The Rev. Deacon Lydia Bailey is a Deacon in the Episcopal diocese of Ohio and is employed as the Coordinator of Volunteers at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry Men’s Shelter at 2100 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland since 2007, building the volunteer program from a base of 100 volunteers to close to 2,000 annually. Lydia is a photographer, creating Portraits of Homelessness, visit the website – a collection of 45 portraits and stories of the men who have passed through LMM’s Men’s Shelter. A selection of her work appeared in the 2021 Cleveland Photo Fest. As a Deacon, Lydia has facilitated retreats to sensitize people to service in the world, whether at the Cleveland Museum of Art or on the streets of Cleveland. In regards to the CMA retreat, Lydia describes, “The art work we settle on can speak to us spiritually without having a conventional religious subject. It can be an icon that serves as a window into God.” Bailey’s educational background includes graduate photography courses at the Banff School of Fine Arts and a B.A. from Reed College, Portland, Oregon.
