Communal art brings congregation together
by Jane Ann Hammett and David Donathan
Art creates community and fellowship.
together. Never before have art and the opportunities it affords been in a position to create what we long for … community and fellowship.
I
n a time when community and fellowship are being replaced by texting and emails, the arts are poised to bring us back
ist in Charleston, WV. Christ Church’s vision
statement says, “Christ Church United Methodist is a community of faith, hope, and love serving as the hands of Christ.” The
word “hands” immediately jumped out as a possible symbol for a communal art project, but how could it be used to celebrate a community coming together to celebrate 200 years of witness?
Returning to my teaching days of hand turkeys and finger paints, I began to formu- late an idea where people attending the weekend bicentennial celebration would be given the opportunity to create a communion table cloth by placing their handprint on a canvas drop cloth, measured and precut to the exact fit of the table. Acrylic paints in primary colors were chosen to facilitate quick drying and easy clean up. Two 6’ tables were set up to form a square. As people entered the church for the Friday evening opening worship service, they were encouraged to come to the art room and place their hand- print on a cloth that would be used as the altar parament during the following Sunday morning’s festival service.
At the 2004 Northeastern Jurisdictional
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convocation in Williamsport, PA, I [Jane Ann] had the good fortune to attend a visual arts session presented by the Rev. Karin Tunnell. She provided a number of suggestions of innovative and highly accessible materials for making banners. One that has forever changed my life is the use of canvas drop cloths available at all home improvement centers. Immediately upon returning home from this conference, I was given the oppor- tunity to develop the idea of creating a communal art project – one that involves the whole congregation – for the bicentennial celebration of Christ Church United Method-
The actual process was fairly simple. As persons entered the art room, they picked the color of their choice. An assistant brushed paint onto the persons’ hands. Then they were instructed to place their hands onto the canvas and press firmly to get a good impression. Afterwards, they went to the sink and washed their hands and the process was complete. The final result was a beautiful, colorful communion table parament that adorned the worship space on the Sunday morning of the festival service. Not only did it make a visual witness to the vision statement and the bicentennial celebration, it now serves as a memorial because some children who partici-
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2010 • WORSHIP ARTS
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