I sense the Holy Spirit when I walk in the woods and feel the wind. It's there when I hear the sound of a brook, the cry of a red-tailed hawk, or feel the heat of the sun. When I photograph in nature, I know I can't possibly record the full extent of what I sense. But as I slow down and focus on the details of the natural world, I feel more closely connected to the Spirit. And when I look later at my photographs, I am reminded of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and encouraged to get outside and search for it once again. The Spirit is not far away.

I made the photograph of crocus last spring in my front yard. This past week, the same patch of crocus pushed up again, and I wondered which one was my model.
- Wilson Cummer, artist

On View: 'Crocus,' photograph by Wilson Cummer, March 2004, as seen in 'Spirit's Fire,' an exhibition of Episcopal Church & Visual Arts.

Wilson Cummer works professionally as a photographer teaches photography to children and adults, through Cazenovia College, near his home in Fayetteville, NY.

The Sacred in Cyber Space - Part 2 of 2

The Technologizing of the Word. In oral cultures, Ong writes, speech is more performance oriented, a way of doing something to someone; in our print and media culture, speech is more informational, partly because it is controlled by larger institutions (including the church). That is changing in the world of computer-mediated communication, which is more horizontal. Although based on a printed book, the Bible, Christian community is in fact a performance (oral) community and always has been. One of our difficulties today in the church is that we have allowed ourselves to be fixed in time and space, less amenable to the messiness of performance and art. What does it mean (to me) and how can I use it trumps (almost) everything else.
By the way, Ong wrote this book before the computer revolution. - Ken Arnold

reference 'Orality and Literacy' by Walter Jackson Ong, 2002, Routledge. ISBN 0415281288.

On View: "Luminous Drawing", a digital montage by Barbara Desrosiers. As seen in the ECVA exhibition Unto Us a Child is Born

Barbara Desrosiers trained in the fine arts at the University of Rhode Island, and has studied informally in art communities all over the world. The evolution of her work from the painted surface to digital montage has been years in the process. Her work has always been impacted by her faith as well as her surroundings. These lead her to search for an understanding of God�s presence in the world, and his presence and power in her work. She lives and works in Melbourne, Florida, and is a member of Church of the Holy Apostles, Satellite Beach, Florida.

Ken Arnold is a writer living in Portland, Oregon. You can read more of his work here.

The River Jordan and the Light of Christ flow out from a common source. That source is God. The water boldly flows as the light continues to shine and is not extinguished by the water. So too, does Christ's love flow in each of us calling us boldly into the world. - Wendy Wahn, artist.

On View: Drawing by Wendy Wahn, pastels on paper, as seen in 'A New Light', an exhibition of Episcopal Church and Visual Arts.

On View: Gray Dove Font/Basin, by Ruth Burink. Gray marble, 11.5"x20"x22". As seen in 'Spirit's Fire', an exhibition of Episcopal Church & Visual Arts.

Ruth Burink is an American sculptor working in stone and bronze. Her contemporary sculpture is primarily figurative and nature-centered tending toward the abstract, and often spiritual in concept. She works in various types of stone and in bronze, casting her bronze pieces from an original carved in stone. Her award winning sculpture can be seen several galleries and in international shows and collections. She welcomes commissions for stone and bronze sculpture.

The Visual Artist’s Guild at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, North Carolina, meets “on demand” – particularly when there is a large energetic project looming. We are six professional artists with an additional eight people or so who are enthusiastic about our projects. Greenville is home to East Carolina University (ECU) and home to the School of Art and Design, and the School of Music. Most importantly, St. Paul’s Church is home to a diverse and vibrant family of multi-talented people. Our mission statement is, “To know Christ and To Make Him Known”. - Charles Chamberlain for the St Paul's Visual Arts Guild, Greenville, North Carolina.

On View: a detail from 'Taking Flight', an liturgical arts installation by the St. Paul's Visual Arts Guild, as seen in Resources ecva.org.

"...she carries on..."
Perhaps the world has always appeared to be “coming apart at the seams.” Yet somehow, we carry on. How? There are those anonymous multitudes of individuals who quietly, methodically, gracefully pick up the threads of hope and beauty and carry on with living. I am inspired and drawn to the spirit of those who have the energy and fortitude to survive the disaster of flood, famine, war, and man’s inhumanity to man, one day at a time. I am struck especially by images of women who spin, weave and stitch and wrap themselves with garments, clothing and comforting others for the daily walk of life. They carry on. They carry their children, their water buckets, their burdens, their abundance and the beauty of their traditions.

The photographs used in these pieces were harvested from the media. I poured over images, selected and altered them, and inserted them into my work, like windows to a world where I have never walked. I am grateful to the photographers who used their talents, sometimes putting themselves in harm’s way, to bring us images of those we will never physically embrace, though they are just outside our window. - Mary Ann Breisch

On View: from the Series "...she carries on...", The Three Graces, Stitched Assemblage: Photo transfer on layered vellum, cold press, earth cloth and tulle with graphite. The artist writes, "This image was inspired by a wire photo entitled 'A day in Iraq.'
I thought the women were supremely universal in their poses...they looked like Greek goddesses or 3 mountains or the 3 visitors from the story of Jacob."

Mary Ann Breisch is an artist living and working in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio where she serves the 'heARTspace' and 'Front Porch Ministry' programs.

Hilda of Whitby
by Suzanne Schleck

"By definition, painting an icon is an encounter with the Spirit of God, often as manifested in the lives of his saints. This is necessarily an experience of growth. The icon of Hilda of Whitby is an encounter with a woman of unity and wisdom, who lived in a time of turmoil in the church." – Suzanne Schleck

As seen in: Saints & Family, a collaborative exhibition between the Communications Department of the Episcopal Church and Episcopal Church & Visual Arts.

November 18 – Hilda of Whitby (c. 614 – November 17, 680), Abbess

"The fourth of a planned series of six stained glass windows was installed on May 23 in the church of the Cathedral Center of St Paul in Los Angeles.

"The newest window depicts St. Athanasius, a fourth-century scholar and bishop who staunchly defended the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

"The congregation, which continues to raise funds for the $18,000 installation, dedicated the window in festivities on Trinity Sunday, June 3."
- by Janet Kawamoto, The Episcopal News, Summer 2007, p. 28

The David Pendelton Oakerhater Window
Crafted by Willet Stained Glass for St George's Episcopal Church, Dayton, Ohio

(from Liturgy and Music Online) David Pendelton Oakerhater is the only American Indian listed in the Episcopal calendar of the church year. He was born between 1844 and 1851 on a Cheyenne reservation in Western Oklahoma. Oakerhater, whose name means "Making Medicine," was imprisoned in Florida for his alleged role in the Battle of Adobe Walls in 1874. He was befriended by Ohio Senator George Pendleton and his wife, who arranged for his education in Syracuse, New York. Oakerhater was ordained deacon on June 7, 1881, and spent the rest of his life as a missionary to the Cheyenne Nation of Oklahoma. Oakerhater is commemorated in the Episcopal calendar of the church year on Sept. 1.

St. George's Episcopal Church in Dayton Ohio has 48 stained glass windows installed throughout the church. A virtual tour is available online. The St George's stained glass window collection is arranged by section of the church, with different themes illustrated in the chancel, narthex and nave of the church.

Information on Oakerhater is provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from "An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians," Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.

As seen in: Saints & Family, a collaborative exhibition between the Communications Department of the Episcopal Church and Episcopal Church & Visual Arts.