Imagine you’re stepping into your church for the very first time.
What do you see? Maybe it’s the light filtering through the stained-glass windows, highlighting the little specks of dust in the air. Or the beautiful backdrop of an Advent wreath, a glittering banner or a nobly simplistic Easter floral arrangement that takes your breath away.
What do you hear? Maybe it’s the creaking of the pews as someone sits back after kneeling, or the gentle conversation coming from the sacristy as the altar servers prepare for Mass.
What do you smell? Is it incense, or is it the remains of last night’s fish fry?
What do you feel?
The environment of our worship is a multi-layered experience that allows us to sink deeper into the sacred presence of Christ. It’s one of the reasons we are so aching for a full community in an actual, physical space at this time. From the ornate church buildings to the acoustics to those who greet us at the doors, environment sets the stage, for lack of a better term, for the Sacred Liturgy we know and love so well. In a world where the Mass itself stays the same across the world, it’s the church building, the people and the music that fills it that is the differing factor from each church in our world today.
For the next two weeks we will explore The Environment of our Worship and the elements that help to shape the experience in our worship spaces.
I started to prepare this episode by doing exactly what I asked you to do just moments ago. I walked into my church space and said, “what do I notice about it? What would I see if I were visiting it for the first time?” Not only that, I thought about the many outdoor spaces we’ve been creating in light of COVID-19. How do we express the sacred into a previously secular space like a parking lot?
These thoughts brought me to Pamela Hardiman. I met Pamela at this year’s Virtual Convention as she is a liturgical fiber artist. Pam’s passion for her craft was so apparent, both in the way she speaks about it, and in the images I saw on her website. Her painted silk and mosaic of fabrics is awe-inspiring. She sees environment in an artistic way I wish I could.
And so I asked her to sit down with me and talk about her viewpoint on environment in the Church, both inside and outside the church building.
SHOW NOTES
After we finished recording Pam shared with me that her son ran in the Boston Marathon this year, which was held virtually. He ran the 26.2-mile race by circling their 2.62 mile lake, ten times. Pam used some of her banners to indicate when he would finish a lap. I dare say that they are the most beautiful race banners ever used! For photos of Pam’s banners, including photos of the virtual Boston Marathon, check out the photos below:
For more information about Pamela Hardiman and Liturgical Fiber Art, visit her website at https://www.pthardiman.com/.
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