Easter Art Project and the 24-Hour Fire Watch
From Shadows to Light
At Good Shepherd, we have learned to watch for Easter. While Lent is an especially rich time in our congregation, Easter is the wondrous surprise! It’s not unexpected – for God has promised resurrection life – but each year Easter brings amazement and hope and joy. And one way we experience that is through the artwork at the front of the Sanctuary which changes dramatically as we move from the shadow of Good Friday to the glory of Easter. And this year is no exception.
During Lent, the theme for the artwork was “In the Shadow of God’s Wings.” The paper sculpture on the east wall drew us into that theme, used for worship planning throughout the season. The deep, rich purples and blacks provided a thoughtful, somber setting for worship as we heard the call to repentance and reflection, prayer and penitence, renewal and righteous action.
And then, on Easter morning, we saw the Sanctuary art transformed from darkness to light, from shadow to glory, from fear to promise. The dark wings were transformed to dazzling white for Easter, with the theme, “In the Glory of God’s Light.” The Art Team used their amazing imagination and skills to create very different settings in the same space, related but clearly different.
In addition, the mobile dangling above the chancel – what the Art Team calls a “chandelier of paper feathers” moves as God’s people come and go, as the Spirit blows through this community of faith. This “chandelier” was created by the congregation at the invitation of the Art Team, and each feather is unique and symbolizes how each of us are moved with the energy of the Holy Spirit -- as the Art Team terms it, “little feathers in the wings of God” called to service. It is a symbol of how God’s people are called to do the work of God by proclaiming the Good News, serving our neighbors, and reaching out to our brothers and sisters around the globe.
How does the Art Team come up with these fantastical ideas? They always begin with the texts appointed for the seasons, both Lent and Easter. Then, as Brita Taracks says, “Faith is essential to our process. We start developing the concept and how it can become a visual experience.” Along with her collaborators -- Mary Zeleny Arimond, Jason Davenport, Cathy Davenport, Bill Kerker, and Linda Kerker -- they brainstorm and dream together, visualizing how to turn those ideas into materials and objects that catch our imaginations and stir (and sometimes, perhaps, unsettle) our spirits. And they start with recyclable, disposable, inexpensive materials, which allows yearly reimaginings, since the financial investment is low.
Brita says, “Even with a plan, the Holy Spirit leads the outcome.” For example, Brita did a sketch of the cross which is on the north wall. “It was an idea that led the process, but the actual making of this cross and erecting it on the north wall required engaging the challenges of gravity, scale, materials.” Bill Kerker constructed the armature out of thin aluminum rods, then Mary and Brita cut and draped the white shapes (made out of temporary window shades) and wire screen mesh over it. Jason ran the scissors lift up and down so they could assemble the cross and play with the aesthetics and design. “The result is typically something we could not imagine when we began, which to us is an example of living in faith,” Brita says.
Imagination, skills, tools, faith, community – that is what makes the magic happen for the Art Team. And it enriches our worship each season.
Written by Karen Walhof
24-Hour Fire Watch
Since 2016, we have kept the tradition of a 24-hour fire watch going. From the beginning of Maundy Thursday worship service to the beginning of the Good Friday worship service, we have taken turns tending the fire in the courtyard. We have kept watch and paid attention not just to the flames but to the story that is unfolding as we move closer to the cross and the empty tomb.
Over these 10 years, the weather has given us a few curveballs, a global pandemic forced us to offload this event to individuals' homes, and the ability to stream the fire-watch expanded the invitation globally. This year we can name over 100 individuals who participated in person or virtually from all of the corners of our country, as well as the other side of the globe, this was a powerful day together amid a powerful week.
Thank you to Joel and Paul Roellinger and Ian Johnson for starting the fire this year. Thank you to those who came and sat for 30 minutes or an hour or 2 or 3 or more. Thank you to those who shared the link so that this could extend far beyond the confines of the courtyard. Thank you to the Kerkers for providing enough wood for what could have been a 240-hour fire watch. Thank you to this congregation that leans into the opportunities and the invitations to simply be together, to participate in and create community, and to be the church together.
A quick timeline recap: it poured rain from 6-6:54 p.m. on that Thursday, it remained dry through the night and up to 7:03 p.m. when it started raining again the evening of Good Friday. Perhaps there was a little more at play that day than just our planning and hopes.
Written by Mark Halvorson, Director of Congregational Ministries