On Monday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m., the office of University Ministries hosted the women’s event “Henna and the Gospel” in the Bowld Student Commons, where speaker Gillian Guthrie spoke to students about the ways that henna can be used in ministry and showed the process of henna design.
Guthrie, a Union alumnus who now runs a local henna business called “Hope Through Henna,” spoke to the students about the history of the art and the way that God has called her to henna as a ministry. Guthrie works with ministries and the International Mission Board to reach women in the Middle-East and Africa who may not be literate but wish to know about Christianity. She incorporates gospel symbols into her designs that showcase stories of the Bible, including Esther and Abraham, which the women can then safely share with others in their countries.
“It’s great because it just looks like a normal henna,” Guthrie said. “It gives them [the women] the ability to, for two weeks, memorize and have these stories at the forefront of their mind. It also gives them the freedom to find safe people they want to share it with, even if they aren’t a believer.”
In her speech, she explained how growing up in Kenya and South Africa as a missionary kid meant that from a young age she was fascinated with the art of henna. Her parents encouraged her in that, and she received professional training at the age of 14-years-old. The skills she learned at the training helped her to develop the personal style she has now.
Guthrie pointed out henna requires very intricate training, and a problem she spoke about was the lack of people coming in and taking leadership roles. She explained that the IMB is currently working with her to promote her gospel-focused henna training and to make it more available.
Students stayed after the speech to ask questions and watch Guthrie give a student a free henna design depicting the story of Ruth.
“You know that verse that says ‘you reveal these things to little children?’” Ayla Young, sophomore cell and molecular biology major, said. “I kept thinking about that because the designs are such that you could look at them and think ‘oh, cool, it’s henna’, but it reminds me of how reading scripture is– the more you ponder it the more there is.”
