“The Sacred on the Street:” A Visual Meditation for Lent
First Christian is doing something a little different this Lent, in that we are offering the viewing of an art exhibit and offering it to anyone as part of their Lenten discipline. We are proud to have in our midst such a talented person as Deb Murphy. Deb teaches Art of the Covenant, our children’s Sunday School class and is the unofficial artist-in-residence here at First. When she is not teaching Sunday School or working, she is going to United Seminary in New Brighton, working on a Masters in Theology and the Arts. As part of her project, she created a photo exhibit called “The Sacred on the Street.” Deb describes it below:
The original idea for my Arts Practicum project last fall at United Theological Seminary was to take a look at church vestments and paraments. As a costumer and fiber artist, this seemed like the natural thing to do. As I already knew from costume history, much of what we use in the ritual of today’s worship services started as ordinary items in the lives of the members of the early church. For example – the pre-Vatican II habit of a nun was once women’s medieval dress and headwear ,and the towels on servants shoulders eventually became the stoles worn by today’s clergy.
As I considered the project, I thought that if today’s vestments, paraments and other items had evolved out of ordinary items, what would today’s items look like if they devolved back to the ordinary of today. I therefore set out with my camera to photograph the liturgies of the church (in this case First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Minneapolis) and to look for their analogies in the every day. As I photographed, the project expanded beyond clothing to people, buildings and other objects.
There are ten photographs displayed in sets of two: one showing the use of an object in the life the church, an
d one showing the use of the same object in everyday life. These include:
But this is not just an art exhibit, but a way for people to meditate during the Lenten season. Deb is busy working on material that will allow people to experience the exhibit and also experience God in times of quiet reflection. Stay tuned to find out more.
You can view the exhibit here at First by going down the West Hallway, which is across from the Lounge.
We are thankful for the gifts Deb has shared with the wider community. May God continue to use art to speak to us in new ways.
