When I was in seminary, I learned about how our Presbyterian ancestors during the Reformation were very much against having any images in church – no stained glass, no statues, no paintings, no frescoes. They held these strict beliefs because they felt that their Roman Catholic cousins had too many images in church – confusing worshipers with venerating the saints vs. worshiping God. To this day, if you go to old churches in Europe, you can still see places where stone statues were broken off of their bases. Sometimes, you can still see the stone feet of a statue in an alcove where a complete statue used to be.
There are many (myself included) who feel that some of the Reformers – however faithful their intentions might have been – were a bit too extreme when it came to the appreciation (or lack of appreciation) for beautiful and meaningful artwork in church. Perhaps the pendulum swung a little too far in this regard.
The sanctuary at BPC was designed with traditional iconoclastic beliefs in mind. Even though our pulpit has some ornately carved elements, the rest of the sanctuary is rather plain – beautiful in its simplicity. We did, however, place a large photo on the wall about ten years ago when we began our Building on a Firm Foundation Capital Campaign to remind us of the generations who came before us and literally (and figuratively) founded our church on a firm foundation.
A few years ago, the Mission Committee held an art exhibit fundraiser for Families in Transition in Manchseter, NH, featuring Tracy Carrier’s artwork depicting church mice in worship. Some of this artwork is on display and can be seen outside the church office and beside the elevator. It is beautiful, fun, and quite meaningful.
This Sunday – and throughout the month of April – BPC is welcoming a temporary photo exhibit to our Fellowship Hall. The exhibit is called “Crying in the Wilderness: An Immigrant’s Journey in Detention” and features photographs by Becky Field, who has specialized in taking photos of the diverse population of people living in New Hampshire. Members of the Mission Committee met the photographer as part of their work with the Immigrant and Refugee Support Group of the United Church of Christ. The Mission Committee (along with a grant from the New Hampshire State Council for the Arts) is sponsoring the exhibit, and the Session approved the installation through the month of April.
In 2018, “Antony” entered the United States, seeking asylum protection from death threats and violence in his home country. Several years later, “Antony” met Becky Field and agreed to be photographed so that the pictures could portray what the life of someone seeking asylum in the US is like. The “Crying in the Wilderness” exhibit is a product of “Antony’s” friendship with Becky Field as he continues to watch and wait for the results of his open and pending asylum case. Some of the photos are quite powerful in their depiction of Antony’s grief at being separated from his family, being attached to an ankle monitor, and his ongoing practices of prayer and reading scripture.
The Session approved the exhibit in our Fellowship Hall, as part of our Matthew 25 Initiative (. . . “I was a stranger and you welcomed me. . .” – Matthew 25:35), but we had no idea that – just days later – our Afghan family would encounter complications surrounding their own open and pending asylum case. Having this exhibit in our church building at this particular time resonates in a personal way that we could not have previously imagined.
Having these photos in our Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour and throughout the weeks in April will be a different kind of thing for us. But, perhaps, these images will remind us in this season of Lent of the ways in which Jesus, himself, was a refugee (Matthew 2:13-23) and a prisoner (Luke 22:47-23:25) and the liberating God we seek to follow and serve.
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “Righteousness and Mercy – Everything [in] Between – Week 5”
- Read Jeremiah 12:1-6
- Read Job 21:7
- Read Luke 19:1-10
- Read or sing Hymn # 504 – “We Come as Guests Invited”