[The Guardian] The big picture: a baptism among the magnolia blossoms in Atlanta

The big picture: a baptism among the magnolia blossoms in Atlanta

Lucas Foglia’s image of a child at a religious ceremony in Georgia reflects his vision of prayer in nature

The Green the Church movement seeks “to expand the role of churches as centres for environmental resilience”. Its charismatic leader, Dr Ambrose Carroll, argues that communion with the natural world is fundamental to the past and future of his congregation: “We’re ex-slaves,” he says, “migrant farmers, people who spent eons with our hands in the ground. Even though we don’t speak the language of environmentalism, it’s very close to who we are.”

Carroll’s ministry is one focus of photographer Lucas Foglia’s project about prayer in nature. Foglia’s own mission is clear, he says: “In a divided time in the United States, I want to point to a common ground. The people I photographed from every major religion share the belief that wild places are both a refuge and our responsibility.” This picture of a child, Omari, being lifted into magnolia blossom, on show later this month at a photography fair in New York, was taken at the annual open-water baptism ceremony that takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, each year.

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