hope can help you troubleshoot any errors or problems you may encounter.

• Download any digital resource files immediately after purchase. If you’re familiar with ordering from us, you may know that our web host imposes a 24 hr expiration on the download link for any digital files purchased. To avoid this, please download the files immediately, even if you do not plan to use the resources for a while. If your link expires, click on the expired link and our web host will automatically email you a new link (no need to email us to make this happen).

• Read all of the materials and resource details carefully. We do our best to be thorough in our instructions and our materials. If you have questions, an answer is likely found on the webpage where the resource is listed or in the documents provided with the download.

• If you need to reach out to us during this time, please be as detailed as possible in your emails to us, including information such as your order number, the file name or resource name you need support with, steps you've taken, screenshots of error messages, etc. That will help us (and the members of our team helping to fill-in) understand your question/issue and respond effectively.

During our selah, we will not be able to:

• Fulfill any custom requests, meaning requests for any additional or adapted files or formats of our digital resources (apart from the files included in the purchase).

• Fulfill any institutional patron requests, meaning requests from an institutional body (such as a presbytery or conference) to purchase resources at a discounted rate on behalf of multiple churches.

• Respond to any inquiries for the SA team to lead workshops, speaking events, or worship. If you want to hire an individual team member for a gig or project, find our personal contact information on this page.

• Respond to any special licensing requests, meaning requests to publish our art or materials in books, widely-distributed publications, marketing materials, or for permanent art display. Please circle back with us in the fall of 2022!

Lisle Gwynn Garrity (she/her) is a Pastorist (pastor + artist), retreat leader, and creative entrepreneur seeking to fill the church with more color, paint, mystery, and creativity. She founded A Sanctified Art with the conviction that, in order to thrive, the church needs more creative expression and art-filled freedom.