In the Wilderness

The season of Lent in the Christian calendar is a time, for some, of austerity, fasting and prayerful reflection. It is a time for us to meditate on the time that Jesus spent in the desert, clarifying his calling and his identity as Son of God.

The idea of 'Wilderness' is one which is being explored in an exhibition of contemporary art at Wesley Hall, one of the churches that I minister in in Sheffield. The exhibition was launched last evening, and contains some striking pieces of work in various media, ranging from photographs and water colours, to clay models, light installations and video animations, to seedlings in forty glass jars suspended from the ceiling and a bookshelf empty but for a potted plant and an iPhone.

All of this is set up in the space that we usually use (and will continue to use during the exhibition) for worship, which is a huge space and well-suited to this kind of display. To be honest, it's probably too big for the congregation we normally get, so this gives us an opportunity to consider how we use the space we have, and how we use the time we have for worship.

As we will be worshipping amongst the art, it has been decided to use the theme of Wilderness in worship during the time of the exhibition. We will be exploring five particular themes from this Sunday until Easter:

A Place of Wandering and Wondering
A Place of Nourishment
A Place of Abandonment
A Place of Calling
A Place of Transformation

If any of you are in or around Sheffield, why not pop in. Details of the exhibition, opening times etc, can be found here