eNewsletter Archives

	Church of the Incarnation - Santa Rosa, CA, with its altar window facing the rising sun.

Morning Communion – It is just before seven, and as I kneel for prayer, I look up at the leaded window above the altar. It reflects only flinty tones of gray. Where is Jesus the Shepherd, and where is his flock? They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

As the Communion Service progresses, the window subtly changes as Jesus and his beloved lambs emerge into the window. Where was the Shepherd when I needed him? Was he seeking the lost lamb he cradles in His arms?

The truth is that Jesus never left the window. He is an innate part of its construction and remains with his flock before the dawn and after the sunset, but can only be revealed by daylight.

My lesson: Jesus says to me, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth. I am Emanuel and will never leave you nor forsake you."

“As you go through your day, though it appears dreary and people seem unkind, remember the window and my steadfast presence there as a reminder that I am with you. Practice my presence behind the eyes of all you meet, for I am there also, for I light every one that cometh into the world.”

Martha D. Peterson
Journalist
Email: marthascribe@aol.com
Web site: www.elderscribe.com
Parish: Church of the Incarnation - Santa Rosa, CA

Featured Congregation

St. Paul's Episcopal Church - Franklin, Tennessee

The first Episcopal Church established in Tennessee, St. Paul's Church would be resurrected from the ruins of the Civil War. Its history and Louis Comfort Tiffany windows are a befitting legacy for the "Mother Church of the Diocese of Tennessee."  More . . .

Articles

From Commission to Dedication:
Sculpting the Parable of the Prodigal Son
for Duke Divinity School
By Margaret Adams Parker

When artist Peggy Parker received the commission for a sculpture to be part of the new addition at Duke Divinity School, she thought of "the great parable". Through her words and photos, we follow the creation of her sculpture Reconciliation from concept to installation. Also included is the story of the Prodigal Son told in bronze. More . . .

Benediction
By Ronda Broatch

Through intertwining words of and about nature, Ronda Broatch brings us Benediction – nature's blessing.

Knows only this prayer
burns deeper than words.

The poem is accompanied by Michael Chesley Johnson's plein air painting Blue Water, Green Rocks. More . . .

From the ECVA Registry:


Butterfly Bush
By Mary Howe
Kansas City, Missouri
(watercolor)

Mary Howe was included in the article "Deepening ties through art" by Michelle Gabriel in the November 2005 issue of Episcopal Life.

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Registry
If you are an artist, part of an organization, or just an individual with an interest in the arts, please join our registry. ECVA Registry

The Worship Well
Church Publishing Incorporated has partnered with ECVA, the Office of Liturgy and Music, and the All Saints Company to provide an online community for conversation, collaboration, education, and the sharing of liturgies, images, music, art, multimedia, scripture tools, and more. The goals for ECVA are to increase visibility of ECVA and ECVA artists through The Worship Well; support increased use of art and image in worship and liturgy; and create support for ECVA artists in the areas of how to use art in church situations and how to ask for remuneration for the use of their art in church situations.
www.theworshipwell.org.

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