eNewsletter Archives

ECVA Artists encourage Welcoming Mystery
 
By Jan Parkin
Donor Relations and Communications Officer
Church Divinity School of the Pacific

ECVA artists contributed to evoking a sense of the sacred and mysterious at the annual Epiphany West conference, held at Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP), in Berkeley California. Epiphany West, presented by CDSP’s Center for Anglican Learning and Leadership (CALL) is an international conference that addresses critical issues in the church, and attracts speakers and participants from around the world. This year’s conference, held in January 2005, explored the theme Welcoming Mystery: Theology, Space, and Place, and included presentations, classes, and workshops examining ways in which theology, architecture, history, and culture shape one’s awareness of and participation in the sacred. Throughout the four-day conference, 200 participants heard about transforming the Episcopal Cathedral in Philadelphia to encourage new liturgies, the concept of the sacred in nature in Catholic Christian traditions in India, and about the correspondence of religious and civic engagement at San Fernando Cathedral, in San Antonio, Texas, steps away from the Alamo.

	Stations of the Cross by Paul Fromberg (Photo by Mel Ahlborn)

Epiphany West workshops addressed many topics relating space and spirituality, such as Gendered Space:  An Asian Perspective, Monastic Sacred Space, and Roadside Shrines. Conference classes such as Holy Space in Celtic Christianity, The Emerging Church, and Cultic Space in the Old Testament and Its Meaning for Contemporary Christians, allowed time for in-depth discussion and dialogue.

The Fifth Station of the Cross The Cross is Laid on Simon of Cyrene by Eliza Linley (Photo by Mel Ahlborn)

Any examination of space and its effects on the spirit must include the contribution art makes to one’s sense of the sacred. Epiphany West 2006 was fortunate in that ECVA art was present to illustrate that fact.  The Hoarfrost, a painting by Kate Curry, along with Holy Meadow, by Brie Dodson, greeted conference participants in the Courtyard Gallery, along with Benjamin Privitt’s and Matt Warren’s photography series and Paula Wallace’s paintings, The Gift of Myrrh (Balthazar) and Magi.  A Stations of the Cross installation by Paul Fromberg graced the Denniston Refectory, where guests gathered for conference presentations.  CDSP’s Tucson Common Room was another location for displays by ECVA artists; Dan Hardison’s photos Holy Mountain and The Rose and Eliza Linley’s silk paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross were focal points where guests could gather and meditate on the lectures they heard throughout the week.  In addition, Iconography by Betsy Porter linked East and West with its approach to portraying the holy in a manner rich with symbolism. 

	A Display of Icons by Betsy Porter (Photo by Mel Ahlborn)

As the sponsor for Epiphany West, CALL was delighted to join ECVA in its efforts to encourage institutions to incorporate visual arts in their programs.  CALL offers 40 online courses for both lay and ordained individuals, and, in addition to the Epiphany West conference, sponsors speakers’ series on issues critical to the church and society.  To find out more about CALL programs and CDSP, visit http://www.cdsp.edu/.