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Henna art as Christian storytelling

This is lovely – the use of henna in telling the Biblical story.

One of the highlights for me of a visit to Port Douglas Markets a few weeks ago was watching the folk at work in the henna tent – the young girls checking facebook while their henna tattoo dried. Their care and interaction with each other was a joy to behold.

So it was fascinating to discover this website with designs and stories.

Henna, a temporary artwork drawn on hands and other parts of the body, is a popular beauty technique in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Christian women use henna to illustrate Bible stories and share the Gospel in a non-threatening manner. These pages describe how you can host a henna party in your home or church. Learn how to make henna and draw Bible story illustrations, and how to prepare traditional foods served in henna cultures.

I could see henna art like this also working at youth group camps as a way of building community and engaging the Christian story. I could see it working at a Synod gathering, quiet hands engagement during debates. Perhaps a mission dimension, like back at Port Douglas markets, as part of a tent in which readings from the Jesus deck were offered in a tent, along with prayer massage and henna tattooing.