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Did you know some churches are color coordinated? We use colors to visually represent the purpose of a church season: blue is for Advent hope, purple is Lenten repentance, white is Christmas and Easter joy. The longest season is the one we’re in now, from June to October, and it’s green. Our banners are green, our altar cloths are green, sometimes even our bulletins are green! Green represents growth, and we’re meant to use these green, growing days to practice the lessons we learn from God, to grow a little for our own sake and the sake of ou...
One of the abiding understandings of our Lutheran church is “unity, not uniformity.” It is a practice that allows each congregation flexibility within a particular framework. We celebrate a pattern of church seasons; we mark those seasons with particular colors for banners and altar cloths; we have a recommended three-year cycle of scripture readings for Sundays and a collection of hymns and an order for worship. On June 5, we celebrate Pentecost, the day God gave the whole Church the Holy Spirit. While the banners and altar cloths will all...
I have long said that if I were conducting job interviews for any position in Southeast Alaska, my first question would be, “Do you like black and white photography or black and white movies?” These art forms are not stark black and white; what makes black and white movies and photos so striking is the interplay of gray. Seeing and celebrating the variety, contrasts and beauty in the range of the gray tones is critical for appreciating life in Southeast. Last week, I sat on a bench overlooking the water, and the bright, flat expanse of nic...
I know better than to romanticize beach glass. I know most began as beer bottles, with a random bottle of SKYY vodka contributing a little blue among the white and green and brown. But I also know that how things begin isn't always how they end, and I wonder where and how that one piece of purple started. As I wander among the rocks and the wet sand, picking and collecting bits of color, I can feel how the waters and the grit blunt sharp edges. What started out as pointed and cutting has become...