Description: This program is a twist on the popular “Paint Night” experience. Rather than people painting a mock Van Gogh, they will be painting a prayerful experience.
Get Ready
- Prep Time: Begin advertising three to four weeks in advance. Collect RSVPs and plan for about a week of gathering up the necessary supplies. If you have time, I would definitely recommend pre-sketching the drawing. This makes the painting process less confusing for everyone involved and is more like doing a Paint-by-Number than being Picasso. It gives people more opportunity to focus on prayer. (I would recommend creating cross stencils on card stock to help speed up the process. See handout in Help section for an easy print out.) The day of the event you will need to set aside about an hour to set up the environment. There are two options for set-up. (Please refer to charts in the Help section.) A half-hour before the event, you should pour paint into the Dixie cups. Each person will receive five Dixie cups with the five different colors in it. They should receive one more Dixie cup with water in it and some paper towels to dry off their brush. It is helpful if you set up the space with the Dixie cups, brush, stand, and canvas. Then people can easily find a spot and it tends to make less of a mess. Also, hair dryers should be plugged into walls around the corners of the room.
- Volunteers Needed: One person should lead the painting and one person should lead the reflection. It might be helpful to have another volunteer walking around to refill paint and clean up any messes.
- Supplies:
- 8- x 10-inch canvases (one for each participant)
- One larger canvas for leader
- Paint brush for each person
- Black, purple, red, blue, and brown tempera paints (8-ounce bottles should serve about 10 participants)
- Easel for each participant
- Chairs (for each participant)
- Tables (to set up supplies)
- Hair dryers
- Platform, chair, and easel for paint leader
- Copy of retreat and directions
- Pencils for each participant
- Wine and snacks — if going for the traditional “Paint Night” feel (or have participants BYOB).
- You might want to recommend that people bring their own apron to wear.
- Reserve the Space: I would recommend starting with an empty space and seeing if you can borrow enough music stands from your church’s music department, so each participant can have one to act as an easel. Each participant needs a chair and a stand. If you cannot secure enough stands for everyone, I recommend covering tables with newspaper. (In this case, the painting would lay flat rather than being at an angle.) Give each person a chair and enough room to paint. The leader of the painting should have some type of easel or stand. If possible, in either set-up, the paint leader should be on a raised area. This will make it easier for people to watch what they are supposed to be doing.
- Ideal Group Size: Five to 30.
- Who is this for? All young adults.
- When is a good time for this? A weekend or weekday evening.
- Publicize the Program:
- Here are examples of more traditional Paint Night places: Paint Monkey and Painting with a Twist. Their marketing tools get people to their events! I see fliers for paint nights in grocery stores, bars, and restaurants, so definitely try that route to reach outside your parish. Some ideas for fliers: “Painting with a Prayerful Twist;” “Paint with the Passion.”
- Be sure to go the traditional route with parish bulletins and fliers in your parish.
- Use social media to publicize the event: Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Prayer for Program Planner: God of the Universe, Painter of all Creation, watch over me and guide me as I prepare and lead this Paint and Pray. Amen.
Community Building: Although this event falls during Lent and many people give up different things, have a variety of snacks (sweet and salty) and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) that cater to each person’s Lenten journeys.
