One might think in reading the title to this Cup that I’m sharing a little of our Wednesday Morning Bible Study with you (we’re reading Eziekel, after all… dem bones dem bones dem dry bones) but I’m actually referring to an event this Friday and Saturday on the grounds of the National Cathedral Close, grounds that St. Alban’s Church, along with The National Cathedral School, St. Alban’s School and Beauvoir (the National Cathedral Elementary School) shares with the Cathedral. The event is called Flower Mart.
Some of you may remember that during Flower Mart a couple of years ago we set up tables in front of St. Alban’s Church and parishioners as well as passersby made bones from modeling clay as a contribution to the One Million Bones Project Read about one Million Bones here. The event was a success because it allowed us to interact with people of all ages who weren’t necessarily churchgoers and at the same time raise awareness about genocide.
This year we won’t be making bones but asking a simple question: What Do You Hope For? Parishioners and staff will be on hand to greet people and invite them to make their way to a large “chalkboard” and express their hopes on the board with colored chalk. We’ll also be handing out some elegant cards with the word Hope on one side and the church’s website address on the other.
As an artist I’m excited about what will happen Friday and Saturday. I’m hoping the spirit will inspire not just words but maybe images too, pictures drawn by toddlers next to words written by the elderly or the secretly lonely or sad. I’m also excited about what we might do next. Perhaps on other occasions we can use the boards to ask other questions: What Are You Thankful For? What Do You Want Most? The more I think about our conversation with the people that walk by the church every day the more excited I get. And I wonder what we might learn.
I also like the inherent risk of it all. What do we do if the board gets filled up too quickly? What if someone writes something unsavory? What if..? Well, “We shall see” (literally), as my mom used to be fond of saying. I’m not worried.
If you’re a parishioner and would like to help us as a volunteer on Friday or Saturday log on to St. Alban’s Church website and under the About Us/Clergy tab send an e-mail to Rev. Deborah or Rev. Emily. If you’d simply like to participate in the project then please bring your creative spirit and contribute your Hope to the board. Here’s a working drawing for what you’ll see Friday and Saturday:
What Do You Hope For? St. Alban’s Parish 2016
I’m hopeful for a lot, by the way, but right now I’m hopeful that we can actually build this thing and that it doesn’t rain… at least not hard!
Happy Monday,
Jim+ 143
The Daily Cup 