Arts and Music at Redeemer

Prayer, loving conversation with God, is the supreme good. It is both a relationship with God and union with him. As the eyes of the body are made sharper by the sight of light, so the soul yearning for God is illumined by his ineffable light. Prayer is not the result of an external attitude; it comes from the heart. It is not limited to set hours or minutes, but, night and day, it is a continuous activity.

It is not enough to direct one’s thoughts to God when concentrating exclusively on prayer; even when absorbed in other occupations - such as, caring for the poor, or some other concern in the way of a good or useful work - it is important to combine the work with desire for an remembrance of God. For thus you will be able to offer the Lord a very pleasing food from the universe, seasoned with the salt of love for God.

…Prayer brings the soul to the heavenly fountain, satisfies the soul with this draught, and raises up in it “a fountain leaping up to provide eternal life.” Prayer gives a real assurance of the good things to come, in  faith, and makes present blessings more recognizable. Do not imagine that prayer consists only in words. It is a leap to God, an inexpressible love not of our making.

- John Chrysostom

Last Saturday, our painting crew took an enormous canvas coated with a base coat of paint and gesso and turned it into a nearly-finished altarpiece. As always, we took a few pictures of the process.

Just one more session to go! The finished piece will go up along with the other artwork at the Advent Lessons and Carols service at 7:30 PM on Saturday, December 2nd.

- Wade