This article originally appeared in the Winter 2023 edition of the DVCS magazine, ’Ανατολή [an-at-ol-ay’].
Last year, AnnaClaire Schmiedel (’15) encountered beauty through lamb stew, ratatouille, and tabbouleh, among a variety of other dishes from around the world.
For each month of 2022, Schmiedel based her meals on food from a different culture, discovering new ingredients and learning to prepare new dishes. While the “incredible flavors” of Mediterranean cuisine are her favorite, she appreciated even more the opportunity to share her passion for food with others and enjoy the beauty of that which is material through the five senses.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can enjoy God through ordinary means and enjoy the beauty of the world He’s created in ordinary ways,” she said. “Sometimes we think we need to meet God through a huge, awe-inspiring experience, but I’ve found that doing this foodie project has allowed for many beautiful experiences in really simple ways and seeing the beauty of the world that He’s created. I’ve actually gotten to meet with people and talk about Jesus because of this project, just having fun exploring new foods. That, in a way, is something that Jesus called us to, to speak of Him to the nations, and here I am getting to share about food and let that be a connection point to see the beauty of who God is.”
German month
Schmiedel’s pursuit of beauty in the ordinary takes other forms in her professional career. After graduating in 2015, she studied graphic design at Liberty University with the goal of working for a “Jesus-centered small business.” That goal came to fruition, as Schmiedel now works on the creative team for Hosanna Revival, a Cincinnati-based company that designs Bibles and beautiful tools for engaging with Scripture. Schmiedel serves as a photographer, videographer, and email designer. Some of her recent projects have included photoshoots for Christmas and winter collection launches and campaigns
and working on publication design for a new devotional. She particularly enjoys the process of taking theological concepts from idea to video execution to create interest about devotional tools published by the company.
“Something that I love about Hosanna [Revival]’s mission is that it’s about the beauty of Scripture and that being the very center,” Schmiedel said. “We can have a truth, and it can be a good truth, but if it’s not presented beautifully, it’s sometimes not as compelling to people, even if it is in itself beautiful. The Word of God is the ultimate beauty . . . All of that has come together here, that creativity, that mission, that truth, that goodness. I love it.”
Schmiedel’s interest in creativity and beauty was fostered from a young age by her parents as well as the emphasis of DVCS on aesthetics. “The idea of truth, goodness, and beauty is something that is a foundation of a classical Christian education, so I loved that art was valued,” she said. “I remember when we would go to museums for field trips and be writing papers about the beauty side of truth, goodness, and beauty. I loved that encouragement there; even as we’re learning theological truths, there is so much value in the expression of [beauty].”
Schmiedel said her experience with classical Christian education also prepared her to work in marketing through teaching her to avoid fallacies in logic class, to present ideas eloquently in rhetoric class, and to examine pros and cons and anticipate objections in debate class. However, the fruits of this education go deeper, teaching her to see beauty as foundational to faith.
“I remember a class at DVCS where we were having a discussion about the value of beauty beyond our time here on earth and how often people will say that it doesn’t matter to build a beautiful cathedral or to create beauty on our time here in earth because ultimately that’s all going to pass away. But I think that’s actually quite the opposite,” Schmiedel said. “God is the one who created beauty, and He is the one who created our five senses. He is the one who came down and walked this earth in the flesh. He sees value in the physical things in our world, whether that’s something as simple as food. So us pouring time into something like that is a way to enjoy Him and to enjoy the beauty that He’s created that is supposed to point our eyes to Him. I see it as this concept [of] the embodied faith.
The physical things, whether it’s food or where we work and what we do, those things can all connect back to God and show us more of His character.”