Last Sunday was Pentecost...the birthday of the church. I'd wanted to create some kind of art in our church sanctuary for several years now and finally got around to doing it. Here's the story I was trying to illustrate.
It happened after Jesus' resurrection and ascencion back into heaven. It was a day when Jesus' rag tag disciples, who had been hiding for fear of what might happen to them, suddenly changed. God's spirit, which Jesus had promised, came like wind and fire and rested on their heads. They were able to speak boldly about God in languages all the people listening could understand. Peter preached with such boldness and power that over 3000 people were added to the church that day! And the disciples lost their fear and began sharing the gospel message of God's love with everyone they met. Pretty exciting stuff!
So how could we bring that feeling into our church? I had seen some church art using organza and tulle and decided to start there. Our lovely old sanctuary was built in 1890 with a choir loft towering above the pulpit area. It was the perfect place to hang our Pentecost art.
It's 3 layers deep made of organza, tulle ribbon, satin and organza ribbon. We place a fan off to the side that gave it a little movement...not quite like the first Pentecost...but it gave the idea of God's spirit moving among God's people.
Red is the traditional color of Pentecost and I used yellows, oranges and blues to suggest the look of a flame in the center.
Our congregation dressed in red to celebrate this special day in the life of the church. My friend, Betty, arranged flowers from her garden to beautifully echo our theme.
You can hear Chuck's Pentecost sermon, Living in the Power of Pentecost, at chuckwarnock.com
"On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." Acts 2:1-4
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