Art, sewing classes open for enrollment at Give Me A Chance

IC photo/Linda Petersen

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Lilia Enriquez, who is painting illustrations for a children's book she has written, consults with Sr. Lucia-Lam Nguyen about what colors she should use.

OGDEN — Prayer can take many forms. For Sister Lucia-Lam Nguyen, D.C., playing the piano or painting a picture is another way to praise God and glorify his kingdom. It’s this perspective she seeks to share at the classes she teaches at Give Me A Chance, a Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul ministry in Ogden that primarily serves low-income women and children.

At the beginning of her Arts for Spirituality classes where she teaches drawing and painting, piano and guitar, Sr. Lucia opens with a reflection and a prayer. She invites her students, who are of many different denominations, to use art and music for prayer themselves.

“If something happens in their life, I tell them to bring it to God,” she said. “Painting it out helps them internalize peace and happiness.”

She teaches the classes free of charge. “I see how I am an instrument of God: that is so important to me,” she said.

The members of her classes say she is making a difference.

Far Reyhani is enrolled in the advanced painting class; it is the fourth she has taken from Sr. Lucia.

Reyhani said she struggles with depression, and the classes keep her mind busy and take her mind off her worries.

“It’s a new habit for me to get busy with painting,” she said. “It gives me a happy feeling, especially when I accomplish something and it turns out good.”

Sr. Lucia, who has a bachelor’s degree in music with a minor in studio art, teaches two beginning art classes and one advanced art class. Each month the classes explore a different medium. Class sizes vary from four to eight students (age 15 or older).

In the piano and guitar classes, Sr. Lucia often teaches up to 18 students.

There is no charge for the once-weekly classes. Participants are encouraged to buy their own supplies but if they are unable to, Give Me A Chance can usually accommodate them. For the piano and guitar classes, Sr. Lucia often lends keyboards and guitars to students until clients can afford their own.

The Arts for Spirituality program is an outgrowth of Give Me A Chance’s main mission, which is to teach workplace skills such as sewing, computer and keyboarding, to low-income women to enable them to obtain better jobs in the workplace.

Along with those classes, the center also offers English as a Second Language, and after-school care for up to 26 students.

Applications are now being accepted for summer classes (sewing and Arts for Spirituality). Those who are interested in signing up may contact Give Me A Chance at givemeachance.org or by calling 801-627-2235.

Sr. Lucia and the staff at GMAC are always happy to receive donations. She will accept any kind of art supplies, music, guitars or keyboards. Contact GMAC to find out what other items are needed.