Art and Worship

Well, I said it only 2 days ago in Modern Christian Art in Churches, and now here is Father W. Thomas Faucher, Pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Boise, Idaho relating how using new works of art in the major renovation of his church has impacted favorably on the worship of his congregation.

Reported in The Herald – Malaysia Online 19 February 2010, Fr Faucher says unequivocally, “Today we can see a change in all of us who worship here. The art has changed us, opened us up to God in new and unexpected ways.  One of the most interesting things is the number of people of other religions and no religion who come to just spend time in the church. They say being there makes them feel better.”  .I have to say, I almost cried when I read that.

The whole article is a fascinating read, from the descriptions of the new works installed in the church, to an exploration of religious art and music through the insights of J.R.R. Tolkien.  Tolkien was a translator of the Jerusalem Bible and he had some wonderful thoughts on why art and music are so essential to living out our faith in God.  These are well worth reading about.

For me as an artist, there are two powerful messages in this great article:

• Firstly a quote from Pope Benedict XVI speaking in November last to a meeting of artists, “Faith takes nothing away from your genius or your art: on the contrary, it exalts them and nourishes them, it encourages them to … contemplate with fascination and emotion the ultimate and definitive goal, the sun that does not set, the sun that illumines this present moment and makes it beautiful.”
• Secondly, Fr Faucher comments: “But to provide that art we had to make the decision that an amount of money equal to 10 percent of the total cost of the project had to be found and set aside for art. For us, even as a poor parish, art was a priority, and I truly believe it must be for all of us in the church.”

I believe that today, in gathering the finances for renovation or building, churches severely limit themselves and God, by not making provision for artworks in their budgets.  Remember, what God orders, He will pay for.  Go forward in faith.

Patricia