creative team

Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity        

Founder, Creative Director

Pastorist ⋅ Creative Entrepreneur ⋅ Mountains Enthusiast ⋅ Live Painter ⋅ Visionary with an eye for detail

Lisle Gwynn Garrity (she/her) is a Pastorist (pastor + artist) and creative entrepreneur seeking to fill the church with more color, paint, mystery, and creativity. In the midst of a rapidly reforming church landscape, she is convinced that new models for ministry are emerging all over the place, we just have to be willing to discover and pursue them. She founded A Sanctified Art in 2016 with the dream that art could be used for spiritual formation and nourishment. You can read more about how A Sanctified Art came to be in this article.

Lisle (pronounced like “Lyle”) and her husband live in her hometown of Black Mountain, NC, with their daughter, two dogs, and a flock of backyard chickens. A graduate of Davidson College, where she majored in English (and unofficially minored in visual art), Lisle has a long history of formal and informal art training. After being offered an unexpected fellowship to attend seminary, Lisle completed Master’s degrees in Divinity and Practical Theology (with a concentration in worship), all with a sense of wonder and openness to the unique work she is called to offer to the world. She is ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

As a visual artist, Lisle primarily creates art through acrylic painting on canvas, photography, silk painting, and digital drawing using her Ipad and stylus pen. She is passionate about re-claiming worship as a sacred form of art and inviting all to participate in creative faith. Her faith is rooted in creative practices that help her break free from perfectionism and control and participate in creating a more whole, just world.

Creative specialties: visual art, sermon planning guides, short films, devotional prompts, photography

Street cred: Bachelor of Arts in English, Davidson College; Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Practical Theology (specialization in worship), Columbia Theological Seminary; Ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA

Based in: Black Mountain, NC

Check her out:  lislegwynngarrity.com

Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman              

Founding Creative Partner, Director of Branding

Artist ⋅ Graphic Designer ⋅ Visual Exegete ⋅ Visio Divina Facilitator ⋅ Pantone Enthusiast ⋅ Doodler

Lauren (she/her) is an artist, graphic designer, and visual exegete. She studied Media Design at Middle Tennessee State University, worked as a wetlands advocate in Southern Louisiana, and went to seminary to piece together her passions for artistic expression, design, and Creation Care.

While pursuing an MDiv, Lauren was invigorated by the classes she took at the intersection of scripture, art, and worship. Instead of sticking tightly to the curriculum’s required exegesis papers and presentations, she began wrestling with scripture with her paint brushes, acrylic paints, metallic sharpies, and colored pencils by her side. Visual exploration offered her a holy space to ask questions, find footing in her voice, take risks, and make bold statements. Once she began this journey in visual self expression, she became determined to create spaces where others could find this freedom and sense of assuredness in their voice, whether it be in the creative process or in visual meditative practices like Visio Divina.

She uses paint, metallic inks, linoleum carving tools, and her trusty Apple pencil to image the layered complexity she experiences in scripture texts. As the Director of Branding, she visually packages, designs, and formats all of the Sanctified Art materials.

Creative Specialties: visual art, branding materials and design, formatting and marketing materials

Street Cred: Bachelor of Science in Journalism & Media Design, Middle Tennessee State University; Master of Divinity, Columbia Theological Seminary; Ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA

Based in: Knoxville, TN

Check her out: lewpstudio.com 

Hannah Garrity                

Founding Creative Partner

Liturgical Artist ⋅ Art Educator ⋅ Developer of Creative Confidence ⋅ Mother ⋅ Visual Choir Facilitator

Hannah (she/her) is an artist and an athlete, a daughter and a mother, a facilitator and a producer, a leader and a teammate. Her hobbies and her professions are one and the same. She is the Director of Christian Faith, Life, and Arts at the wonderful Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, VA. She also serves as liturgical artist for the Summer Worship Series at Montreat Conference Center (Montreat, NC). Hannah is currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity and Master’s of Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA.

Hannah graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Art degree with a concentration in painting from Cornell University, in 2004, and was inducted into the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. She also holds her Master’s of Science degree in teaching from Pace University and was an educator in public and private schools for 17 years, beginning with Teach for America in Brooklyn, NY. She loves and is dedicated to her precious family. She explores the intersection between theology, race, and the image of God.

Hannah passionately believes that in God’s images we were each born to create. In all facets of her professional work as an artist, she strives to lift up and support the innate ingenuity of each person. She is a developer of creative confidence.

Creative specialties: visual art, banner designs, children’s bulletins and faith formation materials

Street cred: Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting at Cornell University; Master of Science in Teaching at Pace University; Liturgical Artist at the Montreat Conference Center (Montreat, NC); Currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity and Master’s of Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA

Based in: Richmond, VA

Check her out: hannahgarrity.com

Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed                 

Founding Creative Partner

Presbyterian ⋅ Extrovert ⋅ Poet ⋅ Enneagram 3 ⋅ Book Worm ⋅ Coffee Shop Junkie ⋅ Optimist

Sarah (she/her) is an ordained Presbyterian pastor in the PC(USA), a coffee-lover, and an optimist. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Social Work, and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. She continues to work with A Sanctified Art while also serving as the Associate Pastor for Young Adults and Membership at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, where she lives with her husband, Ryan, and their dog. 

Sarah is a cradle-born Presbyterian, raised on sweet tea and in church pews. She re-microwaves her coffee every morning and treasures books like pocket-sized art. Throughout her life she has invested herself in the church, pouring her energy into acts of activism and creativity. This journey has led her down many beautiful and wild paths, including that which led her to A Sanctified Art.

Sarah feels called to live her life welcoming people into the church by using her energy and passion for beautifully-scripted words, raw and relevant liturgy, and hands-on worship experiences to engage our longing for God and the need for justice in this messy world. Her ultimate pipe dream would be to publish a short book of poems that others might describe as hopeful. 

Writing is Sarah’s most beloved spiritual practice. You can find her daily poems on Instagram and on Facebook at: @writingthegood | writingthegood.com.

Creative specialties: Poetry, liturgy writing, devotional prayers and prompts

Street Cred: Bachelor of Science in Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University; Master of Divinity, Columbia Theological Seminary; Ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA

Based in: New York City, NY

Check her out: writingthegood.com

REV. Anna Strickland                

Creative Partner & operations support

Design Enthusiast ⋅ True Crime Junkie ⋅  Native Texan ⋅  Planner ⋅  Dreamer

Anna (she/her) is Baptist to the bone. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, she grew up in the kind of Baptist church that’s hard to find outside of Austin, the kind that has women and LGBTQ folx in the pulpit and still serves corn casserole at monthly potlucks. The “four fragile freedoms” were all woven into her spiritual upbringing so tightly that not even seminary was able to unravel her Baptist roots.

As a child, Anna (pronounced like “Ah-nuh”) always leaned toward messy activities. She still loves getting her hands dirty with paint, charcoal, gardening soil, flour, and sugar, watching the raw materials take on a new life which is greater than the sum of its parts. This draw toward creative mess took her all the way to seminary at Iliff School of Theology, where she graduated with her Master’s of Divinity in June 2020. Anna feels called to creative ministry, both ministry involving the arts and ministry done in new ways, so she is excited to have joined the team at  A Sanctified Art. 

Anna is always seeking the Divine in the everyday like treasure in clay jars. Though raised in the Church, she first encountered the Living God in the integration of her spiritual self and artistic self at a worship service for college students and young adults. Every Thursday night, the holy entered in through spoken word and journaling, musicals and movie clips, Alanis and Sufjan, fine art and doodling.

These formative experiences led her to return to the space where she first felt the pieces of herself click into place. While working in college ministry, Anna was blessed to explore her love of planning meaningful worship services, preaching, facilitating opportunities for spiritual formation, and witnessing the profound transformations of her students. After giving birth to her first child on Easter Sunday of 2022, she felt called to be as present to her daughter as she had been with her students and passed the ministry she cultivated onto the next generation of ministers to lead.

Creative specialties: Curriculum for children and youth, hymn-writing, liturgy, coloring pages, blog posts

Street Cred: Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development (Early Childhood–4th Grade Education), University of Texas at Austin; Master of Divinity, Iliff School of Theology; ordained in the Alliance of Baptists denomination

Based in: Austin, TX

REV. HANNAH BURGE SACHS               

ADMINISTRATIVE support & proofreader

Pastor ⋅ Theatre Director ⋅  Arts Educator ⋅  Momma ⋅  Bible Nerd⋅  Adventurer

Hannah (she/her) is the Minister of Faith Formation at Rock Spring United Church of Christ in Arlington, VA. She lives in Falls Church with her wife and two kids. Hannah helps the Sanctified Art team with proofreading, editorial suggestions, and administrative tasks.

Hannah grew up in the quaint town of Warrenton, Virginia, where she first encountered God through the love of her parents and their authentic lives of faith. Her family’s Jewish background fostered her love for tradition and stories, while the Evangelical church they attended offered her vibrant worship experiences, in-depth knowledge of Scripture, and a highly relational theological lens. While many of her earliest memories in church are positive, over time she became disillusioned by the sexism, homophobia, and legalism that unfortunately also characterized this particular congregation.

While studying theatre directing, religion, and social change at Smith College, she learned that God could be found outside the narrow boundaries of Evangelicalism and began to worship at an “emerging church” that met in a contemporary art gallery. This faith community helped her to see her own creative gifts as integrally tied to her ministerial calling and catalyzed her love for innovative liturgy.

Throughout her undergraduate years, she served as the pastoral intern at Cathedral in the Night, an outdoor, ecumenical church that serves folks experiencing homelessness. She taught English in the Czech Republic as a Fulbright Scholar which was a transformative experience in which she not only gained pedagogical and cross-cultural skills, but she also met her wife, Renata. In 2020, Hannah received a Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, as well as a certificate in religion and the arts from Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and a certificate in congregational ministry from Andover Newton Seminary.

Creative specialties: Proofreading, editorial wisdom, website and operations

Street Cred: Bachelor of Arts in Theatre & Religion, Smith College; Master of Divinity, Yale University; ordained minister in the United Church of Christ

Based in: Falls Church, VA