The gift-giving season of Christmas is right around the corner. Here are a few ideas to steer you away from big-box gadgets and toward creative choices that will convey your thoughtfulness and build up our community of faith.
Icons Over Idols: Heroes in an Age of Disillusionment
There is an overwhelming lack of trust in leadership and institutions, including religious leaders, in our day. I’ve had young men approach me privately within my parish, lamenting that they believe they cannot trust the actions or teachings of any religious leader or denomination. A perceived absence of trustworthy shepherds—dare I say heroes—plagues the Christian…
Rosemarie Adcock: An Artist Finds Her Mission Field
The polar bear was too eye-catching. It drew attention away from the painting’s intended focal point. But Rosemarie Adcock, thanks to years of training and experience as a fine artist, knew what to do. With her eye for color, depth, and composition, she deftly added hints of lavender and apricot to soften the polar bear’s…
The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Anglican Ethos of Translation
The Lindisfarne Gospels are an illuminated Gospel book first created around 700 AD on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Now held by the British Library, it is one of the great surviving treasures of the early English Church, broadly appreciated for its precise calligraphy, elegant Celtic designs, jeweled colors, and symbolic art. The manuscript also…
We Believe: For Us and For Our Salvation, He Came Down from Heaven
The Purpose of Incarnation The Nicene Creed states with characteristic precision that the Lord Jesus Christ “came down from heaven… and was made man” and that he did so “for us and for our salvation.” This classic theological affirmation captures the central purpose of the incarnation: Christ became human to save sinners. This simple clause…
Beauty Shines Through: A Stained Glass Story
At St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Loomis, CA, a new stained glass panel, still in its design stages, will soon adorn the space.
Our Church Speaks: The Voice and Vision of Ben Lansing
If you have spent time on social media with enough other Anglicans, chances are you’ve come across Ben Lansing’s artwork. In a few short years, he has built up a collection of over 250 portraits called Our Church Speaks, inviting viewers to engage with the words and lives of saints from throughout the ages. His…
Rogation Sunday: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Rogation Sunday and the three subsequent Rogation Days commemorate Jesus’ final days on earth before his Ascension. Accordingly, these days focus on the earth, the work of agriculture, and on human dependence upon God. On Rogation Sunday we especially remember to abide in Christ the Vine, to receive his love and bear fruit in love…
Cinnamon-Scented Discipleship: Curating Art in Children’s Ministry
Known, Loved, Not Alone At Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, VA, this distillation of the Gospel—known, loved, not alone—permeates all aspects of children’s ministry. It’s on small group leaders’ T-shirts, printed with whimsical illustrations on stickers to take home, and echoed in every lesson. Kids are repeatedly reminded: God knows you (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139:1-4). He…
Creativity Begins in the Sanctuary
Our very form of worship—in which we draw near to the heart of the Creator God—requires the creative engagement of each worshipper.
