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Mercy and Justice
How we express our faith
Tears of Gold Exhibition
Come and see a new exhibition at Lincoln Cathedral of portraits by Nigerian women and artist Hannah Rose Thomas, from Open Doors. Visit the exhibition and download the resources, between Monday 24 February to Sunday 9 March 2025. Come as a parish group, and make it a day to be nourished, reflect and pray together and leave inspired.
You’re invited to the Tears of Gold exhibition at Lincoln Cathedral – a series of paintings that show hope in the face of persecution. Access to the exhibition is included within general ticket admission.
About the Exhibition
A group of Christian women from northern Nigeria created self-portraits to process the trauma they’ve experienced because of violent attacks. The paintings contain tears of gold: a sign of how tragedy can be transformed into hope through the love of God.
Alongside the self-portraits, you can see portraits of these courageous women created by artist Hannah Rose Thomas. The paintings were created as part of a trauma healing programme run in northern Nigeria by Open Doors, a charity supporting persecuted Christians around the world. Aisha, one of the women in the portraits said:
In the course of the painting workshop I saw how God thinks about me, how He looks at me. God has promised me that one day He will wipe away all our tears. All the pain and the worries we have faced, one day He will wipe away all our tears.
This exhibition is part of Open Doors’ See/Change campaign, highlighting the persecution that Christian women face around the world for both their faith and their gender.
Using the Resources
Lincoln Cathedral welcome parish groups wishing to use the exhibition as a focus for a reflection/ retreat/ pilgrimage day. If you would like to explore bringing a group to the Cathedral, contact the Canon Missioner Rowena King.
You might find it helpful to look at the prayer and visual resource pack which you can order for free from Open Doors.