This Sunday many people will celebrate Trinity Sunday. It commemorates and honors not an event, but a reality: the Holy Trinity. Trinity Sunday falls on the Sunday after Pentecost. The Trinity is a mystery. By mystery the Church does not mean a riddle, but rather the Trinity is a reality above our human comprehension that we may begin to grasp, but ultimately must know through worship, symbol, and faith. Symbols for the Trinity include three interlocking rings, shamrocks, the Chi-Rho, and an equilateral triangle. We see these in art, worship baners, architecture, and on vestments among other places.
The how to: 
On this Pentecost Sunday it is fitting to think visually. This oil painting on wood is titled Pentecost and is by Chris Shreve. Chris states that he uses his art as a prayer, a meditation. The story of the birth of the church is familiar to many of us. The Bible is a gift that can be read and reread with new meaning and understanding gleaned from each exposure. The story is found in Acts 2 and begins with: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Relating to the art of Mr. Shreve you might consider the following questions:
May this art draw you closer to the season of Pentecost as we explore and examine what it means to us personally.
I recently found a quiet Sunday afternoon (I love the Sabbath!) to sit and savor Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts by Rev. Philip Graham Ryken. This little gem draws out the Biblical view of the arts and the artists who make art for God's sake. Ryken concisely discusses how artists are called and gifted by God and recognizes how art is often misunderstood or rejected by the church. This book is full of encouragement for artists. It affirms that God loves all kinds of art (meaning types of medium) and that we as artists should have a high standard for goodness, truth and beauty.
Carrot Top Studio often gets inquries about carrying "ready made" banners. Up until this date we have enjoyed providing a custom worship banner commission service. We feel strongly that worship banners should be created to an appropriate scale/size for each worship space. Because worship spaces don't come in standard sizes (now that would be boring!) large worship banners are difficult for us to provide in standard sizes. 
Finding Time for the Timeless by John McQuiston II is a refreshing little book documenting how contemporaries practice their spiritual habits and routines. Over the years my personal routines have changed and evolved. Sometimes it has been starting the day with quiet, or being in tune to respond to opportunity, or even being able to make the mundane into the holy. This book affirms that there are other people that have similar routines as I do, but it also opens my eyes to a variety of spiritual enrichments I might add to my day. 
We have new products in our etsy shop! 
The Image of Christ by Gabriele Finaldi is a beautifully illustrated, colorful history of how Christ has been portrayed by artists from the early church to the present. the book explores the challenges Christian artists have faced as they have tried to imagine what Jesus looked like. Since no eyewitness descriptions of Jesus' physical appearance survived, the earliest artists' depictions of Christ played on the symbols and images that he used in his parables--such as the Good Shepherd, the Light, and the Vine. Later, artists became concerned with capturing Christ's true physical likeness, based on miraculous relics such as the cloth that Saint Veronica offered him on his way to Calvary, which was believed to be imprinted with an image of his face. These stages in the history of Christian art are described by several art historians in brief essays, each of which is lavishly illustrated.
In worship we use stoles, paraments, banners, flowers and other elements as visual reminders of the liturgical season we are celebrating. What can we do at home to help us focus particually during our Lenten journey?
Rober Fulgham in From Beginning to End: The Rituals of Our Lives suggests using sand. "Perhaps a bowl of sand can help us remember our journey. God led the people in their journey in the desert. Jesus himself reenacted that journey to face his own temptations. The desert can be a place of retreat, where there is a freedom from distractions. It can be a good place to be led and to face our temptations."
May you make time for desert days prior to the joy of Easter.
I can't wait for tomorrow morning when this granola and green tea loving Mom will surprise her children with a great excuse to eat donuts for breakfast! I grew up in a Dutchy area of Eastern Pennsylvania where Fausnaught Day (donut day) was celebrated with great gusto. The original purpose was to use up the baking ingredients in one's pantry before Lent, as these items were not to be consumed and would not stay fresh til the end of Lent.
in addition to the black, red and gold remind us of the pain, suffering and passion that we remember as we pray, fast and are penitencial during this season.
Young visiting artist in the studio today...we decided it was too cold to go outside so she created snowflakes to dangle in our work space. We're delighted!
This Sunday we will celebrate the baptism of our Lord in my congregation. Two baptism items come to our mind that we'd love to share with you. First, we love the hymn for this Sunday that is titled: Lord, When You Came to Jordan. The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion explains that the hymn focuses on Jesus' baptism and lifts up the tradition that suggests it was a moment of personal revelation as well as an outward sign of his mission. It asks questions concerning Jesus' inner life and then becomes a prayer on behalf of our being able to see God's work today. We just love when a story is told! We often convey a story in our stoles and worship banners and when we're in worship and the visual connects with the Word and the music the story really hits home!
have you read Water, Come Down! The Day You Were Baptized by Walter Wangerin is beautifully illustrated by award-winning artist Gerardo Suzan? It is a wonderfully imagined story of God's power and love joined in the baptism event---a story that will grow richer in meaning each time the book is read. We appreciate that the author also provides several pages of excellent resources for family Bible study, exploring the scriptural sources behind his story and making the theological concepts both accessible and engaging. 
The Three Kings Altarpiece, Hans Baldung.
About the Artwork
Baldung was a German painter and graphic artist. He probably trained with Durer in Nuremberg, but his brilliant color, expressive use of distortion, and taste for the gruesome bring him closer in spirit to his other great German contemporary, Grunewald.
In 1507 Baldung was probably in Halle when he received the commission for the alterpiece, The Adoration of the Magi (Berlin). Although displaying some clumsiness, colors are surprisingly sure, and Baldung's self-esteem is revealed by the fact that he drew a self-portrait behind the main character at the center of the retable of Saint Sebastian. It is an oil on wood.
The Liturgical Celebration
This Sunday we celebrate the epiphany of the Lord. The word epiphany comes from the Greek noun epiphaneia, which means "shining forth," "manifestation," or "revelation." In the ancient Greco-Roman world, an epiphany referred to the appearance of one of the gods to mortals. Since Hellenistic kings and Roman emperors were considered by many to be gods, the word epiphany was also used as a term for divine majesty. The Epiphany of our Lord is the Christian festival that celebrates the many ways through signs, miracles, and preaching that Jesus revealed Himself to the world as Christ, God Incarnate, and King of kings.
The scripture: Matthew 2:1-12 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Looking at The Three Kings Altarpiece
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