| Visual Arts Committee |
| This ministry is
dedicated toward making the service more visually meaningful.
This includes altar frontals, banners and other decorations that
coordinate with the liturgical seasons. Along with adding
visually to the service the committee works with
other groups to make the sanctuary warm and inviting to members and
visitors
as well as other significant rooms, hallways and landscaping in the
whole
building complex. Visual Arts is responsible for the overseeing of all seasonal decorations such as fall, advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and any special feast throughout the year. They also give of their expertise and time to help with art projects in the Sunday School. |
The Jesus Wall, in the church rear entrance stairwell. Take a look at what's on the wall |
The
feast of St. Mary Magdalene,
On July 22, 2001 a large framed custom photo
of an icon of Mary by Robert Lenz was on display and then hung
permanently in the sanctuary. According to the ancient tradition of the East, Mary Magdalene was a wealthy woman from whom Christ expelled seven demons. During the three years of Jesus' ministry she helped support Him and His other disciples with her money. When almost everyone else fled, she stayed with Him at the cross. On Easter morning she was the first to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus. She is called "Equal to the Apostles." The Eastern tradition tells us that after the Ascension she journeyed to Rome where she was admitted to the court of Tiberius Caesar because of her high social standing. After describing how poorly Pilate had administered justice at Jesus' trail, she told Caesar that Jesus had risen from the dead. To help explain His resurrection she picked up an egg from the dinner table. Caesar responded that a human being could no more rise from the dead than the egg in her hand turn red. The egg turned red immediately, which is why red eggs have been exchanged at Easter for centuries in the Byzantine East. Mary traveled the Mediterranean preaching the resurrection. Like Peter and Paul, she died a martyr. She bears witness to the important role women once played in the Church. This icon was commissioned for Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to commemorate the election of Barbara Harris, the first woman bishop in the Anglican communion. The inscription at the bottom of the the icon reads: "Saint Mary Magdalene." This title is written in Syriac, a dialect of the language spoken by Jesus. The Gospel comes to us most directly, not from Rome or Greece, but from the deserts of the Middle East. We owe our faith to Semitic Christians such as Mary Magdalene. |
The
other framed serigraph in
the sanctuary is called "Northern Spiritual Beauty" by famed Dene artist Archie Beaulieu and was brought back from the Northwest Territories by members of the 2000 "On Eagle's Wings" team. |