Canvas

Catalyst. Recalibrate. Ignite. Window. Canvas. Drive. Reâl. Organic. Imago. Icon. Reflect. Emblem. Core. Hub. Ember.

All names that our whole team has considered for this ministry in Birmingham. Believe it or not, this isn’t an exhaustive list, by any means. It’s important to us to have a name for this ministry that cultivates imagery and meaning and is somehow open-ended for people’s imaginative interpretation.

And so, after much contemplation, numerous test cases both in America and in England, we’ve decided upon the name Canvas. We’ve even started to try developing a design to represent us, which is what you see in these images. But we’ve received some great advice from some friends here: there’s no need to come out blazing with our formal name and logo. The advice? Be Canvas until there is something happening that’s called Canvas. Great advice.

My favorite response to the name Canvas came from a guy in our home group at Pavilion. While we were testing it out, we asked what they thought of when they heard the word. He said, “Unity.” I didn’t get it right away. He went on to say, “You know, artists have to stick together. They’re taking a risk putting their art and their passion out there. We need to stick together like that.” I like it. That’s why we like the name Canvas. Personal interpretation is important and word imagery is vital. That’s why our team will strive to be Canvas.