Featured Congregation

Vincent Van Goat in the making

Getting to Work
A “Goat Committee” was formed. The first order of business was to identify sponsors and artists to decorate the goats. “Sponsors” were church organizations such as the choirs, the Sunday School program, youth, the Men’s Breakfast Group and so forth. Some of the more artistically inclined members of the parish volunteered to decorate a goat on behalf of a sponsor, and in some cases a goat became a group project (for example, in Sunday School classes).

Some artists took inspiration from the classics. “Vincent Van Goat” came to life with Starry Night on one flank and Wheatfield with Cypresses on the other. “Goatguin” included detailed paintings of a Tahitian woman in the style of Paul Gauguin on each side. And the Georgia O’Keefe goat took on the hues of the American Southwest. The choir goat (Woolgang Amadeus Goatzart) received a beautiful, form fitting, hand-knitted wool coat. St. Michael’s School art students enrobed one goat in a vibrant Mardi-Gras costume and another in gilded splendor. Still other ones were emblazoned with seashells, banners, and goggles. One, named MichaelAngelGoat, even sprouted an enormous set of golden wings with the assistance of art students at Virginia Commonwealth University. In short, the parish took the goats to heart, and the artistic response was astonishing.

Woolgang Amadeus Goatzart
participates in the Home and Garden Tour

Building on a Good Idea
Out of the first flourish of goat-art came even more inspiration: Home and Garden Tour. Bon Air is graced with many delightful Victorian era homes. In early May, the church sponsored a home and garden tour – including parishioner Norie Burnett’s stunning moss garden, which has been featured in many national home and garden magazines. At each stop on the tour, one or more of the decorated goats could be spied in gardens, gazebos, living rooms, and even on the porch roof of one charming home. Those who participated were delighted with the goats and the homes, and the event helped to raise several thousand dollars for the church.

Calendar image of the Gilded Goat
in front of Joe’s Inn, a local restaurant

Liturgical Calendar
The goats, photographed in front of or inside local landmarks such as restaurants and shops, became the stars of a Liturgical calendar sold in the church and in neighborhood businesses.

Bon Air Victorian Day Parade
Is there a better way to get the youth of a church involved in parish life than asking them to help decorate a “goat-float” and ride on it during the annual neighborhood parade?

“Heaven’s Herd of Holy Goats”
One parishioner, Inge Evenson, has even written a children’s book about the whole experience.

Other Goat Products
Parishioners and visitors have the opportunity to support fund-raising by purchasing “Goat – T’s” (T-shirts), goat’s milk soap, goat shaped chocolates, and more.

The “Goat Float”

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