Environment & Art

Caves, temples, homes, churches, cathedrals, cubicles — all are places in which we touch the sacred through prayer. All are sacred places, sacred with the presence of God.

The first question to ask before working with the environment is, “What are we trying to do in this season (this year, this Sunday or this feast) to help us be present to the Spirit?” Remember, liturgy is always for the people and is always catechetical.

We are now in summer Ordinary Time. In most places it is “non-time”; nothing is planned after the efforts of the Easter season and the special feasts afterwards. Summer Ordinary Time is a good time to make a plan for next year, the whole year.

Start by getting a group together (the liturgy committee, the E&A group, the whole parish maybe) and have someone lead a Bible class on next year’s Gospel, which is Matthew for Cycle A. Learn about the images, themes and purpose of this particular Gospel. What does the best of modern scholarship have to say about it? The next week, having all read and prayed through the Gospel a couple of times, have someone lead you through a process to discern what the Gospel is saying to your community in this time and place. For example, the evangelist rooted Jesus in the Scriptures yet emphasized that this new community formed by faith in Jesus was more than a sect of Judaism. What conflicts in our community (maybe between old and new,) can Matthew address?

When I plan a liturgy I always like to work with two women of Spirit: Amazing Grace and Dynamic Flo. Find what you think the dynamic flow of the Matthean liturgical year might be. Next look at the moments of grace that will be celebrated in the year. Then, and only then, are we ready to do some general planning.

This is where the quality of our liturgical leadership will show its value. As a group, attempt to answer the question: “What is the main image (or images) through which the Gospel will speak to us this year?” This is the important question for the E&A person or committee because the E&A people deal in images, not in specific words or cognitive themes. A good image can mean something different to each person who sees it. This is where Amazing Grace can work her wonders: a good image will always be full of grace-full potential.

Finding an image for the liturgical year will help hold it together. It can be the link between the First Sunday of Advent and the last Sunday in Ordinary Time. The image does not have to appear as such but can provide the thread that weaves through the planning. This image will help not just the E&A group but also those who pick hymns and eucharistic prayers, as well as the homilists and catechists. A unifying image, like a color scheme in a home, helps us remember the “whole” as we experience the “parts.” By building on an image throughout the year, summer Ordinary Time becomes part of a graceful fruition, not a forgotten season.

Kevin Yell is a theatrical director, painter, pastoral minister and frequent author. His current work includes forming art and environment ministers through MINISTRY & LITURGY’s annual Liturgical Arts Adventure. Yell began his ministry in his native England but now lives in California. He holds an advanced degree in theater and theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif.