In conjunction with the summer sermon series that engaged the theme of Grace, L'Art invited the APC congregation to submit their original photos for a photo exhibit entitled "Snapshots of Grace". The series and the exhibit lasted 4 weeks. This was the second annual photo show for APC, and again the submissions were beautiful, varied, surprising, and apt visual expressions of a theological concept. Such talent!
The banners being used in worship today were designed for church seasons and celebrations such as Easter, Baptism, Communion, or Christmas. The liturgical color of white is used when we mark special events in Christ’s life that intersect with ours and fill us with hope. The predominant color of the banners is white, which symbolizes purity and holiness. Silver and gold accents enhance the white with allusions to costly treasure. Blue highlights, the color of water and sky, are symbolic of both heaven and baptism. The composition of the design is meant to give the viewer an uplifting, hopeful feeling.
Right Banner
Our sanctuary, and close-up views of Left and Right Banners
In worship today, we proclaim the Resurrection of Jesus. Today's banners were designed to help us think about the joy, as well as the mystery, associated with this event. The banner on the right depicts the empty tomb, as Scripture attests that it was found. On Easter morning, our world is turned upside down. Grief turns into joy and emptiness becomes a reason to celebrate. The empty tomb symbolizes that the power of death has been overcome.
The banner on the left is an imagination of how it may have looked as the resurrected Jesus stepped out of the tomb. Scripture is silent, of course, about how this looked; there were no witnesses to the act of resurrection, only later, to the actual resurrected Jesus.
Shades of gold are used for the image of Jesus, to represent his glorified state. The brushstrokes are ethereal, yet the figure is recognizably human, symbolizing the mysterious state that Jesus is now in. This is a glorified Christ, who came to dwell among us, to die for us, and to claim everlasting life for us, so that we may rejoice and know just how much God loves us.
