An exhibit accompanied by an exclusive multimedia experience meditating on pilgrimage through photography, film, and spoken word.
The traveling exhibit Heading Home: Glimpses of New Jerusalem—on display in the Green Gallery from August 25 to September 25—was inspired by a more than four-thousand-mile pilgrimage of a small band of Christians from all walks of life. Led by philanthropist and author Roberta Ahmanson and joined by our very own President and Mrs. Barry Corey, the two-week journey covered almost 2,000 years of church art and architecture.
The resulting visual works by photographer Kieran Dodds aim to provoke reflection and revelation of the closeness of the Heavenly City to our world.
On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, for one night only, you can experience reflections by filmmaker Jody Hassett Sanchez and spoken word artist Street Hymns, and hear from all three artists at this series of events:
Schedule of Events
6:30–8:00 p.m. | Film Screening, Spoken Word Performance & Artist Panel – Calvary Chapel
8:00–9:00 p.m. | Dessert Reception and Gallery Viewing – Green Art Gallery
9:10 p.m. | AfterDark Chapel featuring Street Hymns & Kieran Dodds – Ethel Lee Auditorium
Students can also hear from Roberta Ahmanson in Chapel on Wednesday, September 24.
Speakers
Roberta Green Ahmanson
Roberta Green Ahmanson is a writer, art collector, and philanthropist. She received her M.A. in English from the University of Michigan and studied journalism at the University of Missouri. She and her husband Howard have sponsored numerous exhibitions, including several at the National Gallery, London: Caravaggio: The Final Years; The Sacred Made Real; and Saint Francis of Assisi. She served as chair of the board of the Museum of Biblical Art in New York and has been a member of the Collectors Committee of the National Gallery, Washington, D.C. She and Howard sponsored the Bridge Projects Gallery in Los Angeles, focusing on the role of religion in contemporary art, as well as the project Visual Commentary on Scripture, based at King’s College London. Ahmanson began her career as a religion reporter for the Orange County Register and before that the San Bernardino Sun. She is a contributor to the award-winning collection Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion.
Her book Heading Home (forthcoming) is the culmination of three decades of travel and study on the impact of the idea of the New Jerusalem on our world.
Jody Hassett Sanchez, Film Director
Jody Hassett Sanchez’s focus is the intersection/collision of faith and culture. Her documentary work includes More Art Upstairs (HotDocs Film Festival, Amazon Prime) and SOLD: Fighting the New Global Slave Trade (American Public Television, American Film Showcase). She covered religion, art and education for ABC’s World News Tonight and Nightline and was senior producer of CNN’s Cold War Postscript and created a weekly art program on CNN International.
Jody is founder and director of the Africa Film Project, a documentary boot camp that equips young African storytellers with the technical resources and editorial skills to create short films about their own communities.
Kieran Dodds
The Christian life is a pilgrimage to New Jerusalem. In this exhibition photographer Kieran Dodds, a non-fiction photographer known for his researchdriven photo stories and portraiture, traveled with a group of pilgrims and captured riveting views of the churches that trace the revealed Christian story as it moves from Jerusalem to London.
The exhibition is not only a documentary of sacred buildings; it is a meditation on pilgrimage explored through contemporary media. It is a photographic pilgrimage aiming to provoke reflection and revelation of the closeness of the Heavenly City to our world.
His personal work considers the interplay of environment and culture, tracing global events through daily lives.
He lives in Scotland with his wife and twin daughters. His work is represented by Panos Pictures, London.
Street Hymns
Street Hymns is a creative from Grand Prairie, Tx. What started out as a child being immersed in the hip-hop culture ended with a diverse artistic mind. Lyricist, Battle Rapper, Composer, Producer, Crooner, and Speaker.