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Write Now!
This blog started as a 'Lenten Writing Project', where we wrote each day in Lent. Now that Summer is here, let's keep up the discipline of writing with a weekly writing challenge! A prompt will be posted each week and anyone is welcome to join in and post their writing here or participate just by reading it.
Every writer has their own special light to add to this blog and all of your writing offerings are appreciated, whether poetry, prose, essay, thoughts, lists or comments and encouragement.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Lenten Writing Prompt #15
What is your favorite thing to look at or notice in the sanctuary during church? (you can choose a memory from another church as well, of course) What does it mean to you or inspire in you?
My favorite thing to look at in the sanctuary during church is the stained glass window which rises behind the altar all the way up to the tiptop peak of the roof.
It seems my eyes journey up from the altar, reminding me that nearly every culture in the world has some kind of mythology of people trying to reach up to or return to heaven. The idea of a ladder to heaven is seemingly a universal belief.
But when my eyes reach the top of that ladder of stained glass panes, I stop. I quickly realize that we have a different understanding of that story, told in the light streaming down through the stained glass.
We have the Gospel, the good news that God comes down to us and leads us in the Way. Thanks be to God.
Color and texture are the things I see first, and my eyes are always drawn to the stained glass windows, regardless of the season of the year or quality of light. The light at the peak of the roof is a focus for worship and reminds me of those in our community who have lived and died with us. Being part of a faith community is different from being in a family, or an office team. Staying connected, through good times and bad.
Stained Glass ofcourse – I just adore it. I like it because it has vibrant colors and when the light shines through it, it makes me feel like being open with God. There are no secrets anywhere. I love glass paintings and that’s my hobby, glass just fascinates me, so does the stained glass in our church. The other earthly thing is the wooden architecture, it brings in warmth, elegance and great re-sounding effect in the church services.
Wood and Glass effect is truly divine when it comes to the proximity with the altar. When we gather around the altar for prayers and sermon, this places binds us together as one family in Christ’s Love. The combination of purity like in glass, grace like in wood and distance from altar wants me to come back week after week.
My family church in India, it is on Facebook too (All Saints Church, Trimulgherry), is quiet similar to our church( wood, glass structure) that makes the connection fairly easy and simple.
I like to look out the windows above the altar. I like to watch the weather go by, rain drops on the window panes, clouds speeding by, life outside. Jackie D
Full disclosure: I pray with my eyes open most of the time. I love looking at the congregation and especially the kiddos that either mimic the adults in their posture of prayer or totally check out and make faces or steal as many little pencils and pew cards as possible. Either way, I love that we are a community - a family - all knit together by love, the discipline and devotion of going to church and the need or hunger for the bread and wine that is being given - physical, metaphoric and transcendent.
The altar is draped in soft white cloth, ready to host the holy meal. The solid classic wooden pulpit stands ready for the proclamation. The empty cross with its colorful swirls quietly reminds us that death has lost its sting. And the banner with its bold colors and simple symbols calls us to worship. Finally, as the sun reaches its zenith in the late mornings it sends its rays through the colors of the stained glass skylight to dance across the floor in front of us. Why shouldn’t the creation itself join us in worshipping it’s maker? Worship, sweet worship Alleluia
A number of years ago I began to notice, not the stained glass windows, but the light that the ones in the peak of the sanctuary throw across the floor, especially in the summer and how it added another kind of life to the experience. I wrote this back then and it still brings back those memories ... and is another reason to look forward to summer!
I have to add that I also love the banners and paraments. So much thought goes into making them and they have so much meaning. I especially love our Advent angel banner because it is so unique and special. The banners tell us so much about the liturgical seaaon we are in, through a language of art, crafted by a lineage of mostly women in the church, whom I am proud to have in my church family community. -Ruth Hanley
I am drawn most often to the modern wood cross on the right which is adorned differently in season. It is where I look when professing belief with the Creed and sometimes the prayers of the church.
The other is the sky window which I feel the universe entering to join us, bringing reality of change--blue, dotted with clouds; flat gray; or water drops washing over our prayers and songs, carrying them like waves to touch the world. Marlene Obie
I was once a member of a church that had an 8ft high x 10ft long mosaic mural on the right side-wall of the sanctuary; about where the congregational seating met the altar and choir area.
It was beautiful to behold; made from one inch squares of the most vivid colors, including many brilliant gold pieces. Each was lovingly hand-laid on the brick wall. The mosaic depicted coptic-style angels and archangels, some with instruments, and all seeming to join the congregation in worship.
It reminded me of the words from the old ALC Red Hymnal, where the Communion liturgy after the Preface read, "Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and all the company of heaven, we laud and magify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee and singing: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of thy glory; Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest."
At first, I simply enjoyed the beauty and the symbolism of the mosaic. I felt connected to all of those angels in heaven, who were singing along invisibly, all over the Universe.
One day, the pastor gave a sermon using a text about the congregation being the Body of Christ in the world today. She said that, as the Communion of Saints, we are like that mosaic. Each piece needed to make the whole picture. We may feel as if we are the insignificant "gray" piece in the corner, but together we make the great and beautiful picture complete, and can do wonderful things together for Christ.
In Romans 12:4-5 we are told that we are all part of the one Body of Christ, and that no one part is more important than another. We must remember that this is even more true today, and help each other. The World can be so isolating. Needless to say, my thoughts about the mosaic expanded from that day forward.
I have now moved to another state, and to a church with no mosaic mural. I miss the mural, but there ARE beautiful stained glass windows here; and that lesson still applies. We are all parts of the same Body of Christ, and each of us is just as needed here as each of the pieces of stained glass windows are needed, to make those beautiful pictures complete. Now I look at them each Sunday, and am once again reminded of the Communion of Saints in Christ Jesus....and feel I'm home. s.h.
Like so many of you, one of my favorite things is the large window climbing from the altar upward to the inspirational gathering of stained glass colors and on into the sky. We sit in the middle area of the sanctuary seeing a large tree standing to the right side of the window. I don’t know the species of the tree. It is old, large, and sturdy. A good tree.
The seasons change. The tree transitions from spring green hues, to older greens of summer, then to colors of fall splendor; shades of red, orange, and gold, and finally winter brings beautiful intricate bare branches.
Looking at the tree during worship is a glimpse of the holy. It has become a symbol of God. Sure, steady, faithful, glorious, filled with mystery, majesty and miracles.
The seasons of the church change. What if the altar wore colored paraments of the tree as it transitions through its shades of color, following God’s calendar. Advent would be a rich gray-taupe with candle holders fashioned as branches of iron. The Easter season’s paraments would be shades of spring greens, and the season following Pentecost transforms from the darker green shades of summer to the vivid hues of fall when the tree signals the change. Easter and Christmas would be gold and white, royal colors of nature.
Finally, the tree symbolizes Christ’s death on the cross or the tree. His death making way for His resurrection to life. All a gift of grace from God to us. The tree a holy reminder.
My favorite thing to look at in the sanctuary during church is the stained glass window which rises behind the altar all the way up to the tiptop peak of the roof.
ReplyDeleteIt seems my eyes journey up from the altar, reminding me that nearly every culture in the world has some kind of mythology of people trying to reach up to or return to heaven. The idea of a ladder to heaven is seemingly a universal belief.
But when my eyes reach the top of that ladder of stained glass panes, I stop. I quickly realize that we have a different understanding of that story, told in the light streaming down through the stained glass.
We have the Gospel, the good news that God comes down to us and leads us in the Way. Thanks be to God.
Color and texture are the things I see first, and my eyes are always drawn to the stained glass windows, regardless of the season of the year or quality of light. The light at the peak of the roof is a focus for worship and reminds me of those in our community who have lived and died with us. Being part of a faith community is different from being in a family, or an office team. Staying connected, through good times and bad.
ReplyDeleteStained Glass ofcourse – I just adore it. I like it because it has vibrant colors and when the light shines through it, it makes me feel like being open with God. There are no secrets anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI love glass paintings and that’s my hobby, glass just fascinates me, so does the stained glass in our church. The other earthly thing is the wooden architecture, it brings in warmth, elegance and great re-sounding effect in the church services.
Wood and Glass effect is truly divine when it comes to the proximity with the altar. When we gather around the altar for prayers and sermon, this places binds us together as one family in Christ’s Love. The combination of purity like in glass, grace like in wood and distance from altar wants me to come back week after week.
My family church in India, it is on Facebook too (All Saints Church, Trimulgherry), is quiet similar to our church( wood, glass structure) that makes the connection fairly easy and simple.
by Pat Mason
ReplyDeleteIt used to be the dove that was suspended from the ceiling before the sanctuary was remodeled.
Now I do have to agree with the others that the stained glass does draw my eye. It lets me know that now, we are in church and we are here to worship.
It is especially nice to see the stained glass on overcast days. The colors, though muted, still lighten the mood.
Thank you for mentioning the dove!! Poor "little" thing is in the fellowship hall closet : )
DeleteI like to look out the windows above the altar. I like to watch the weather go by, rain drops on the window panes, clouds speeding by, life outside.
ReplyDeleteJackie D
Full disclosure: I pray with my eyes open most of the time. I love looking at the congregation and especially the kiddos that either mimic the adults in their posture of prayer or totally check out and make faces or steal as many little pencils and pew cards as possible. Either way, I love that we are a community - a family - all knit together by love, the discipline and devotion of going to church and the need or hunger for the bread and wine that is being given - physical, metaphoric and transcendent.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWorship Sweet Worship
ReplyDeleteThe altar is draped in soft white cloth,
ready to host the holy meal.
The solid classic wooden pulpit
stands ready for the proclamation.
The empty cross with its colorful swirls
quietly reminds us
that death has lost its sting.
And the banner with its bold colors
and simple symbols
calls us to worship.
Finally, as the sun reaches its zenith
in the late mornings
it sends its rays through the
colors of the stained glass skylight
to dance across the floor
in front of us.
Why shouldn’t the creation itself
join us in worshipping
it’s maker?
Worship, sweet worship
Alleluia
A number of years ago I began to notice, not the stained glass windows, but the light that the ones in the peak of the sanctuary throw across the floor, especially in the summer and how it added another kind of life to the experience. I wrote this back then and it still brings back those memories ... and is another reason to look forward to summer!
I have to add that I also love the banners and paraments. So much thought goes into making them and they have so much meaning. I especially love our Advent angel banner because it is so unique and special. The banners tell us so much about the liturgical seaaon we are in, through a language of art, crafted by a lineage of mostly women in the church, whom I am proud to have in my church family community.
ReplyDelete-Ruth Hanley
I am drawn most often to the modern wood cross on the right which is adorned differently in season. It is where I look when professing belief with the Creed and sometimes the prayers of the church.
ReplyDeleteThe other is the sky window which I feel the universe entering to join us, bringing reality of change--blue, dotted with clouds; flat gray; or water drops washing over our prayers and songs, carrying them like waves to touch the world.
Marlene Obie
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLenten Prompt #15 Wednesday Mar 7 2012
ReplyDeleteI was once a member of a church that had an 8ft high x 10ft long mosaic mural on the right side-wall of the sanctuary; about where the congregational seating met the altar and choir area.
It was beautiful to behold; made from one inch squares of the most vivid colors, including many brilliant gold pieces. Each was lovingly hand-laid on the brick wall. The mosaic depicted
coptic-style angels and archangels, some with instruments, and all seeming to join the congregation in worship.
It reminded me of the words from the old ALC Red Hymnal, where the Communion liturgy after the Preface read,
"Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and all the company of heaven, we laud and magify thy glorious Name;
evermore praising thee and singing:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory;
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest."
At first, I simply enjoyed the beauty and the symbolism of the mosaic. I felt connected to all of those angels in heaven, who were singing along invisibly, all over the Universe.
One day, the pastor gave a sermon using a text about the congregation being the Body of Christ in the world today. She said that, as the Communion of Saints, we are like that mosaic. Each piece needed to make the whole picture. We may feel as if we are the insignificant "gray" piece in the corner, but together we make the great and beautiful picture complete, and can do wonderful things together for Christ.
In Romans 12:4-5 we are told that we are all part of the one Body of Christ, and that no one part is more important than another. We must remember that this is even more true today, and help each other. The World can be so isolating. Needless to say, my thoughts about the mosaic expanded from that day forward.
I have now moved to another state, and to a church with no mosaic mural. I miss the mural, but there ARE beautiful stained glass windows here; and that lesson still applies. We are all parts of the same Body of Christ, and each of us is just as needed here as each of the pieces of stained glass windows are needed, to make those beautiful pictures complete. Now I look at them each Sunday, and am once again reminded of the Communion of Saints in Christ Jesus....and feel I'm home.
s.h.
The Tree
ReplyDeleteLike so many of you, one of my favorite things is the large window climbing from the altar upward to the inspirational gathering of stained glass colors and on into the sky. We sit in the middle area of the sanctuary seeing a large tree standing to the right side of the window. I don’t know the species of the tree. It is old, large, and sturdy. A good tree.
The seasons change. The tree transitions from spring green hues, to older greens of summer, then to colors of fall splendor; shades of red, orange, and gold, and finally winter brings beautiful intricate bare branches.
Looking at the tree during worship is a glimpse of the holy. It has become a symbol of God. Sure, steady, faithful, glorious, filled with mystery, majesty and miracles.
The seasons of the church change. What if the altar wore colored paraments of the tree as it transitions through its shades of color, following God’s calendar. Advent would be a rich gray-taupe with candle holders fashioned as branches of iron. The Easter season’s paraments would be shades of spring greens, and the season following Pentecost transforms from the darker green shades of summer to the vivid hues of fall when the tree signals the change. Easter and Christmas would be gold and white, royal colors of nature.
Finally, the tree symbolizes Christ’s death on the cross or the tree. His death making way for His resurrection to life. All a gift of grace from God to us. The tree a holy reminder.
DyAnn Dennie
i like this!
ReplyDelete