Did You Notice?

This really isn’t a fair question for the Saturday five o’clockers, but I raise it up to all you Sunday morning worshippers: This past Sunday, did you notice the changes to our chancel? They were subtle, but also spectacular.

With the help of an estate bequest, we had two more wood panels made and installed to the right and left of the organ. Now, these wood features are the same height as the vertical stained-glass windows and frame the Christus Rex. The new, unbroken lines draw my eyes up from the altar to the candles and cross on the gradine, to the Christus Rex, and to the stained-glass window in the tower. Now, more than ever, the tower window represents for me the heavenly, with the Christus Rex as our mediator between heaven and earth. It is breathtaking.

Speaking of the Christus Rex, this piece has been taken down, dusted, and polished. The spotlight on the cross now works, and some nonfunctioning speakers that were hanging from the ceiling have been removed. All this was done while I was on vacation, through the hard work of Mike, Jessica, Jacob, Isaiah, and our wardens. What a lovely surprise to return to!

In the midst of all this beauty is something else I want to point out. Your clue is the image above of a traditional Jewish menorah, a symbol of God’s presence. Like the menorah, our gradine has three candle lights on the right and three candle lights on the left, right? But in our space, what takes the place of the menorah’s central candle light? In our faith, the light in the central stem is the consecrated bread and wine lifted high by the celebrant at the “Great Amen.” This light of Christ is then consumed by you at Holy Communion, through his body and blood, and becomes part of you to take out into the world.

Notice how the presence of God, the light of Christ, and the beauty of our worship spaces envelope us all. Five o’clockers, this includes you, too, and I hope you will come check it out.

Mother Nina+