Liturgical Arts

There is a long-standing tradition of artists creating pieces for use in liturgy. St. Mark's welcomes artists who wish to express their spirituality through the creation of such works.

As a church in the round, we no longer have a stationary cross on the altar around which we gather each Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist. Instead, above our central altar we hang different crosses according to the season, as well as other artwork as appropriate.

For Advent and Christmas we have a wrought iron candle ring which serves as our parish Advent wreath. Each Sunday of the season candles are lit reminding us of the coming of the Savior.

For Epiphany a dodecahedron is hung, reminiscent of the star of Bethlehem.

For Lent we are reminded of the penitential nature of that season by a cross covered in pieces of broken mirror.

On Easter the cross is covered in flowers to celebrate the Resurrection.

Throughout the remainder of the church year, different crosses are used: a children's cross, made from children's drawings; a hand-made, dark stained wooden cross; or another hand-made wooden cross, this one decorated with a sunflower and lilies. It was a gift to celebrate our relationship with the Diocese of Honduras, with which we have had a link for more than 10 years.

A St. Chad's processional cross, made in Lichfield, England, the home of our sister congregation of Lichfield Cathedral, frequently leads the Sunday processional. The cross reminds us of the historical link with England and is decorated with a winged lion, the symbol of St. Mark the Evangelist, from the Lichfield Gospels, which date to the 10th century.

On occasion, St. Mark's artists have created liturgical gifts for to present to the congregations with which we are connected. As a gift to Lichfield Cathedral in 1996, on the occasion of our choir's first visit there, we presented a chalice and paten, which now reside in the Cathedral's Treasury. The stem of the chalice features the figures of a man and a woman, back to back, their arms outstretched into the form of a cross, standing on the earth. The paten is an abstract representing the broken bread of communion. In 2001, to mark the visit of the Lichfield Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys to St. Mark's, one of our artists created a Ciborium (container for the host) out of the 100-year-old boxwood that once surrounded our gardens.

We are fortunate to have among our parishioners several artists who have offered their skills in the creation of pieces we are now proud to use: pottery chalices and an elaborate pottery crèche; a series of woodblock prints depicting the Stations of the Cross, and for Advent 2002, a set of vestments and altar hangings, designed and executed as a group project. The set includes linoleum block-printed chasubles and hangings along with hand-woven stoles.

For Pentecost 2001, the Arts Council sponsored the creation of a mobile consisting of more than 200 origami doves which flew above our altar that year and in 2002. There are plans for another Arts Council sponsored project for Lent 2003.

As the parish expands its columbarium into the Chapel of the Good Shepherd (to the right of the high altar) the Arts Council will be involved in creating the liturgical pieces for that re-consecrated space