The cascade of colors welcoming a visitor into the Mustard Seed Gift Shop radiates warmth and energy. Ceramics, ranging from cups and serving trays to Nativity scenes and Christmas ornaments, stack across multiple tables and shelves like a high-end retail shop, each work reflecting a particular artist’s tastes and palate.
But the artists behind these ceramics are 41 special Seedsters, adults who are part of the Mustard Seed, a Christian group home for the developmentally disabled, as either full-time residents or part of the day program.
Founded in 1981 to meet the spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual needs of adults with special needs, the Mustard Seed has built a reputation in the community for happy and friendly residents and for cherished ceramics.
They are special friends, volunteers involved insist, not disabled.
Not only do the Mustard Seed ceramics provide a creative outlet for the Seedsters, but they also provide a significant source of revenue for the humble ministry off Lakeland Drive in Brandon. In 2017, gift shop sales accounted for $267,000 – a full 30% of the non-profit’s budget.
The Mustard Seed takes no government monies and is primarily funded by individuals and churches.
“We’ve tracked it and there is a piece in every state,” said Mandy Sisson, Director of Community Relations for the Mustard Seed. “We get letters all the time from people who were given a ceramic, and then turn it over and see our information on the bottom and it means that much more.”
One man last year bought his entire family Mustard Seed gifts for Christmas and hand-picked the artisans he knew from his church.
As the Christmas busy season approaches, the Seedsters are painting more Christmas ornaments and fewer ladles and the energy among these 41 artists is palpable. This year, they will paint 4,000 total ornaments, 1,300 of which are a hand-crafted limited edition “Ornament of the Year.” Those ornaments will be cut out by hand and assembled by Seedsters.
Seedster work has become so popular that some collect the work of individual artists while others specifically purchase the work of different artists. The popularity of Seedster ceramics has resulted in a whole line of printed works including calendars, t-shirts, towels, and other products to help fulfill the demand for the designs.
“We want to make sure that we provide revenue, but also that the Seedsters are having fun,” said Sisson. Every Seedster participates in the ceramics program, but they are all able to at their own pace. “Some people are fast. Some people it takes a month to paint one mug. The bottom line is that it is therapeutic for our Seedsters.
Beyond just the funding boost, the ceramics program gives Seedsters a significant confidence boost and a sense of self-worth, those who work with them say.
“It’s not officially art therapy, but it lets them use their skills to facilitate contributions to their community,” said Stephanie Jury, a day program instructor for the Mustard Seed. “This helps them fund their own Fun Friday activities and they feel like they are self-sufficient.”
Fun Friday might be going to get pizza or to the Zoo. It’s just fun!
“We make a big deal about them being able to support themselves,” said Daniel Townsend, another day program instructor.
“People are used to the Instagram side of Down Syndrome,” said Jury. “They’re real adults with real lives and goals and emotions and wants and griefs. They are much more capable than they are limited.”
The lack of limitation is often one of the best parts of the Fun Friday trips. Excursions to McAllister’s, the bowling alley and even a Braves game in Atlanta give the Seedsters an opportunity to learn new social skills outside the controlled atmosphere of the Mustard Seed campus.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to learn how to adapt to their environment,” said Abbey Dominy, Special Care Facilitator for the Mustard Seed. “They’re able to learn how to interact with the community, learn to count money, things they don’t have to do here.”
Dominy and the rest of the day program team are always looking to expand opportunities for the Seedsters to live as normal a life as possible. Job training and other classes are offered to help Seedsters have opportunities in the community.
“Some of the job opportunities are repetitive, like folding towels,” she said. “But some have higher skills.”
“We focus on what you can do, not what you can’t,” said Jury.
“Adulthood is a scary thing for people with developmental disorders,” said Sisson. “It’s a relief for families to find a place like this is Mississippi. Our group homes are a college environment. Most of our Seedsters think the group home parents are just there to cook and clean for them, they don’t think of them as caregivers. Many of them have outlived their own parents and now they have a group home with friends and a nurturing environment. Many do call it college.”
One thing is certain, the Seedsters are incredibly happy to be there.
Walking into the brightly lit crafts room, one is immediately greeted by smiling faces and plenty of hugs and high-fives.
“I get free hugs as my job,” said Dominy with a smile.
Seedsters mill about the room, painting, listening to music and chatting.
Lindsey Hamilton, a Seedster and clearly the world’s biggest Beach Boys fan, paints large ceramics – her preference – and shares the daily knock-knock joke.
“Christmas is my favorite holiday,” announces Steven Bryant. “I can paint a whole lot. And Elvis Presley sings about it.” And Bryant sings like Elvis. He has sung the national anthem at special events and even at a Mississippi Braves game.
Bryant prefers to paint Nativity scenes. He also lives in the brand-new million-dollar men’s group home — that began as a modest Rankin County ranch home on the campus.
“It feels good to live here,” he said. “Me and my best pal Jerry [Dearing]. He is my roommate and he loves Hollywood and Steven Spielberg.”
The boys have themes in their rooms.
“You should see their room,” Townsend said. “It’s one of the best-decorated rooms with posters and everything.”
Seedster Rebecca Bratley proudly proclaims her preference for Mississippi State Bulldog ornaments. She loves her Bulldogs, but her favorite sport is hockey – mostly because of the hockey sticks.
“Painting is a special thing I can do to honor God,” she said.
Bratley is full of jokes and feels special excitement because she will be going to the Mississippi Trademart for Mistletoe Marketplace to help sell ornaments. The best part is that she will get to go to Wendy’s afterward, she said.
Rebecca is known in her Sunday School class for her prayers. She treats the Lord as her friend and talks to Him that way. “Thank you, Lord, for that delicious ice cream cone yesterday,” she once prayed. She “signs” (sign language) during Bible School.
Just as the Lakeland Drive corridor has grown exponentially since 1981, the Mustard Seed’s small presence on Luckney Road has grown from a single family ranch-style home into a 14-acre site with walking trails, swimming pool and activity center.
“We don’t want our Seedsters tucked away,” said Sisson. “We want people to be able to come to visit and we want people to see them at McAllister’s Deli and in the community.”
Once on a field trip to a plant, some workers wept as the Seedsters marveled at the giant machinery.
Those ties to the community continue to make the Mustard Seed a place overflowing with joy and energy.
“What differentiates us and a lot of other institutions,” Townsend said, “the individualized attention.”Not only does the staff provide that individualized attention, but families continue to stay engaged with their Seedsters. Like any other college, the Mustard Seed closes for major holidays and the residents go home to their families.
“One reason is that as guardians pass, we don’t want people just left here,” Sisson said. “We want people to go home with their families.
The current Seedsters range from age 23 to 75 and they always look forward to coming back to their special community complete with handbell choir, classes, and – of course – the ceramics workshop.
The handbell choir, known as the “Bells of Faith,” has been known to make grown men cry as they are led by director Debbie Burnham.
Since 1981, the handbell choir has ministered to area churches and groups across the South. The bell choir offers an opportunity for the ringers to share their Faith through leading worship and educating listeners about their abilities rather than their disabilities, according to their website.
The choir is led by trained musicians and music therapists and plays at churches, civic, and community gatherings. There is no fee for the bell choir to perform. However, many churches generously give a love donation to the Mustard Seed in honor of the bells to help cover the cost of transportation. Evening and weekend performances are encouraged.
Go to mustardseedinc.org for more information.
