When my parents visited last month they brought with me some images and videos that they captured from the event. If you can remember, I had only published one other post on the handout that was given. As a forewarning, I didn’t record any of these moments, my mother did. My parents were also one of the first guests to arrive and stayed to clean up so they missed parts of the experience. (Mom also doesn’t realize that it’s not nice to rotate the camera when filming a video…)
Objective
The Lord your God is in your midst; a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
Feel
In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples in the ultimate act of humility and hospitality. A sinful woman was forgiven in Luke 7 when she washed the feet of Christ with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment.
The general rinsing of the feet was a symbolic and literal rinsing of the dirt and grime we came in with, and then, by asking the visitors to continue on through the building until the exited without any shoes on, allowed the visitors to approach the space as a holy space. For God told Moses in Exodus 3:5, ” … “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.””
The other reason I asked visitors to remove their shoes is so that they can approach the building as a representation of what home is (especially those from Eastern cultures). I often came into the building and removed my shoes. The other personal aspect that came in is that as my friends have observed me, in all seasons, removing my shoes when I was in the building, they began to do so as well. They started seeing the building as a comfortable space in which we could continue to live life together – to support each other, to pray for one another, to feast with each other – and community was being built.
See
The expected in an art show.
We removed almost all the furniture. The main hallway was blocked so that when you entered the foyer of the building you were ushered into the orange room where your feet were washed. The second opening in the orange room led to the “comfy couch room” and it was the beginning of the sights. From there, two openings led to the main hallway and the walls were filled, and you could hear music and singing from the prayer room. At the end of the hallway was the other main room.
I had asked one of my classmates to participate in the show as well, and he presented realistic portraits of his family. He also had many of the impressive plates and bowls that he had thrown in ceramics class; one of the most stunning was the plate he decorated using his daughter’s face.
My own work was a collection of things old and new. From the old were my paintings of fisheyed portraits of family and friends, and the little book that I created that had James 1:2-4. From the new I had five ceramic fish and two olive branches to mirror the feeding of the five thousand. Another set of ceramic heads had chia growth on them and they were part of the continuing work from my fisheye painting. Then there were the transfers, one using the dirt from my feet and another using pencil lifted off of paper outlining (pun intended) the memories and the people that I have left behind in some capacity.
Hear
The prayer room became the hub for intercessory prayer. At the entrance was a sign, and right inside was a little table with candles and paper. Some people would enter in and witness a man facing away from them playing his guitar and singing praise to the Lord. As the night went on more and more people joined him in singing. His voice echoed through the building and there was a peace that hung in the air.
Those who decided to interact with the prayer room were asked to step into the space and pick up a pen and strip of paper. The guests were encouraged to write something that they wanted to have prayed over or something that they were truly grateful of. They would place it in a clunky ceramic vase [I made] and maybe stay for a little bit to hear the singing. The people singing and/or praying were told not to face those that were coming and going in the building, their primary purpose was that they would be worshiping God and lifting up whatever God had laid on their hearts to lift up. The prayer requests were not to be opened up and viewed. The prayer requests and praises were whatever the guest felt led to write down. Anonymity was to be preserved.
Taste
My beautiful and talented foodie friend made the trek down from Pennsylvania to be there for me. She created everything from scratch and the taste buds were bursting bright with flavor. With the assistance of one of my newer friends, they created dates with a goat cheese, honey, and cream cheese spread, topped with almonds; chocolate banana and peanut butter biscotti; vegetable pizza (cream cheese spread over a cracker, topped with shredded carrot, red pepper, and a cucumber slice); tuna puffs topped with dill; blood orange and pomegranate parfait; and some other things I’m forgetting – like the amazing pea and mint spread! There were no fancy beverages, but tea, coffee, and water were available.
The best part of all of this is that my dear friend used scripture as the basis for finding recipes and ways to combine food. The elegant flavors were family-friendly and season appropriate.
The best part about all of this is that the food was served to you by three very wonderful women. They were dressed in black and wore masks. They were silent and their nuded lips were a symbol to show that they were not to speak. It was an amazing feat of self-discipline for many of them, but it was important that they servers lost their identity in their act of service. You had to search their eyes to figure out who they were. They had no voices and were always encouraging viewers in their movements to try something new that they offered on their trays.
Smell
After you have felt, seen, heard and tasted and you soaked up all you could from the evening, the last thing you could do was leave. I opened one of the side doors of the building and people put their shoes back on. They were directed to two people standing along a lit pathway. One held frankincense and myrrh and the other held hyssop in little glass bowls. Frankincense, myrrh and hyssop are all beautiful and fragrant oils and often used for anointing. ”Bless the work of these hands,” were the words that were spoken over the guests who were leaving.
It was my hope that the people that visited that evening were blessed and experienced God in a new way than they thought was possible. God gave us these senses, so why should we ignore indulging in them? God is the ultimate creator, the master artist, and I felt so blessed and encouraged when he inspired this idea and that the right people came along to help make it possible. God is good.
Here are some comments from the evening:
And I left by way of the lamp-lit pathway. And I knew that I had just experienced something so powerful and had a feeling so deep that it took my walking away to come to an understanding of its fullness. - Helper
Imagine my complete surprise as I experienced worship last night at the BCM! I came expecting one thing—and something so different happened. What an incredible experience! It was probably one of the most worshipful times I have had this past year. Thank you! Please let (Melinda and Anthony?) know how deeply touched my spirit was. – Guest
I can’t thank you enough.
