This article gives practical advice for planning art for worship, focusing particularly on temporary art. It argues for the importance of planning art that coordinates with other aspects of the worship service and that is characterized by simplicity.
The Artist in Cooperation with Worship Planners
The cooperation of the pastor and the worship committee is essential for an artist to make any meaningful visual contribution to the worship service. The total service needs to be taken into account when we alter the worship environment: the kinds of songs we sing, the readings, and the sermon all may suggest a particular mood—affirmative, confessional, devotional, or celebrative. That mood should be reflected in the worship environment where God’s people gather.
The Christian church uses colors to mark the moods of the various seasons of the church year. The Advent color has traditionally been purple, but recently blue-purple or even dark blue has been used to separate this season from Lent. Christmas, because it is one of the holy days of the church, is colored white, as is Epiphany. During these days and seasons, the designated colors should dominate the worship environment.
Images that are introduced into the worship environment should connect with either a song, a reading, or the sermon. By definition, symbols are visual reminders, so if an image stands alone, it will lose its purpose—its connection with the service. That is why it is so important to plan ahead, to attempt to integrate the total service by talking with everyone who will be contributing to worship. The ideas and concepts that emerge from such a dialogue will best serve your particular congregation. Everyone will know why a particular image is used; it will be a meaningful element in the total worship experience rather than just a decoration.
Visual Planning
But how does one begin this process? Start with the biblical texts the pastor has chosen for the sermons; begin, by reading and listening.
To illustrate how this process might work, take a close look at some of the first Sunday of Advent readings from the Common Lectionary Year B. You gain a number of insights simply by listing the concepts expressed in the various lessons. Some are abstract; some are visual. For the purpose of this general study, here are a few from the RSV, underlining those that have specific visual possibilities.
- Isaiah 63:16–64:8 (First Sunday in Advent). rend heavens, come down, mountains quake, fire kindles, fire causes boiling, make name known, heard nor seen, a God like you, unclean, filthy garments, wither like a leaf, iniquity like wind, Father, like clay, potter, all are work of thy hands
- Psalm 80:1–7 (First Sunday in Advent). face, shine upon, tears, save
- Mark 13:32–37 (1st Sunday in Advent). take heed, keep alert
- Isaiah 40:1–11 (Second Sunday in Advent). every valley, every mountain, grass withers, flower fades
If all of these texts will be part of the worship service, and especially if the sermon deals with the Isaiah text, the pot from the first Sunday and the flower from the second Sunday could be combined into one image. If you have a potter in your congregation, it may be effective to ask her to create a pot during the service. That pot will serve in weeks to come as a reminder of the message for this day.
Keep It Simple
When creating images, it is important to remember two things: simplicity and proportion. By keeping an image simple, the trap of becoming overconcerned with detail is avoided. For example, the profile of a pot allows people to recognize it as a pot; fancy decorations or a three-dimensional effect are unnecessary. All that is important is the symbol—it reminds us that God is the potter and we are the clay. People may not understand the symbol when they first enter the sanctuary and have not yet been told the story. But when they leave, the meaning of the visual image should be clear.
In addition to simplicity proportion, or relationships within the overall image, should be remembered. How big is the space of the banner should the pot be? What emphasis, what kind of focus are we trying to create? How does the church sanctuary influence the decisions made about the size of the image?
Most of those who contribute to filling the worship space with symbols and color quickly discover that each church sanctuary presents demands as well as solutions. They also find that their congregation’s unique style of worship has a lot to do with the types of visuals designs that will be effective in worship.