ECVA Newsletter

October, 2006

 
 

eNewsletter Archives

 
 
 

 

The Holy Family (Detail)
By Jim Janknegt

 

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Old Saw
By Paul Wilkes

This is a story of an old saw. My father’s saw. Which is so dulled with age, it doesn’t do much good these days.

So I took it down to a real hardware store to see if it could be sharpened. "A lost art, the sharpening of saws," the owner said, "people just buy new ones" … but … and he hesitated as he took the saw in his hand – and looked down to rusted metal and wood beginning to rot on the handle. “Best one made at the time,” he said, with a certain kind of affection.

My father bought that saw so many years ago, in the midst of the Depression, while raising seven children. In a house where a bowl of corn meal mush with browned butter was a normal meal, where bath water was used for more than one child, where my mother not only cleaned our house, but that of another family, who could afford to hire out such a task.

But, my father always told me, Butch – as he called me – never go cheap on tools. You might not have every tool you need, but when you do, buy the best. They’ll last longer and serve you well. His toolbox – hand made of wood, not purchased metal like most of the other carpenters – may not have been full, but what was there, was quality.

In an age of disposability, of quick answers and cut-rate sales, his lesson echoes across the decades. Don’t go cheap on the important tools in our lives.

Tools? Well, most of us are not craftspeople, but the lesson still holds. Maybe it’s a special pen to write letters that matter. Or a spade to turn over the now-warming soil. Or that copper saucepan you saw hanging in the store window. Every time you use it, you know your spirit will soar.

It’s not that all of us don’t have to watch where we spend our money, but I think the pure satisfaction of having a quality tool in our hands is its own reward. And realizing that tool is not going to end up in the trash in a few months and another will take its place. No, we’re going to hold onto it, care for it – as it performs so elegantly and well for us. And perhaps, to pass it on.

So, I’m going to find someone to sharpen that saw and that saw is going to keep on living. In my hands – so pathetically soft, so clean – as it once was held in hands strong and true, and with honest grime ground into those lines and calluses. And I’ll feel him right there beside me.

 
     
 

 
     
  Paul Wilkes
Paul Wilkes is an author and creator of New Beginnings programs for church renewal and good stewardship. www.nbontheweb.com

Email: paulwilkes@ec.rr.com
 
     
  New at ECVA.org  
     
 
Multimedia

Visual Preludes 2006 - the videos

Visual Preludes 2006 is a series of nine exhibitions featuring the work of 123 visual artists in the Episcopal community. Music has been chosen to accompany the curators' image selections, creating a series of multimedia meditations suitable for private viewing, group meditation and liturgical settings. More . . .

 

 
     
     
     
 

From the ECVA Registry:


...and Joseph feared not...
Corinne Collymore Peters
Cranbury, New Jersey
(Oil, 2005, 49 1/2" x 30 ")

  Remarques
The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts now has its own weblog or blog, "Remarques", online at www.ecva.blogspot.com. Remarques provides a welcoming place for discussion without having to receive a flurry of email messages. For more information, please click here.

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

RSS Feed
ECVA now offers a RSS feed for use in news reader programs. By subscribing, you will automatically be notified when a new ECVA newsletter is available at our Web site. Use the XML-based information linked to the button below and follow the instructions in your news reader to add a new channel. For more information, please click here.

 
 
  Submissions  
     
  ECVA is seeking submissions from artists and writers within the Episcopal community. All work should be based on the topics listed below. For examples of what we are looking for, view our current features online at www.ecva.org and view past features in our Archive. All submissions can be sent by email to editor@ecva.org or by postal mail to:

ECVA
PO Box 4765
Wilmington, NC 28406

Please include your name, desired contact information, local ECVA Chapter (if applicable), parish or other Episcopal Church community, and concise biographical information (optional).
 
     
 

Congregations
We are seeking stories about congregations with works of art. Please include information on the artwork, artist, church, and provide photos.

Community Arts
We are seeking stories about congregations or institutions using the visual art as part of their ministries or community outreach that incorporate the visual arts within the church. Please include information on how the project was developed, those involved, and provide photos.

Articles
We would like stories reflecting on the visual arts and its intersection with church life. Please include images on the topic.

Visual Essays
The concept is to feature an artist's work that was created as a series based on a single theme where the images tell the story. The theme is the choice of the artist and could be anything related to the church, worship, or that is inspirational. We would prefer five or more images and an artist statement reflecting the work and the theme.

 

Illustrated Word
Writers are invited to submit up to 3 poems at a time for consideration. There is no limit in length, though the shorter, the better. Previously published poems are accepted. After a poem has been selected, a work of art will be selected as an illustration for the poem. The poem and image will be posted together at the Web site.

Multimedia
We are seeking multimedia presentations that bring together image, word and/or sound. Presentations could be videos or Flash graphics.

Resources
We are interested in art related projects designed to celebrate a season or holy day that is usually temporary and involves the members of the congregation in its creation. It could be something used during Advent, Lent, Easter, or Pentecost.

Events and Books
Send us your news releases and information on upcoming events at editor@ecva.org. We will list the announcement on our Events Web page and in the News section of our eNewsletter.

eNewsletter
Writers are invited to submit short essays (300 to 600 words) for consideration in our monthly emailed newsletter.
The theme is the choice of the writer and could be anything inspirational relating to the visual arts.

 
     
 
 
     
 

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.

 
 
  About ECVA      
         
  The mission of The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts (ECVA) is to encourage artists, individuals, congregations, and scholars to engage the visual arts in the spiritual life of the church. ECVA values the significance of visual imagery in spiritual formation and the development of faith, and creates programs to support those who are engaged in using the visual arts in spiritual life.

To learn more about ECVA, please visit www.ecva.org.
 

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