Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life." (John 6:35 NRSV)

Each Sunday I receive bread at Communion; and truly it nourishes me. Like the glorious aroma of loaves in the oven, the experience fills my senses. The warmth of human touch when the bread is pressed into my hand; the comfort of the one standing before me, and the One who comes to us in that moment; and the peace that descends as the words are said quietly over me. They fall into silence, and somehow, by filling it, they make it more profound.

Bread rises in silence, yet when it bakes, it fairly explodes with fragrance, color, texture, and taste. Faith comes quietly as well, yet an encounter with God is indescribable. Gary Gorby's "Bread of Heaven" expresses this wonder. A ray of sun pierces a cut crystal, past a shaft of wheat; the light falls in myriad colors from one beam – all in One, One in all.

The day after Jesus multiplied a small boy's gift of bread and fish to feed the crowds at Capernaum, they went searching for him. I rather like the warm humor with which he chided them: "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves." How apt that the bread of earth can bring us the Bread of Heaven. The Episcopal Relief and Development image "Feeding the Soul" shows a child rushing happily with a platter of fresh loaves; eating them must have been an experience of God indeed. The experiences that fill our souls, and the nourishment of human caring, are "bread of life" as well.

The risen Jesus chose to reveal Himself in the breaking of bread. Each artist in this exhibition has likewise been moved to make art about ways that God reveals Himself to us. I hope that spending time with these works will bring God to you in nourishing and sustaining ways.

Brie Dodson, Curator
ECVA Director of Communications