We did a piece of all age worship as art installation at Trinity Fishermead today. We created a piece of group art by reflecting on the theme of Lent 1…
It began with a reflection on normal things – on the basis that Jesus humbled himself and entered into normal human life. People picked out ordinary objects and reflected on how these were meaningful for them in some way. Examples included a cork (reminding us of all the people and places involved in making this simple bottle-stopper), a chair (which reminded someone of school) and a tin of baked beans (the favourite food of one small boy). We reminded ourselves that all of these things are important to God and he is with us in all of them. We then placed them on the floor – in positions that seemed significant to those who placed them…
We then reflected on difficult things – remembering that Jesus chose to face some difficult things when he headed out into the desert for forty days and forty nights. Each person picked a candle to represent a difficult thing for them – and the candles were also placed on the floor in the shape of a cross – reminding us of Christ’s call to take up our cross…
Finally, we were reminded that the desert is a good place to develop a voice and so we thought of situations which needed prayer or action. We all took a flag and planted them in a small desert at the centre of the growing installation…
Worship as Installation: This was an example of worship as installation – a piece of art was created as an act of worship. Each element prayerfully and thoughtfully placed – with meaning that could be incredibly profound or significantly mundane…
I like the overlap between art and worship here – particularly the way that something beautiful can be created by a group of people working together in this way. The piece of art that is created is a genuine act of worship because of the way it has been prayerfully put together – its meaning is dependent on each piece but God alone can know what each element means and why it is there.
This was not a complicated act of worship and it didn’t take very long, but I think it was profound because of the way each element that people offered came together….
