
On the Arts: Photography in Worship
Ralph Basui Watkins
Ralph Basui Watkins is Peachtree Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, and a professional photographer.


Tia Rínae Garett and The Excellent Praise Chorale (2024)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” —John 8:12
Photography literally means “writing with light.” Photographers see; we see what others do not see, capture it in our viewfinder, and make a picture. The picture freezes time, magically preserves the moment, and though a still life, is yet alive. When we look at an image of people as they were in the image, they are alive. We relive moments in time by looking at photographs of our past. There is something spiritual about photographs. They connect and touch us in ways we can’t quite explain.
As we sit with photographs, we discover things that we didn’t see at first sight. The camera magically captures details that become visible as we study the image. How can images in worship help us to see what we don’t see? How can images in worship help us to see who we don’t see? How can images in worship help us to imagine a more just world that embraces the principles of radical inclusion?
I had a photoshoot to capture one of my favorite choirs in Atlanta, The Excellent Praise Chorale, a choir made up of my LGBTQ+ siblings and allies. We had crossed paths in worship experiences as they were ministering and I was creating photos and doing documentary work, my ministry. I admired their work and they mine, so we decided to collaborate on the photos for their new album cover.
All the members of this music ministry came out of mainline churches, but in many mainline churches they couldn’t be their full selves. We saw them in church, but we didn’t see them. When we gathered in my studio to make their picture, I saw them. I had to see them to get to know them as persons and photograph them. A photo is a living relationship that captures a living moment that will never die. The making of a photo is a co-creative process between the photographer and the people in the photograph.

Tia Rínae Garett and The Excellent Praise Chorale (2024)
To create beauty in an image is to love those with whom you co-create. The photographer has to love to fully see. To see requires that you love and want to see. I wanted to see them because as my siblings in Christ I love them, respect them, and my ministry is to show them in the beautiful light. My goal was to shine light on them so that we could see all of them, to see the beauty of my siblings. No more darkness; no more not showing up as your full self.
My job was to capture the children of God, who have been gifted by God to sing God’s praises. I connected my phone to my portable speaker, the music started playing, and we started praising God and making something beautiful. When the pictures were finished and I returned to my office to edit them, I could see the joy and feel the joy as I relived the time we had spent together creating something beautiful.
The images immediately appeared on Facebook and Instagram as the choir announced their upcoming concert. Members in the group posted the pictures on their pages and feeds, and the love came flowing in. People saw them, loved what they saw, and shared their love. The people wouldn’t have seen them in this way if the pictures had not been created and shared. Many of my friends saw my work and commented on what I am doing and what it means for me to be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and serve by making art with my siblings.
Many of my friends saw for the first time a choir so beautiful and grand. They saw Tia Rínae Garrett and The Excellent Praise Chorale as their full selves as we celebrate the God who loves them, you, and me and uses us for God’s glory. The spirit of photography. What can we show in worship, who can we bring in that have been locked out, and how can we stimulate imaginations by using images in worship that create a counter-narrative? Images on bulletins, images on screens, and even images on our social media can stimulate imaginations and help us to see God in new and exciting ways. May the spirit of photography shed light so that we may never be in darkness.


Tia Rínae Garett, founder, director of The Excellent Praise Chorale (2024)