ECVA Newsletter




	Gospel By Michael Noyes (From the 2002 ECVA exhibition A New Light: The Collects of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany)

God’s Presence

When we gather together to worship, we are seeking to praise God and to know His presence. We do so through the different aspects of the worship service, but we are never sure what part of that service might touch, inspire, or move an individual in attendance.

Liturgy refers to the words of a worship service or the ritual order for holding a church service. But what about music? And what of visual art within the church or the church building itself? Would not any of these provide an important role in the worship experience?

Len Wilson and Jason Moore have written, “Every aspect of the worship space is part of the worship experience. As music isn’t just ‘support’ for worship, and preaching isn’t support for worship, neither is media. Each element is worship in and of itself, with the ability to proclaim God’s Word and draw believers and seekers alike to an awareness of God’s presence." And there lies the key – “an awareness of God’s presence”.

In 1943, the Rev. George W. Jones told this story:

"A while ago a visiting young man watched the congregation at a well-attended Mission Mass disband and involuntary tears wet his checks. 'It simply gets me,' he explained. What had touched him? He did not know. The Mass had not been a holier Mass. The priest was the average imperfect priest. The congregation had not been a more pious congregation. None of these things of themselves touched him. But what touched him was the Soul of the Mission. It was God the Life Giver.

"Of the Mission there is little to see. Its priest and its people are full of imperfections. It is justly criticized. It stems few or perhaps no waves of wickedness. But almost all, up and down the valley, up and down the mountains, sooner or later feel the warmth of its Soul.

"At Christmas and Easter, when death strikes, in baptism, in need and succor, some force unseen and inexplicable is powerful and warming and winning. It is the Soul of the Mission. It is God."

Dan Hardison
Editor, The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts
editor@ecva.org

Just Added

Featured Congregation

Nativity Episcopal Church
Bloomfield Township, Michigan

Since it’s beginning, Nativity Episcopal Church has had members of great talent and enthusiasm. From its stained glass windows, to creative banners, to the “prayer corner”, this church has inspired a ministry of the arts. More . . .

Community Arts

Spirituality & the Arts Camp
Christ Church Episcopal Parish
Lake Oswego, Oregon

For five days in July, Christ Church Episcopal Parish in Lake Oswego, Oregon, opens its doors to 40-50 youth. Not just any doors, but the ones that open hearts and minds to God’s love and beauty of making art. More . . .

Illustrated Word

Very Cool Rain (Prayer's of a Priest's Wife)
Written and illustrated by Erin McGee Ferrell

Erin McGee Ferrell wrote the poem Very Cool Rain "during a time of possibly having to move because of not being able to make ends meet financially as a Priest's family".

Have mercy oh Lord. Remember,
we are your beloved babes in arm.

The words reflect the thoughts of many people during a time of struggle and the need to turn to God for guidance. More . . .

From the ECVA Registry:

Mourning Bench
By Diane Walker
Bainbridge Island, Washington
(photograph)

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.

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.

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.

Submissions
ECVA is seeking submissions from artists and writers within the Episcopal community. The work should be based on the topics listed to the right. 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).

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

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

Community Arts
We are seeking stories about congregations using the visual art as part of their community outreach or projects that incorporates the visual arts in the church. Please include information on how the work was developed and those involved, and photos.

Articles
We would like essays 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 poems for consideration. Send up to 3 poems at a time. No limit in length, though the shorter, the better. Previously published poems are accepted. After a poem has been selected, a Call will be issued for artists to submit a work of art as an illustration for the poem. After an illustration is selected, the poem and image will be posted at the Web site.

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

	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.		If you know someone who might enjoy our newsletter, please forward this issue to them so they can learn what is happening at ECVA. To subscribe, visit www.ecva.org/newsletter.htm for information.