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Email to FriendBudding artists use hands and feet to create church mural
But in creating this year's "Trinity" wall hanging, the 10- to 12-year-old budding artists decided to use their hands and feet instead of paint brushes. Their finished creation, blessed by Bishop Gene Robinson in June during his visit to Christ Church, Exeter, N.H., now hangs in the parish hall for all to admire.
"We seem to have turned this into an annual event," said Peter Baldwin, teacher for the fifth- and sixth-graders, who now is "prepping" the first mural that was created in 2006 so it can be displayed outside the church. "We have space for five murals inside the church and five outside, so I have a few years yet to go," he joked.
This year, early in March, "Mr. B" discussed with his class the concept of the Trinity. "We are always trying to work in groups of three," he said. "What we wanted to do was to emphasize the hands of children and tie that in with Christ. After they came up with the idea of hands and the cross that represents Christ, I gave them a dilemma. I said: ‘Now, how do we come up with the Trinity?'"
There was silence, Baldwin said, and then one of the quieter boys suggested "a rainbow for the Holy Spirit" and a sun for God because "God makes the sun." It's in small moments like this, Baldwin said, that children can connect with much larger concepts.
With the exception of the blue sky, rainbow and sun, the remainder of the painting was painted with hands and feet.
"We used the feet before the hands," explained Baldwin, speaking for the children. "We put our footprints down, and then at the end of each session we washed each other's feet. We recreated what the kids have seen in the parish. Then we used hands [to create the flowers]."
Each spring for the past three years, he has led the children in planning a mural. "We try to tie it into the liturgy. We discuss first a theme, then what they want to put on the mural and why."
The theme one year ago was the world's children. "Children were drawn in a circle, with kids from every continent. Christ in the center, with his arms extended downward, [symbolizes] the peace sign. There is a crown of thorns and a tongue of flames over his head."
On that mural, the young painters enjoyed "real flexibility," Baldwin said, noting the images of children include Harry Potter, a spear-wielding boy, a figure in a yoga position and a child in a wheelchair. "This is a children's ministry," he emphasized, "not Peter Baldwin's. It's the kids that come up with the concept."
Complex production
Production of each mural takes about 60 hours of adult volunteer time in additional to the eight to 10 weeks of painting each Sunday morning by the young artists, who number about 12 each year.
Baldwin purchases heavy cotton duck canvas and enlists Sue Ingram, another volunteer, to sew the panels together and strengthen the sides, using a commercial sewing machine. Then she creates a loop so that the finished mural can hang from a pole. Baldwin, an artist himself, prepares the canvas using materials that will preserve its life -- "for 100 years."
When it comes time for the kids to paint, Baldwin said, "I just cart my stuff over from the studio in my house." Whether they know it or not, the children use high-end, artist-quality acrylic paints.
The vestry recently decided to move the first mural from the parish hall. "We are going to put them outside so that people along the street will see them," said the Rev. John Denson Jr. "It will be an outward and visible sign of who we are."
Children are full members
Denson said that when he came to Christ Church nine years ago, he found a parish that placed "great emphasis on ministry to and with our children."
"Here, children aren't simply tolerated, they are welcomed as members of the body of Christ. They are included in and participate in the life of the parish. They are welcomed in worship and given opportunities to create and express their faith in beautiful and unique ways – and creating the mural is a prime example," he said.
"What I hear parents say over and over is that what is special here is the way the whole parish embraces and welcomes their children."
Michelle Hobbs, 16, was involved in creating that first mural and has helped the children paint the second and third. A teacher of younger children, she is also an acolyte, a eucharistic minister and a member of the Sunday school committee.
"I remember how close everyone got working on the mural, telling stories and having a good time," she said. "When I worked on painting the Episcopal flag with the world as the background, my understanding of the mural was that every person, no matter their nationality, joins together in Christ.
"It really opened my eyes to realize that the world is like that class. Everyone is different -- different skin color, different backgrounds, different personalities, different friends -- but we can all join together in Christ."
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