Don Dowling's Blog

Don's Blog

Hi all.

Update on the Stations

I have now visited 6 of the artists who are participating in our ‘Stations of the Cross’ art exhibition. From the artworks seen so far we are in for a very good exhibition.

Station number one, ‘Jesus is condemned’ By Karin Wallace shows a picture of a raven’s claw, (ravens are a common biblical image) and surrounding this image Karin has painstakingly written, using an old family pen with a nib that you dip in an inkwell, the Luke account of Jesus being condemned by a pilot and the crowd calling for Barabbas. It is vert delicate and took her hours and hours to do, but done with loving affection for the story. In a section of the painting she has gone over the text making it a little darker and subsequently forming the shape of a large cross with the Raven claw image in the middle. I was very moved by the effort and the way she has presented this Station. It is truly a labour of love.

No less stunning was Wendy Lilje’s ‘Station number 10, Jesus is stripped’. She has created a ceramic bust of a Jesus figure from the waist up. What is stunning is that the figure, stripped to the waist and slightly bent over depicts a very vulnerable Jesus. Whilst the figure can be viewed from the front, the most powerful view is from the back. She wanted to say that at that point that Jesus was stripped he became very vulnerable and that in our lives when sometimes we are stripped of the things that are dear to us we become vulnerable. It seems to me that she was also saying that at the point of our vulnerability, we place ourselves in the hands of God as Jesus did.

One of the ‘surprises that keeps happening as I have conversations with the artists, some of whom are not connected to the church, is that they give us a truth about the journey of Jesus that is profound. What I am also finding is that the artists make connections with their ‘Station’ and their own journey in life. It appears, that by taking on this project they have entered into a special place that helps them find meaning.

I guess you could say that we, by offering this opportunity to them, have offered them a great blessing.

Opening night for the Stations of the Cross Art Exhibition will be 6pm Friday 26^th March.

Please let Kerri know on admin@ucic.org.au or 6103 4222 if you would like to attend.

Volunteers for Stations of the Cross Art Exhibition.

We are still interested in receiving expressions of interest from those who would like to act as volunteers, either just to ‘be there’ or to be ‘Tour Guides’. The Exhibition will be open from 9am till 5pm from Saturday 27th March through to Monday 5th April.

Please contact Revd. Lee Edwards at leerev@optusnet.com.au if you are interested.

For the ‘Tour Guides’ there will be an initial briefing at 4pm, Monday 22nd February and then the final briefing in the presence of the 2010 artworks at 5pm, Thursday 25th March.

8.30am Discussion Group.

A reminder for some that the 8.30 service is still happening. A small group gathers, we get a ‘good’ coffee from across the road and then sit together for 45 mins and talk about the Gospel reading for the day. It's really a ‘chat with the minister' or could be seen as 'minister's corner'. It a great time for me, not only because I get a coffee to get me going but we get to think more about the reading and discuss it’s impact on us. Please feel free to join us.

Thanks for reading.

Don