ECVA Newsletter

Doors: Gateway to Faith

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

As you drive down the streets and pass by churches, do you notice the doors? Whether ornate or simple, doors that provide the main entrance are designed to be more than just an architectural element and a way to gain entry. They are also meant to draw attention, to invite one inside.

knock and the door will be opened to you.

While the structure that we see from the outside may give us a hint as to what we may find inside, the door still provides a point of mystery. Even when open, there is still that question of what lies within.

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;

So the entrance to a church holds a place of importance. For the stranger or the longtime parishioner, when we stand at that door we are on the brink of something wonderful. We are about to encounter peace, inspiration, comfort, and understanding. This door while simple in function, perhaps artistic in design, provides a gateway to faith, a threshold to fellowship, an invitation to God.

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

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

All Saints Episcopal Church
Linville, North Carolina
(From the ECVA Art/Community/Story exhibition.)

Verse Matt. 7:7-8 (NIV)

	Community Arts Holy Spirit Tapestry Grace Episcopal Church - Baldwinsville, New York Based on a design by artist Catherine Kapikian, over 50 people associated with Grace Episcopal Church created the Holy Spirit Tapestry – a needlepoint mural 10 feet wide by 9 feet tall. "Couched in the swirling, shifting hues, values and intensities of color, this work yields the mystery that God is at once Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Fabricated by the resident community, it is a visible and material sign that God's love is found in this place through rich encounters.” More . . .


	Visual Essay Lost Temple By Mary Ann Breisch In response to childhood images of God, a man who lives in the sky, artist Mary Ann Breisch explores the question "Who is our sky mother?". "These images were deeply influenced by my experience as an artist in residence at a school for unwed mothers, and a period of concentrated exploration of the "Goddess" in a group with other seekers." More . . .


	From the ECVA Registry: Love One Another By Joy Coolidge Middletown, Connecticut (ink and watercolor, 8.5x11")		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.		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 and enter your email address.