Visuals for Pentecost:
Community Participation

Awareness of the presence of God through the Holy Spirit is imaged in the movement of the wind, fire, and appearance "like a dove." Capturing the mystery of this motion by evoking the descending "breath" of God has been captured in the following examples of liturgical art.

Communal participation is an aspect of each piece. Some were created by congregational members while others incorporate the movement of the congregation through the breeze worshipers create as they walk by or raise their voices in worship

Kresge Chapel, MIT


Worship—Gathering and Sending

Orchard Hill, Grand Rapids, MI

This narthex installation is a reminder of the Spirit's presence as people gather for worship and as they are sent and disperse from this place. The piece gently blows in the wind created by people passing by.

Worship—Prayer

Designed by Nancy Chinn, paper origami cranes, folded by members of the community as an act of prayer for AIDS victims and their families, are hung as a sculpture in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Over 25,000 cranes of all sizes are in this piece forming a flame-like pattern.

Read Spaces for Spirit: Adorning the Church (Liturgical Training Publications, 1998) for more of Nancy's ideas on communal participation through art.

Other book resources


Worship—Hearing the Word

Covenant Life, Grand Haven, MI

A sermon series on the book of Revelation led to this installation. Members of all ages helped fold origami birds representing the seven churches—in seven different colors.

Directions for folding origami Birds Doves

Feature story on How Congregations Create Worship Visuals

Communal Witness

Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA

The Stations of Christ's Life—Ascension

The Stations include fourteen images representing moments in Christ's life. Each student artist chose a small group of friends to walk with them through this process of prayer, scriptural study, design and creation. The finished works were installed around campus in locations that resonated with the theme of each story. Each piece was photographed for projection in campus worship, and for use as a devotional aid. View Powerpoint presentation of artwork and devotions, and draft of publication.


Communal Participation

Three churches highlighted by the Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts (ECVA) focus on form, color and movement with the Pentecost installations.


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