July 21st

Year-Long Visual Art Project Deepens Home Street's Worship

This article was submitted by Judith Friesen Epp, co-pastor at Home Street Mennonite Church.

Home Street Mennonite Church’s worship committee knew that our congregation worshiped God well through sound, with our words and music. We also knew that worshiping through sight, through visuals and artwork, opened even more ways of encountering God. We further knew that there were many visual artists among us.

So when we heard about grants offered by the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship, we began to dream about spending a year exploring faith through visual arts. We gathered a team of six Home Streeters, applied for the grant, and were thrilled to receive the full amount.

So began our year-long project called “coCreate.” We have all been encouraged to understand ourselves as artists made in the image of our Creator. Children and adults, professional artists, and people claiming no artistic skills at all sat side-by-side, developing ideas and images for banners and murals. For Judith Rempel Smucker, a highlight of the year was “the willingness of participants to collaborate, to work together and pay attention to each other’s ideas.”

At an art retreat at Camp Assiniboia, therapist and spiritual director Carly Lo invited participants to bring their own life questions into dialogue with their art. Lo observed that by the end of the day, “some people found their questions answered, some ended up with more questions to ponder, but everyone’s questions were affirmed—and that was maybe even more important.”

Visual arts have opened Scripture to us in new ways. As I was preparing a sermon during Lent, one Scripture text proved particularly perplexing. Since we were practicing Visio Divina at that time, I finally set aside my exegetical study and instead spent a few days taking photos which seemed to illustrate the text. Suddenly three images emerged in the passage, and it came alive in new ways.

A group of four Home Street artists designed seven new banners for the sanctuary, one for each of the liturgical seasons. After generating many images from many media, the artists were suddenly inspired by a series of sketches they had previously discarded. Graphic designer Matt Veith says, “The project came together collaboratively through conversations over tea, passing pastels, and doodling until we arrived at the right feeling.”

We learned that art can create connections with our neighbourhood. Neighbours who share coffee with us on Sunday mornings can now display their own art in a new Community Art Corner in the church basement. Partnering with Craftivists United and Climate Action Team Manitoba, we built relationships as we designed and screen-printed Earth Day posters. Our outdoor murals were a wonderful collaboration with Synonym Art Consultation and mural artists Toby Gilles and Natalie Baird, as we sought to reflect not only the character of our church community, but also the land and life of the neighbourhood.

As this year of “coCreate” draws to a close, the new colours, lines, textures, and shapes on the inside and outside of our building invite us to encounter God, the Great Artist, with all our senses. We hope visual art will continue to enliven biblical stories, deepen faith exploration, create community connections, and inspire us to work for peace and justice in the world.

Does your church have a story to share with our community of congregations? Is there something happening among you that might encourage or inspire other congregations? Contact Darryl Neustaedter Barg at the MCM office.