ECVA Newsletter

Gladness and Singleness of Heart
By Cynthia Leidal



	We Beheld His Glory (John 1:14) By Ned Bustard (black and white photograph) From the ECVA exhibition Out of Darkness Into Light

How do we remind one another of the divine through visual arts? God’s imprint on life is in creation. Yes, our urban life can lose the essence of remaining in the awe of God. However, we know there are mysteries of God with us through the Holy Eucharist in the bread and wine. God’s love conveyed becomes symbolic for us as Christians to focus on this experience with God not just on ourselves. Christianity teaches by example to accept a personal relationship with God through love.

As we begin to look for the symbolism of the presence of God in Christ expressed within the transcendent mysteries within the sacraments of Eucharist, we discover new meaning. The meaningful re-enactment of the Holy Communion enlightens us to cope with the suffering that led Jesus to the cross and prepares us to live as one in Christ. Liturgy is full of symbolic expressions that are presented with many sensory experiences. There is visual and auditory imagery flooding our senses in worship. In many churches, there are stained glass images in naves, as well as banners, sacred music and seasonally dressed clergy. The joy of this mystery of the Holy Eucharist is the celebration in ancient languages, symbols and rituals that unite us in many traditions.

Hearing the Word of God through preaching can provide aesthetic applications and theological reflection with symbolic references in scripture and liturgy. Art is acceptable in these settings when it serves a purpose to draw us closer to the divine and not bring attention to itself.

To experience creative communications in symbols and receive them with a heart that is open to God’s presence requires a passion for a relationship with the Creator. There is courage in seeking the divine in life experiences. The hope is to create a trust in God’s care for us as we learn the language to communicate our human experiences made divine.

Cynthia Leidal
Artist
Email: sincerelycynthia@usa.net

New at ECVA.org

Community Arts

Celebrate the Seasons with Worship Banners
St. Thomas Episcopal Church - Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

St. Thomas Church wanted to have seasonal banners "that through the course of a liturgical year, the congregation would be reminded of the mystery of Jesus Christ." They commissioned artist Jenny Gallo to design and create a series of banners using color and symbols to "aid the congregation’s appreciation of the sacred", but that would also blend with turn-of-the-century church. More . . .

Visual Essay

Child of the Light
By Jane Collin

Inspired by the lyrics "I want to walk as a Child of the Light”, artist Jane Collin began to paint the children serving at the altar. But these were not just children within the congregation, these children had touched Jane's personal life as well. "As I painted her, I felt her delight and celebrated my friendship with this Child of the Light." More . . .

From the ECVA Registry:

Butterfly Bush
By Mary Howe
Kansas City, Missouri
(watercolor)

Mary Howe was included in the article "Deepening ties through art" by Michelle Gabriel in the November 2005 issue of Episcopal Life.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 for information.

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