Two months out
Micah Roscke, a mem- ber of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran, La Mesa, Calif., enthusi- astically contributes to the liturgical panels that his congregation has spent the last year making.
The Holy Week panel takes on three-dimensional qualities as its con- tents spill out over the cross and walls of the sanctuary.
An artful calendar W
November and will remain in the sanctuary indefinitely.
hen Gina Seashore, minister of music at Shepherd of the Val- ley Lutheran Church in La Mesa, Calif., proposed a magazine idea to the rest of the worship arts team, it stuck. The idea was simple yet creative, and perfectly suited to the small congregation: cre- ate a series of panels, one for each liturgical season, and display them in the worship space.
Since the project began last December, the 4-by-6-foot canvasses stretched over wooden frames have covered the walls of the sanctuary, wrapping around the room in a colorful display.
Members Jennifer Fenner and Cheri Papike took the project under their wings when they began the Advent panel. Drawing inspiration from Isaiah 11:1 (the vine sprouting from the stump of Jesse), they crafted a tree stump and vine out of recycled paper bags. While Fenner and Papike took lead roles in the design process, the entire congregation participated in creating the panels. Members cut silver and gold stars to cover the white Christmas panel. The Epiphany panel features illustrations drawn by children and colored in by adults. The subtle Lent panel is covered with maps donated by members, dyed varying shades of purple.
“The congregation got really into it,” Papike said. “I hear them walking in and out of church and talking about which panels they were a part of.”
Fenner added, “We wanted to make an intentional effort to involve the congregation in some way in each panel. Each panel had a differ- ent level of involvement, but everyone got to be a part of it. It was so important to us to do this as a community.” Dan Roschke, pastor, was thrilled to have found what he calls an “indigenous art project”—something that celebrates both God and the congregation. “The energy and excitement of our community really comes out in this project; it’s amazing to think how many hands have been a part of creating these [panels],” he said. The panels will be completed by Christ the King Sunday in
But this is only the beginning of what Roschke calls the “artistic renaissance” at Shepherd of the Valley. Volunteers are already creating art pieces depicting parts of the liturgy to be displayed in the narthex. “The brilliance of projects like these is that people get to participate in large or small ways, and it allows for an intergenerational connection ... as we work on these projects and make them our own,” Roschke said.
Abigail Accettura Accettura was The Lutheran’s summer intern.
For more information contact SVLC.
lamesa@gmail.com.
Good one! A television welcome
At Christ Lutheran Church, Aptos, Calif., members know that first impressions count. With that in mind, the church installed a TV monitor above the welcome table outside its doors. There, even when the parking lot is empty, the TV streams photographs of the church in action—raising vegetables for Second Harvest Food Bank, collecting paperbacks for prison inmates or participat- ing in the CROP Hunger Walk. But the TV isn’t just for passers-by. “At
Sunday fellowship time, a crowd usually mills around it and the kids bring their paper plates up to the monitor so they can spot themselves,” said Edita McQuary (
office@ApotosChurch.org), parish secretary.
Send congregational stories—both those for a specific month/holiday or your best timeless idea—to
julie.sevig@
thelutheran.org. October 2013 41
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