Art as Liturgical Prophecy

Does the resurrected Jesus look the same in Los Angeles and Boston? Ecclesial art and ritual objects used in the context of congregational life engaged in transformational renewal; must hep make the connection between liturgy and life.

PART I
Baptismal fonts in the ancient world were meant to be gotten into. In some, stairs allow the candidate to enter the water from one end of the pool, and emerge from the other end. Why, then, is the typical twentieth-century font a small bowl mounted on a pillar? Clearly, the washing imagery is lost, as is the element of danger that attends to getting into a body of water.

It is not really surprising that those who craft objects to be used in Eucharistic worship seem intent on softening or even eradicating the symbolic connection between the experience of worship and the experience of life in the world. When attending a Sunday morning service was one of the weekly events on a good citizen's calendar, prophetic encounter was not expected to be a part of the experience. People came to church to be reminded of their need to behave as benevolent people and solid citizens.

From Clay Morris's Art as Liturgical Prophecy, in Visio Divina: A Reader in Faith and the Visual Arts, edited by Mel Ahlborn and Ken Arnold (Leeds, Ma: Leader Resources, 2009)

The Rev. Dr. Clay Morris is Program Officer: Liturgical and Spiritual Resources, Evangelism & Congregational Life Center, The Episcopal Church, and author of Holy Hospitality: Worship and the Baptismal Covenant.

On View: Rock Icons: Arches National Park 6 Mile Marker, By Elta Marie Wilson. In the words of the artist, "“Rock Icons” represents my heart’s spirit in how it perceives the land. The red cliffs soar into the sky with their faces carved by nature peering down upon the passerby. The Icons are so large; the human so small, more in tune with our rightful size in the cosmos. For it is not just the Earth that binds us together, it is our place in the cosmos. ... As we search for community, we can see and sense the Earth. Its inherent spirituality and our shared life with the planet can bring us together. It is our first step toward a global understanding of ourselves. ... As a small part of the ancient practices and traditions that bind us, I make my contribution. All cultures share the Earth and its cycle of life, death, and renewal. “Rock Icons” brings the spiritual, inspiring images of our Earth to our consciousness, reminding all of our humanism and common ground: Ubuntu." From the ECVA Exhibition, "Art as Public Narrative: ECVA Imaging Ubuntu". July 2009. Diane Walker, Curator.

Start with one cavernous cube. Add two CDs, two flash drives, two monitors, two control decks, 2 miles of cabling, and 2 Leopard Macs. Call in 2 media pros, 2 artists, and 2 musicians.

On View: Backstage at Worship at the 6th General Convention of The Episcopal Church. Photo by Mel Ahlborn.

On the Homepage, Daily Episcopalian: The Ubuntu Reredos, detail. 2009. Digital. Visible, "The Letter M" by Ellen Wiener; "The Earth", courtesy of NASA. Mel Ahlborn, producer.

On the Homepage, Speaking to the Soul: The Ubuntu Reredos, detail. 2009. Digital. Visible, "Jesus Christ" by John Guiliani; "The Letter M" by Ellen Wiener, "Canterbury Cathedral Plan", from G. Dehio and G. von Bezold, Die Kirchliche Baukunst desAbendlandes, Stuttgart, 1887-1902. Mel Ahlborn, producer.

Art as Liturgical Prophecy

Does the resurrected Jesus look the same in Los Angeles and Boston? Ecclesial art and ritual objects used in the context of congregational life engaged in transformational renewal; must hep make the connection between liturgy and life.

PART II

Sacramental Experience is about people, not objects. Water is made holy in the sprinkling of the congregation. Bread and wone are made holy in the feeding and being fed. Spaces are made holy by the prayerful human activity that characterizes their use. If our life as church is a life of service to all God's children, then the spaes in which we worship and the ways in which we gather must reflect that holy life of service.

From Clay Morris's Art as Liturgical Prophecy, in Visio Divina: A Reader in Faith and the Visual Arts, edited by Mel Ahlborn and Ken Arnold (Leeds, Ma: Leader Resources, 2009)

The Rev. Dr. Clay Morris is Program Officer: Liturgical and Spiritual Resources, Evangelism & Congregational Life Center, The Episcopal Church, and author of Holy Hospitality: Worship and the Baptismal Covenant.

On View: The Mother, By Alysanne McGaffey. In the words of the artist, "The “Mother” was created long before I heard the term, Ubuntu; however this watercolor is part of my Circle Series. I was meditating on the human comedy, our common condition. It addresses our interrelatedness to all, and all beings. I used the Tree of Life, with its root grounding embraced by the Circle, my symbol for Jesus Christ, who holds us all in God’s Love.

Ubuntu, as I am coming to understand it recalls for me the admonition in the Book of Common Prayer, the Holy Eucharist, Rite One, the familiar prayer.

"Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith;
Thou shalt love the lord our God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. " From the ECVA Exhibition, "Art as Public Narrative: ECVA Imaging Ubuntu". July 2009. Diane Walker, Curator.

A quiet hush filled the space set aside for chapel at the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church. It was designed for prayer by the Canon Randy Kimmler and the Rev Canon Daniel Ade. Ade, subdean of St John's ProCathedral in the Diocese of Los Angeles, brought in the work of New York artist Simon Carr. Carr's stations of the cross were a collaborative effort between the two men while Ade was posted at St Luke in the Fields, New York City. Kimmler is Warden for St John's ProCathedral, and Missioner for Vocations in the Los Angeles diocese.

Read Sharon J. Tillman's story for Episcopal Life Media online here.