Summer Sermon Series 2008

Our new pastor suggested that a Sermon Series for the month of July might be a fun and fruitful idea for worship this summer. His themes were Family Vacation (see Genesis - God resting after work and 2 Corinthians - hardships of travel), Sand and Surf (see Exodus and Hebrews 11 - deliverance through water and grains of sand), Summer Camp and camping (Exodus and 2 Corinthians - encountering God in nature and temporary vs. eternal), and Sun/Son (John and Revelation - blessing and danger of sun, "Life in the Son".) Ollie requested that L'Art provide some visual enhancements. Carol S. even went so far as to write an original drama to help illustrate the camping theme. And Molly provided original art for each of the four weeks for the cover of our church bulletin.

Week 1: Travel


Week 2: Sand and Surf


Week 3: Camping


Week 4: Sun

The Funky Chicken

In June of 2008, Carol, LaRhonda, Molly, and Nancy took a field trip to Dahlonega, in the North Georgia Mountains, to visit "The Funky Chicken Art Project". This is an art gallery and studio, and the site of a beautiful garden and a variety of fowl. In particular, we were interested in seeing the mosaic sculpture "Time Passage" by Virginia Bullman and LaNelle Davis, which appears to be a pair of angels forming an arch over the garden path. LaRhonda was taking instruction in mosaic and envisioned some sort of mosaic structure in our church Prayer Labyrinth.

Anything but Ordinary

Jennifer E., Katie V., and Judy D. working out the puzzle of collage.


In May of 2008, L'Art reconvened to begin working on another set of paraments. This project was a follow-up to the silk painting activity undertaken by the women of the church at their annual retreat earlier in the year. The idea was to take the images that each of the women painted and to assemble them, collage-style, into banners and a pulpit cloth, to be used during Ordinary Time.


The left banner. The right banner.


The following is the Artist Statement that appeared in the church bulletin on June 1, 2008:



First, what is Ordinary Time? This year, the period from late May through November is known as Ordinary Time. This time is called “ordinary” because it does not include one of the holidays or special church seasons such as Easter or Pentecost. Also, the term has the same root as “ordinal,” a mathematical term indicating numerical position. So, another way to think of Ordinary Time is as “counted time.” The liturgical color is green to show that during ordinary time we continue to grow spiritually.

In March the Presbyterian Women of APC went on retreat and asked the Liturgical Art team to lead them in an art project. Together we explored painting on silk with special attention to motifs relating to nature and growth. These motifs have been collaged into the Ordinary Time banners and pulpit cloth. If you look closely, you will see rocks, flowers, branches, birds, insects, leaves, the sun, even part of a strand of DNA.

What may not be apparent is the amazing, Spirit-guided process by which many varied images, each with its own unique style, color and size, were blended during the collage process to make a unified whole. There were times when the team wondered if we could integrate every painted image into one piece of art! But the collaborative process of several sets of discerning eyes—moving pieces around, painting new silk in just the right shade of green, and squinting to see if everything blended—all combined to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. May we find that as a congregation we grow and flourish in much the same way.

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The pulpit cloth is two-sided, to offer some variety during this longest season of the liturgical year.

This side of the cloth is used in the summer months.
This side of the cloth is used in the fall.

Easter 2008: Processional Fanfare

For Easter 2008, the Liturgical Arts Team designed processional banners to be brought in during the fanfare of the hymn “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”. These banners were designed to lift up the joy and the mystery of the transformative occurrence of the Resurrection. The banners are made of painted silk; this fabric was selected because its light weight lends itself to a floating, billowing effect, reinforcing our feelings of joy and perhaps evoking the idea of Christ’s rising up from death. The colors and brushstrokes applied to the fabric suggest the dawning of a new day as well as the beginning of a new understanding of God’s love for us.

During the procession, the banners were carried as four separate pieces, but as the acolytes converged, it became apparent that the parts create a greater whole. The four banners were held so that the spaces in between the cloth formed a cross. This surprise symbolism might signify the reaction of the earliest disciples (despite Jesus’ own predictions, none of his followers seem to have expected the Resurrection). The fact that a symbol gradually emerges as the banners are held together might represent the apostles’ dawning comprehension (due to his transformed appearance, they all fail to immediately recognize Jesus.) The transience of the completed image might represent the challenges that God’s people continue to face as we struggle to understand the Resurrection and what it means for each of us. An invitation was extended by way of this visual art for each member of the congregation to contemplate the banners in light of the gospel story, and to discover meaning on their own.

Spring 2008: L'Art

The team continues to evolve. As a result of the Women's Retreat, we picked up an additional member (Carol S.) Also, we decided that because we view ourselves more as a team than a committee, we would be intentional about calling ourselves the Liturgical Arts Team. And since that's quite a mouthful, we came up with an abbreviation that seemed clever and arty:
L'Art.

Prayer Labyrinth Easter 2008

The Liturgical Arts Team created banners for the sunrise service of Easter 2008 at the Prayer Labyrinth. A plain white cloth was used to fashion the banners. The fabric was similar to what might have been used to wrap Jesus’ crucified body; this cloth was subsequently found discarded in the empty tomb (John 20:6). Also, the color white is traditionally used for Easter, as it represents the now fully-realized purity and perfection of the risen Christ.

Additionally, the banners featured white streamers with brightly colored, gathered cloth at the end. When still, the cluster resembled a flower blossom; when the breeze stirred, it lifted, evoking the flight of a butterfly. Blossoms and butterflies signify new life and transformation, which are appropriate for these symbols on the day we celebrate the Resurrection.

The banners were installed during the night. Just as Christ’s resurrection was discovered by his followers early on a Sunday morning, those who gathered to worship at sunrise encountered these symbols of Christ’s resurrection. The decision to use three banners created a suggestion of the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion at Golgotha. (There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them - John 19:18) And of course, the symbolism of the Trinity is represented by the number three.

PW Retreat February 2008

Janice B., Jody B., and Jennifer E.

The planners for the Presbyterian Women's retreat asked the Liturgical Artists to lead an art project as one of the activities during the weekend. The Liturgical Art Committee decided to learn how to paint on silk, and then share what they learned with the women of the church. The women were encouraged to paint images of nature, using green as the dominant color, with the idea of spiritual growth as a theme. Later, the images could be assembled with a collage technique to make new banners to be used during the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year.

Psalm 52: 8 - 9:

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.
I will thank you forever, because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
Yvonne C., Peggy A., Katie V., and Nancy H. look on as Sheryl W. employs the hair dryer to speed the drying of the silk.

I Am Like a Green Olive Tree

Jodie B. Katie V., Janice B., Julie J. and Jennifer E. exploring their creative sides as they paint on silk.
Kathy D. fields questions as Kathy C., Peggy A., and Nancy H. try out their newly learned techniques of painting on silk.
Molly E. shares some tips about painting on silk with Betty L., Carol S., Marianna R., and Virginia M.

Baptism of the Lord

And the final week of our "evolving" banners, prior to our return to ordinary time: The Baptism of The Lord. For this week's symbolism, we added a scrim to the pulpit cloth. This allowed us to cover most of the gold with blue, evoking the baptismal waters. A shell (a traditional symbol for baptism) was also added to the pulpit cloth. Most of the gold strips in the banners were tucked behind some new "watery" blue strips that were added for this Sunday.

Westward Leading ...

For Epiphany, the colors of white and gold are still appropriate. Crowns and stars were added to the paraments to enhance the symbolism.

Our Savior is Born

Pictured here are our Interim Pastor Joel A. and Associate Pastor Stephanie M., wearing the stoles quilted by Kathy D. for Christmas. The "evolving banners" were so well-received by the congregation that the Liturgical Arts Team decided to "evolve" them right on through until Ordinary Time.

From Darkness to Light

Pictured here is our sanctuary on the third week of Advent. On the rod to the right of the chancel are the banners from Week 1 (far right) and Week 2 (middle). The empty space is waiting for the banners from Week 3 and Week 4 to be added. The negative space is meant to symbolize our anticipation of the future. Week 3's banner is hanging in the chancel. It has more streaks of light and gold, symbolizing the in-breaking of God's kingdom as we grow nearer to the time of the birth of our Savior.

Seeking Wholeness: Advent 2007

The following Artist Statement was included in our church bulletin:

The shopping malls and television stations want you to think that Christmas is already here. Within the walls of our sanctuary, however, we follow a different calendar: the church’s liturgical calendar. The four weeks preceding Christmas day are known as Advent.

Advent is a season of hope and of anticipation. We look to the time when God’s kingdom completes breaking into our world. However, it is not a time of pure hope and joy. We must acknowledge that redemption is necessary because we are broken people. This is a time to remember why we need the Savior and why we long for a world made complete. We practice waiting in Advent, as we move from darkness to light, from brokenness to fullness, from tension to peace.

The Liturgical Arts Committee has created a new set of banners and paraments in hopes of helping our congregation to reflect upon Advent themes. You will notice that the banners evolve over the course of the month, symbolizing our progression towards the event of Christ’s birth. The banners make use of the traditional colors for Advent, purple and blue. As the season progresses towards Christmas, gold and white become more prominent, showing our spiritual growth from dark to light and from brokenness to fullness. You may also note that the fabric has been left with rough edges – this is meant to symbolize the imperfect world that we are living in. The stoles and pulpit cloth were pieced together from random scraps of fabric; we don’t have to be perfect or whole to be used by God.

This is our Associate Pastor, Stephanie M., wearing one of the stoles quilted by Kathy D.

The Anticipation of Advent

By November of 2007, two additional members had joined the team (Kathy D. and Brooke S.) The group decided to create a set of evolving banners and paraments for the Advent season. Because of our short time frame and our need for a new set each week, it was decided to use a more “temporary” construction style, rather than choosing a method that involved extensive sewing and finish work. One idea considered was to hang strips of rough cut fabric, adding and subtracting various fabrics and colors as the season progressed. When the team realized that this idea dovetailed with the theological theme of Advent (moving from darkness to light, anticipating wholeness) this was the method selected. Kathy, using her quilting skills, created three stoles and a pulpit cloth to coordinate with the banners.

Prayers of the People

By the spring of 2007, Molly and Nancy had recruited more members and formed the Liturgical Arts Team. Nancy and Molly were joined by Sheryl W. and LaRhonda W., with Peter L. providing technical assistance. For their first “group” project, they designed an installation called “The Prayers of the People” which was installed for Easter morning, 4/8/2007, and was left up for several weeks.

The team began the project by soliciting prayers from all members of the congregation. The prayers were written on slips of pre-cut pieces of paper. Hundred of prayers were collected - prayers of thanks, confession, intercession ... prayers from children ... prayers about life or death matters ... prayers about personal issues and prayers for our church, community, and world. The prayer slips were sewn to long, white strips of fabric, forming prayer banners. These banners were draped like streamers from the ceiling in the narthex, forming a canopy effect. These pictures show the "Presbyterian sweatshop", as we sew the hundreds of prayer slips to the dozens of banners. Also shown is the installation process, and the finished piece.

The team received a lot of positive feedback from this installation, emboldening them to continue their efforts of bringing an art ministry to APC.

Not Just "The Banner Committee"

Now that Molly and Nancy had completed banners appropriate for an entire Liturgical year, they felt called to branch out a bit. Fortuitously (or was is the working of the Spirit?), a workshop was being offered at the Lay Institute at their local Presbyterian Seminary (Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA). The program was intended for lay leaders or church professionals, focusing on how to create and use visual art in worship services and sacred spaces. The keynote presenter was Catherine Kapikian and it is her art on the cover of the brochure that is pictured here. The event lasted 4 days and included lectures, hands-on workshops, daily worship, and small group discussions. Molly and Nancy were inspired and excited by all that they observed and learned! They began planning how they could recruit more members to their team and begin to bring more visual art to their church.

The Birth of the Church

For Pentecost, our church had been using a pulpit cloth which incorporates the dove and flame imagery that are traditional symbols for the Holy Spirit. Inspired by this design, in 2006, Molly E. created coordinating banners and a cloth for the Table. These paraments are used annually for Pentecost, as well as for Ordination and Installation services.

Lent

For Lent, our church uses banners and a pulpit cloth of plain brown burlap with a solid purple border, representing the season’s mood of penitence and simplicity.

A Year of Banners

For Christmas 2005 and Epiphany 2006, Molly E. created white banners. These were inspired by instruction from our pastor who often sketched two circles, symbolizing the variable overlap of our world with God's Kingdom. The cross represents Christ at the point of intersection. This concept is appropriate for all times when the liturgical color of white is used, such as Easter, Christmas, weddings, baptisms, Trinity Sunday - any occasion that especially celebrates the redemptive work of Christ on our behalf.

Molly interpreted this drawing into a beautiful mosaic pattern rendered in silk.

Advent 2005

As Advent 2005 approached, the newly-formed Liturgical Arts Team busied themselves designing additional banners appropriate for that liturgical season. The design is a gold, four-pointed, elongated, star (inspired by Revelation 22:16, in which Jesus is proclaimed to be the “bright morning star”) on a purple background. These banners were sewn by Moira Thornett (1943 - 2007), beloved leader in our church . These banners are used with the pulpit cloth created by Toni R. and her mother, which depicts an angel trumpeting.

The Banner That Started It All

In 2005, one of our church members attended a Van Gogh exhibit at the High Museum, and saw these banners available for purchase. She graciously bought two of them and donated them for use in our sanctuary. The colors go beautifully with our stained-glass Rose Window, and are appropriate for the liturgical color of Ordinary Time, which is green.
These enhancements to our worship experience inspired a small group of us to form a Liturgical Arts Team (L'Art) and to create additional sacred art.