Visuals for Easter: Connecting Lent and Easter

A collection of visuals used in worship spaces during Easter.

Tags:: slideshow, visual arts, worship space
Slideshow: posted on August 15, 2005

View a slideshow on visuals for Easter

Visuals for Easter

Connecting Lent and Easter

At a glance, visuals have the capability of communicating the message that Lent and Easter are intimately related. Christ’s dying and rising are seen in this stained glass window which focuses on what we can truly call “the glory of the cross” - reminding us of Christ’s suffering and death while, at the same moment, the radiating light that breaks forth with joy.

Tiffany Rose Window, Vasser College Chapel

The Lily and the Lamb

Pastel by Nicora Gangi, Syracuse, New York

The same idea is reflected in this painting. Life through death is symbolized through the crown of thorns and the lily. The use of light and dark are also incorporated into this painting.

In which ways can this be expressed in your worship space and in your worship services either musically, verbally, through gestures, or through the visual, to reflect this paradox of reconciliation through Christ’s death and resurrection?

Translated to a Worship Space

Calvin Theological Seminary Chapel
Grand Rapids, MI

In this example the idea was translated to the covering and items placed on the Lent and Easter Communion table. For Lent two strips of burlap were laid horizontally and vertically over the table to form a cross made of rough “earthy” material. A crown of thorns was shaped by wiring together branches of a thorn bush found on the property. Then, for Easter the burlap linens were replaced by silky, transparent, sequined fabric that simmers in the light. A lily is laid over the crown of thorns. In the simplicity of these items we can visually evoke a deeper understanding of Christus Paradox.