Dave Gunning in his song “These Hands” asks “what shall I do with these hands of mine?” We play music, we create art, we prepare coffee, food, we clap and raise our hands in praise, we hold hands in affection or comfort...
The mural which is a beautiful representation of our church's theology, reminds the congregation that in the light of our history and our story both as Christians and as a church – asking ourselves this question is absolute imperative for our faith to have relevance and meaning in our world. Similarly, St. Teresa of Avila wrote: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” St. Teresa's words further remind us that we, the church are the resurrected body of Christ in our world, therefore the good works we do, we do as agents of Christ – as the hands, heart, mind and feet of Christ.
As you might notice when gazing at this mural in the special lighting installed for this mural the brass cross (original to our building is installed as a part of this mural) creates the illusion of three crosses (completely unplanned). This adds further to the theology of the work of our hands as the response to – and done in thanksgiving of the events of the cross, and therefore done in its shadow. This mural has reflections from our past as a church through the inclusion of hands carving the symbol of a past men's service club - AOTS, to hands with the cuff of a past girl's group, CGIT (Canadian Girls In Training), to hands holding a cup and saucer with our church on it – which our current minister is in possession of, but few seem to know about. At the very top on either side there are organ pipes reminiscent of the pipe organ which once graced the worship space in a previous life. Looking very closely you will notice shades of crimson as a nod to the velvet tapestry gracing the building for some 60+ years which the mural now replaces.
The mural speaks to who we try to be here and now and who we want to be in the future. An inclusive church. A church which focuses on hope. Let's go back to the amazing shadows. Three crosses as talked about in Luke's gospel stand as a reminder that God will be with all who ask. You will notice the cross is backed by a rainbow. This was the single requirement from the churches leadership team – that a rainbow be included as a prominent part of the mural. The rainbow is a universal symbol of hope, of inclusion and beauty. Further to the inclusive aspect, each of the either set or single hands represent various ethnicities, ages, abilities (notice the prosthetic hands). Those aside, you will notice each hand has an aspect which further speaks to inclusion; the progressive LGBTQ+ bracelet on the top left, the indigenous medicine wheel coloured bracelet on the top right, friendship bracelets of youth, a tattoo and more. Fittingly, flanking each side of the cross and rainbow are hands offering the elements of both sacraments of our church: the bread and cup of Holy Communion and the waters of Baptism! Fitting, because again as a welcoming and inclusive church no one is turned away who seeks to be in right relationship with God and neighbour through baptism, and we proclaim an open table. No one is turned away.
The mural speaks also to who we are in relation to the ways in which we extend the hand of fellowship and outreach. So much of who we are happens around a coffee cup, around tables and conversations, music, singing, creating, the arts, ways in which we remember and the ways in which we reach out (the dove decoration – of the annual dove tree, the mit for our annual mitten tree – all of which when offered intentionally become acts of worship.
In addition to this mural, our church is the proud home of some very beautiful stained glass which have recently been restored and rededicated. As a significant and iconic part of the life of our church, and representing the story of our faith and people, we felt it appropriate to include this somehow in our mural. You will notice the bottom portion with our churches logo,
our denomination's logo (The United Church of Canada) and our town logo mirrors the motif of the windows on either side, with the words from A New Creed (which we recite each Sunday) inscribed above: “We are called to be the Church.”
As with any mural, it is our hope that if you have ties to our church or not, you may find your place in the story of our history, of our present, of who we want be, and indeed the larger story of our faith which asks of each of us that we consider, “what shall I do with these hands of mine.”
We are extremely grateful to Wilson Bridger, his sons Byron, Blair and their families for donating the mural to our church. We are also thankful to artist, Craig Goudie for presenting the concept – and using his hands to bring it to fruition for us! Thanks be to God. Amen.
Written by:
Rev. James Martin-Carter
Minister – Trinity United, Botwood
March 18, 2018 - Present
The mural which is a beautiful representation of our church's theology, reminds the congregation that in the light of our history and our story both as Christians and as a church – asking ourselves this question is absolute imperative for our faith to have relevance and meaning in our world. Similarly, St. Teresa of Avila wrote: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” St. Teresa's words further remind us that we, the church are the resurrected body of Christ in our world, therefore the good works we do, we do as agents of Christ – as the hands, heart, mind and feet of Christ.
As you might notice when gazing at this mural in the special lighting installed for this mural the brass cross (original to our building is installed as a part of this mural) creates the illusion of three crosses (completely unplanned). This adds further to the theology of the work of our hands as the response to – and done in thanksgiving of the events of the cross, and therefore done in its shadow. This mural has reflections from our past as a church through the inclusion of hands carving the symbol of a past men's service club - AOTS, to hands with the cuff of a past girl's group, CGIT (Canadian Girls In Training), to hands holding a cup and saucer with our church on it – which our current minister is in possession of, but few seem to know about. At the very top on either side there are organ pipes reminiscent of the pipe organ which once graced the worship space in a previous life. Looking very closely you will notice shades of crimson as a nod to the velvet tapestry gracing the building for some 60+ years which the mural now replaces.
The mural speaks to who we try to be here and now and who we want to be in the future. An inclusive church. A church which focuses on hope. Let's go back to the amazing shadows. Three crosses as talked about in Luke's gospel stand as a reminder that God will be with all who ask. You will notice the cross is backed by a rainbow. This was the single requirement from the churches leadership team – that a rainbow be included as a prominent part of the mural. The rainbow is a universal symbol of hope, of inclusion and beauty. Further to the inclusive aspect, each of the either set or single hands represent various ethnicities, ages, abilities (notice the prosthetic hands). Those aside, you will notice each hand has an aspect which further speaks to inclusion; the progressive LGBTQ+ bracelet on the top left, the indigenous medicine wheel coloured bracelet on the top right, friendship bracelets of youth, a tattoo and more. Fittingly, flanking each side of the cross and rainbow are hands offering the elements of both sacraments of our church: the bread and cup of Holy Communion and the waters of Baptism! Fitting, because again as a welcoming and inclusive church no one is turned away who seeks to be in right relationship with God and neighbour through baptism, and we proclaim an open table. No one is turned away.
The mural speaks also to who we are in relation to the ways in which we extend the hand of fellowship and outreach. So much of who we are happens around a coffee cup, around tables and conversations, music, singing, creating, the arts, ways in which we remember and the ways in which we reach out (the dove decoration – of the annual dove tree, the mit for our annual mitten tree – all of which when offered intentionally become acts of worship.
In addition to this mural, our church is the proud home of some very beautiful stained glass which have recently been restored and rededicated. As a significant and iconic part of the life of our church, and representing the story of our faith and people, we felt it appropriate to include this somehow in our mural. You will notice the bottom portion with our churches logo,
our denomination's logo (The United Church of Canada) and our town logo mirrors the motif of the windows on either side, with the words from A New Creed (which we recite each Sunday) inscribed above: “We are called to be the Church.”
As with any mural, it is our hope that if you have ties to our church or not, you may find your place in the story of our history, of our present, of who we want be, and indeed the larger story of our faith which asks of each of us that we consider, “what shall I do with these hands of mine.”
We are extremely grateful to Wilson Bridger, his sons Byron, Blair and their families for donating the mural to our church. We are also thankful to artist, Craig Goudie for presenting the concept – and using his hands to bring it to fruition for us! Thanks be to God. Amen.
Written by:
Rev. James Martin-Carter
Minister – Trinity United, Botwood
March 18, 2018 - Present