Worship during Virtual Sprunt Lectures

In our time of worship during the annual Sprunt Lectures, held this year on Zoom May 5, sacred visual artist, Hannah Garrity presented this image for meditation, entitled “Brokenness of Fear.”

Artist’s Statement: In this image, I imagine the moment a bowl of embalming spices was dropped when fear first struck Mary at the tomb. Drawn from images of period ceramics, the central pattern is reminiscent of both the cross and the tomb. Fissures in the bowl shatter the beauty of the original design. There is an ancient Japanese process, Kintsugi, which uses gold to heal the cracks in broken pottery. Throughout the centuries gold has been used in Christian paintings to represent the presence of the Lord. Here, the gold which heals the cracks is a metaphor for God’s presence in the resurrection, healing the fear which gripped Mary at the tomb. Her work in the world after this moment was greater than before, just as the beauty of Kintsugi pottery abounds with strength and function.

The Rev. Jessica Tate (M.Div., M.A.C.E.’07) preached from Mark 16:1-8. Her sermon was entitled “Fear and Faith.”