Genesis - Curse and Blessing

This weeks message was on curse and blessing and their implementation in the story of the garden. The DOMA team put their heads together to come up with ideas of how to visually represent the theme through a creative piece. We took the idea of a covering, as Adam and Eve made coverings for themselves out of fig leaves to cover their nakedness. We wanted to portray how a covering could represent both a curse and a blessing as it did in the Genesis story. We decided that a veil was the perfect portrayal of both a blessing and a curse. Here were some photos for inspiration.



The idea is that a veil is worn in both times of sadness and joy, to cover grief and to cover purity. When a loved one passes away, it is tradition for the widow (reference to sin and death) to wear a black veil to cover her face. When a bride (reference to the church as the bride of Christ) is to be wed, it is tradition for her to wear a white veil to cover her face. We had a photographer from DOMA take pictures of faces of people in the fellowship. We took the images cropped them to be just the eyes (the most powerful and emotional part of the face) and printed them out about 1'x3' each and had them mounted on foam core. We bought veil fabric in both black and white and cut strips for each. We displayed the images on stage during the services on music stands and draped the fabric over the eyes as a veil. Here are some images from the services:



We also were lucky enough to have a DOMA artist provide a live snake to display on stage during the services to represent the serpent from the Genesis story. Here are some images of that:

Genesis - Origin of Creation - Light Drawing

This was the first part of our long series through the Book of Genesis - This week the message focused on God and his creation. The artists of DOMA decided to represent creation through light - more specifically, long exposure light drawings. It might seem like a new idea, but it's been around almost as long as photography. Recently it had been brought back into the mainstream with commercials like Sprint's new campaign. (see video) But, perhaps Picasso was the first to bring it into the mainstream when he was photographed for TIME magazine. (Featured Below)



From a conceptual point of view, drawing with light is not too far off from the sort of way God chose to bring existence into being by simply speaking it. Along those same lines, light drawing is a continuous movement that can only be seen once captured by the camera's lens. A memory of line, a creation of light. Here are the artists both in waiting and action:



It was the first time we had ever done anything like this, both for a creative element in the church as well as the artists themselves. We spent the first night practicing in freezing temperatures in a 100-yard tunnel north of downtown. The process is simple, a camera is placed on a tripod (very important) in a dark place and the exposure time (amount of time the lens is open to allow light in) is set anywhere from 15-30 seconds. (a longer setting can be used but is not ideal because of the amount of light that is exposed) Flashlights or colored LED keychains are then used to draw imaginary shapes or words in the air.



After we were frozen to the core, we decided to call it a night. We then returned the next night, more bundled up and with somewhat of a hold on the process to create elements and words with our flashlights.



Now that we had countless hours of light play documented in photos, we printed a few dozen of our favorites and hung them with clothespins on twine in the foyer, sort of like a darkroom development line.



Here are a few more photos for you to enjoy:

2009 Teaching Topics

Well, I think I figured out what the rough plan is for sermon topics for 2009. It looks like Pastor Dan will be leading the Grace Community through an in-depth series on the book of Ephesians. This should be really good. On the Living Stones side, 2009 will see the beginning of an extended trip through the book of Genesis. If you've been around in the past for the chapter-by-chapter studies in Colossians or Revelation, you know we're in for a great series.

I think there's plenty for all you creative geniuses to sink your teeth into with these two books. My suggestion is that in the coming weeks you take some time to read through and study these books. If you have any brilliant ways to communicate any of the truths contained in these books, please email me. I'd love to share them with the creative staff.

Here are some questions you might consider:

• What is the author trying to communicate in a broad sense?
• What focused points are the author trying to communicate?
• What words or phrases particularly stand out?
• Are there any words or phrases that don't make sense to you?
• What contextual difficulties stand in the way of understanding these passages?
• How can we re-contextualize the passage to communicate it to a modern audience?
• If you were directing a movie about this passage, who would you cast in the lead role?
• Do any of these verses bring to mind another scripture passage, or a story, illustration, movie scene, television commercial, song, or poem?
• Try to imagine that you are reading these verses for the very first time. How does that change your impression of them?

I think the type of process I'm describing would be beneficial to you personally on a spiritual level. Even if it doesn't lead to a creative breakthrough, asking these types of questions can help you become a more thorough student of scripture. And that is never a bad thing.

So, engage with God's word!