Get ideas and guidelines for liturgical art
How does one incorporate art in worship in a way that is faithful to the Word and the Reformed tradition and responsive to the movement of the Spirit and the pastoral needs of the community? Here are some guidelines and ideas.
Here are some concrete ideas to spark your creative reflection on the scripture readings for upcoming Sundays in the Revised Common Lectionary. These are just offered as examples; you should feel free to adapt to suit your own gifts and interests.
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Ash Wednesday (February 17, 2010) Psalm 51. Wash me. The psalmist pleads for God’s cleansing forgiveness, healing mercy, and transforming spirit. (1) Carve a soap sculpture of someone praying or seeking mercy. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued on Sunday): Write a paraphrase of the psalm in your own words, finding new images and metaphors to express the penitential themes and deep emotions of this prayer.
1st Sunday in Lent (February 21, 2010) Luke 4:1-13. Don’t tempt me. After fasting for 40 days, Jesus is tested by the devil in the wilderness. (1) Create an installation with 40 stones (or bread crumbs?), representing Jesus’ days in the wilderness and the devil’s challenge to turn a stone into a loaf of bread. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued next week): Write a prose poem (free from constraints of meter, line, etc., but full of poetic imagery) updating this story, envisioning a contemporary encounter between Jesus and the devil.
2nd Sunday in Lent (February 28, 2010) Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18. Count the stars. God makes a covenant with Abra(ha)m, promising that his descendents will outnumber the stars. (1) Make a mobile with stars, inscribed with the names of friends or family; this could be a churchwide art project, with a star for each member of the congregation. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued next week): Write a poem in the form a letter from Abraham to his promised “star-children.”
3rd Sunday in Lent (March 7, 2010) Psalm 63:1-8. Thirst. Psalm 63 offers a vivid first-person account of spiritual thirst and of the satisfaction found in God’s steadfast love (Isaiah 55:1-9 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 address related themes). (1) Paint a dry and weary landscape; you may (or may not) want to include a hint of water somewhere in the picture. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued next week): As vividly as you can, write a description of the physical experience of thirst; then experiment with adding, changing or rearranging words so that it becomes a poem about spiritual thirst.
4th Sunday in Lent (March 14, 2010) Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. Lost and found. Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, who squanders his inheritance and nevertheless is warmly welcomed home by his father. (1) Design a missing person poster, such as the father of the prodigal son might have created. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued next week): Write a poem in the form of a dialogue between the elder and younger sons in this story; you might arrange them in parallel columns on the page.
5th Sunday in Lent (March 21, 2010) John 12:1-8. Fragrant offering. Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, foreshadowing Jesus’ own costly self-offering for the sake of the world. (1) Throw a pot or make a ceramic vessel, like the jar that contained the perfume for anointing Jesus’ feet. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued next week): Brainstorm (or use a thesaurus to find) as many “smell” words as possible; can you describe the aroma of extravagant grace, or the fragrance of costly sacrifice?
Passion / Palm Sunday (March 28, 2010) Philippians 2:5-11. Emptied, exalted. The well known “Christ hymn” expresses a paradox of the gospel: Christ’s humiliation on the cross and exaltation in glory. (1) Write the text of this passage in calligraphy in the shape of a cross, or inscribe it on a wooden cross. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued on Thursday): Read through the “Christ hymn” several times and circle the words that particularly jump out or capture your imagination; use those words to create a new poem on the paradox of Christ’s passion.
Maundy Thursday (April 1, 2010) John 13:1-17, 31b-35. Love one another. Jesus washes the disciples’ feet in an intimate and eloquent act of service and love. (1) Design a dance or movement piece for worship that conveys this sense of humble service and generous love. (2) Lenten poetry journal (continued tomorrow): Write an acrostic poem describing the love and service of Christ, using the letters of the words “new commandment” or “love one another” at the beginning of each line.
Good Friday (April 2, 2010) Psalm 22. Forsaken. This psalm of lament, voiced by Jesus on the cross, expresses the agony of abject suffering and abandonment. (1) Compose a musical setting of this psalm of lament for use in public worship (2) Lenten poetry journal (final installment): Create a “found poem” using quotations from newspaper articles that reflect the themes and images of the psalm; you might want to interline those clippings between the verses of the original text.
Please note: During the season of Lent, the second option for each Sunday or festival will be an installment in a Lenten poetry journal. |
