My name is Rebekah Woolf and I will be spending the next 9 months with you all at Emmanuel Church as an intern from Lesley University. Currently, I am in my second of three years in my master’s program where I am studying to become an Expressive Art Therapist and Mental Health Counselor.
Originally, I hail from Central Pennsylvania and am a recent transplant to the greater Boston area as of last year. I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to have the arts in my life since an early age and have been creating and expressing myself via art ever since. I have been interested in understanding personhood and have participated in community service for as long as I can remember. Thus, the desire to serve others as well as combining my love to art and psychology has brought me to this incredible experience. I am very much looking forward to getting to know the Emmanuel Church community and the people you serve.
In the past, I have been a very active member within my local LGBTQIA community, helping to establish my highschool’s Gay Straight Alliance and providing a safe/welcoming environment for attendees to express themselves freely. I have also worked with children with special needs and their families, at times using art to provide a stronger path to communication; together surpassing that which could be accomplished by spoken language alone. It is my belief that creativity and artistic expression provide a glimpse into one’s sacred soul. We share a bit of souls when we use our imagination and create. While I have found my specific artistic/expressive outlet in ceramics and fiber arts, I believe creativity can be found all around us in a myriad of forms. For example: the way we dress ourselves in the morning, the meals we create, and the way we move our bodies.
This past week Liana, Jessi and I were able to meet the leadership team for Common Art on Wednesday morning. We discussed how we can best serve the needs of our community members as we move into this fall season. Thursday provided us with the opportunity to meet many of the individuals at Café Emmanuel and share in a wonderful lunch with them. Next week we will begin the Art & Spirituality program at Suffolk County House of Correction. Stay tuned!
– Bekah