IN DUE SEASON

I am pleased to make these IN DUE SEASON collections of liturgical visuals available as a GIFT to enrich the worship and ministries of God’s church.

The seasonal collections are formatted for a variety of uses (banners, bulletin covers, social media posts, projection slides, children’s coloring sheets, etc.) and made available as resource files that may be adapted for use in each particular context.  Please note that, while I make the resources available without cost, I do appreciate hearing how the resources are being used.

If you like what you see, I invite you to share the resources with others.  By subscribing to my e-newsletter (published about four times a year), you’ll receive timely alerts to the newest collections of resources.

YEAR B – LENT – BELOVED 

My childhood experiences of Lent were haunted by an oft-sung hymn phrase, “for such a worm as I,”  a phrase prompted desperate searches for what I must do to make myself worthy of God’s love.  To be sure, Lent is a time to journey into the wilderness of our human condition, an opportunity to engage in intentional self-examination and reflection on our faith and our relationship with God and others.  This collection of visuals reminds us that we have already been claimed as God’s own in holy baptism, washed clean of our sin, marked with the sign of the cross forever, and assured that we who die with Christ will also rise with him.  BELOVED is both the beginning of the Lenten journey and the place of home-coming at journey’s end.  Amidst all the competing messages from within and without, may you hold fast to the assurance that you are now and will ever be God’s beloved child.

Click HERE for an overview of the collection.  Click HERE to access the resources.

YEAR B – ADVENT – WAIT FOR THE LORD

The Year B Advent readings invite us, week by week, into the presence of holy visitors — angels, heralds, prophets, and messengers who bring to life our experiences of waiting for God’s coming into a world that manifests greater brokenness than we can name, much less comprehend.  Both the global brokenness that surrounds us and the personal brokenness that resides within us evoke deep longings for fresh experiences of the Word-Made-Flesh within, among, and around us.  The image that I offer for this Advent season is one that can be experienced as angel, herald, prophet, messenger, or all those – including ourselves – who cry out for God’s coming into our world.

Click HERE for an overview of the collection.  Click HERE to access the formatted resources.

 

YEAR A – AFTER PENTECOST – DEEPLY ROOTED

This FREE collection of Year A, After Pentecost, visuals includes options for fabric or paper banners, bulletin covers, projection slides, postcards, notecards, and social-media posts, all in editable formats for customized use.

How can we who are members of this living, breathing Body of Christ in the world faithfully embrace this calling, this vision, this expectation?  The prophet’s words in Ezekiel 31:7 provided inspiration for a design that points to the importance of being wholly grounded in Jesus, the Tree of Life, and deeply rooted in the life-saving waters of our baptism into Christ. 

Click HERE for an overview of the collection.  Click HERE to access the formatted resources.

 

ADVENT VIDEO MEDITATION

My gift to you in this holy season is a video meditation based on a centuries-old tradition known as the Great O Antiphons. Each of the seven Great O Antiphons is a prayer that begins with the particle “O” (which is deliberately evocative and exclamatory), followed a Messianic title for Jesus from the Old Testament, and continuing with an imperative for deliverance. In the tradition of the church, the Great O Antiphons have been used during Evening Prayer on the seven evenings prior to Christmas Eve.

For me, these prayers articulate poignant longings that are as relevant today as in ages past. My visual interpretations of the Great O Antiphons are featured in the video, along a hauntingly beautiful instrumental arrangement of the much-loved hymn based on the antiphons, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” My prayer is that you will be blessed by the MEDITATION.

 

 

YEAR A EPIPHANY – CLAIMED TO PROCLAIM

The texts for Year A Epiphany, which employ language celebrating baptism and proclamation both in word and deed, provided inspiration for this collection of Epiphany visuals.  The stained-glass design, featuring an Epiphany star, references both a cross and a mariner’s compass, inviting us to look back to when, in kinship with the sages of old, we first followed the star to encounter Emmanuel, God with Us.  It also invites us to look forward to continually discern how God is calling us to carry the Light of Christ into the world, proclaiming in word and deed the good news of God’s redeeming love for all people. 

Click HERE for an overview of the collection.  Click HERE to access the formatted resources.

 

YEAR ABC ADVENT – A QUIET CHAMBER

A stanza from a beloved Advent/Christmas hymn — “Ah, dearest Jesus, holy child, make thee a bed soft undefiled within my heart that it may be a quiet chamber kept for thee” — provided inspiration for this collection of Advent visuals.  Using an image of a heart-shaped nest containing a single egg, the collection invites reflection on God’s desire that each of our hearts be a holy incubator – “a quiet chamber” where God’s longing to be birthed among us is nurtured and protected.  In creating the design, I envisioned its inclusion in worship as visual proclamation with a banner and bulletin-cover art, as the hymn sung while offerings are brought forward, as projection graphics, and as activity sheets for younger worshipers.  I also imagined it appearing as a graphic on congregation websites, as a visual focus for weekly social media posts, and as a print or electronic postcard used to invite others into celebration of this holy season. But my deepest hope was and is that this prayer will become imprinted on our hearts, memorized for use as a prompt for reflecting how each of us is called to be a holy incubator – “a quiet chamber” – for the birthing of the Holy One in our world. .  

Click HERE for an overview of the collection.  Click HERE to access the formatted resources.

 

YEAR C ADVENT – BE STILL AND KNOW

Inspiration for this collection of Advent visuals came from Psalm 46:10, a scripture text not typically associated with Advent. I experience these words as meaningful grounding for the themes of the Advent season, supporting exploration of the darkness we encounter when journeying into unknown and unknowable terrain … our hearts’ yearnings, discovered only when we dare to sit in stillness … the space that opens up within us when we dare to ponder what it means to become a place of welcome for holy mystery … the seed of hope that starts small, takes root, and grows as we surrender ourselves as vessels for bearing the Holy One into our world.

The abstract visual that shapes the collection invites us to enter the darkness, listen in stillness, open ourselves as places of welcome, and offer our lives as dwellings for Emmanuel, God-with-Us.  My hope is that this visual, formatted for a variety of applications and offered for customized use, will bless your congregation’s experience of this holy season. 

Click HERE for an overview of the collection.  Click HERE to access the formatted resources.

 

YEARS ABC ADVENT – O ANTIPHONS

The source of inspiration for my Years ABC Advent visuals is the timeless grace of the centuries-old Great O Antiphons, most familiar in the form of the treasured Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The seven collects (prayers) known as the “Great O’s” address God using seven Old Testament titles and express a growing sense of urgency for Messiah’s coming. The prayers are as relevant today as in centuries past.  

My Great O Antiphons designs are available as FREE RESOURCES, formatted for use as a commercially printed banners, projection graphics, newsletter illustrations, bulletin covers, postcards, and social media posts.  Congregations are invited to adapt the editable files to their context.

 

 

YEARS ABC ADVENT – MAGNIFICAT

My Magnificat visual for Years ABC Advent invites exploration of the Advent texts, prompts reflection on the Word-made-flesh that comes to fullness within each of us, and compels proclamation of God’s in-breaking reign in theology and praxis, in word and deed, in reflection and action.

The Magnificat visuals are available as FREE RESOURCES, formatted for use as a commercially printed banners, projection graphics, newsletter illustrations, bulletin covers, postcards, and social media posts. Congregations are invited to adapt the editable files to their context.

 

 

YEAR C ADVENT – JOURNEY

The Year C Advent texts offer stirring words and rich imagery to draw us into richer understanding of and deeper appreciation for season that prepares our hearts for the coming of Jesus the Christ that encompassing past, present, and future.

My Year C Advent visuals consist of four panels, each of which draw on imagery that appears in that week’s gospel.  The designs are formatted as printable patters for creating a set of banners, as well as editable files for commercially printing the designs onto fabric or paper.  The designs can also be easily adapted as bulletin covers, newsletter graphics, and social media posts.

The Year C Advent visuals are available as FREE RESOURCES.  Congregations are invited to adapt the editable files to their context.

 

YEAR A LENT – TREE OF LIFE

My Tree of Life visual for Year A Lent was inspired by Marty Haugen’s hymn, “Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery.”  The artwork, in combination with Haugen’s hymn, provide a lovely springboard to exploration of the season’s texts through the lens of baptism into Christ.

The Year A Lent Tree of Life design is available as FREE RESOURCES, formatted for use as a commercially printed banner, projection graphics, newsletter illustrations, bulletin covers, postcards, social media posts, etc. Congregations are invited to adapt the editable files to their context.

 

 

YEAR B LENT – COVENANT

The Year B Lent lectionary readings invite exploration of five First Testament covenants that enrich our understanding of God’s steadfast love and deepen our appreciation of baptism as the fulfillment of God’s covenantal love for all people.

Building on this thematic thread, my collection of weekly visuals is provided in editable formats for ready use as banners, bulletin covers, projection slides, social media applications, and publicity within and beyond the faith community.  The editable files are available as FREE RESOURCES.

 

 

YEAR C LENT – PRAYERS FOR THE JOURNEY

I found inspiration for this collection in the Lent Year C pairings of Gospel texts and Prayers of the Day. The collection links those weekly pairings with weekly illustrations to invite reflection on God’s saving work in Christ Jesus throughout the Lenten journey. 

The collection is purposed both in engaging broad member participation in Lenten observance and in supporting outreach beyond the congregation. Inclusion of editable formats support optimal parish customization of such tools as post cards, banners/posters, bulletin covers, social media posts, projection graphics, and coloring sheets. 

Click here to peruse an OVERVIEW of the collection and its applications.  Click here to access the collection’s editable RESOURCES.

 

YEARS ABC EASTER – PEACE BE WITH YOU!

Inspiration for my Years ABC Easter visual begins with the declaration of the heavenly host to the shepherds:  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” In the birth of Emmanuel, God’s peace, God’s endlessly good intentions for humankind, takes on human form and becomes resident among us.

The greeting of the heavenly host adds import to Jesus’ post-resurrection declarations.  Moving beyond compassionate assurances to Jesus’ frightened followers, “Peace be with you!” is a bold statement that the peace that entered the human story at the time of his birth had come to fulfillment in his resurrected presence among them.  In prevailing over sin, death, and the power of evil and in being raised to new life, the Risen Christ manifests God’s full and abundant peace and goodwill toward humankind. Through baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection, we become members of Christ’s Body, called to live as participants in the unfolding of the abundance of God’s peace among all people.

More than a cheerful “Good morning,” sharing the Peace with one another in worship is a resounding affirmation of the abundance of God’s peace and goodwill within and among us. Offering and receiving the Benediction moves far beyond perfunctory blessing to become a calling forth of the abundance of God’s goodwill for the empowerment of our personal and collective peace-making in the world.  

My Years ABC Easter visual is available as FREE RESOURCES, formatted for use as a commercially printed banners, projection graphics, newsletter illustrations, bulletin covers, postcards, social media posts, and a coloring sheet for children. Congregations are invited to adapt the editable files to their context.

 

YEAR C – EASTER – CHRIST IS RISEN!

My Christ Is Risen! collection was inspired by the text of one of my favorite Easter hymns, “We Know That Christ Is Raised” by John Brownlow Geyer, which speaks to the wholeness, the completeness of God’s work in Jesus, the Christ.

The collection includes options for bulletin covers, a children’s coloring page, fabric or paper banners, projection slides, letterhead and envelopes, note cards, postcards, and social-media posts, all in editable formats for customized use. You are invited to use and are encouraged to share these resources, available without charge for unrestricted use.  

View an overview or access the editable files.  

 

YEARS ABC PENTECOST – PLAYING WITH FIRE

When we implore God to “by your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise,” for what are we praying?  In many cases, we are praying that God’s Spirit would support and sustain whatever visions and ministries have already been conceived and put into place within our faith  communities.  But what if we lifted our prayers with hearts wide open to receiving the fire of God’s Holy Spirit in whatever powerfully expressive ways the Spirit chooses to be made known?

The Playing with Fire resources for Pentecost, formatted for use as commercially printed banners, projection graphics, bulletin covers, postcards, social media posts, and a three-dimensional sculpture, are available as FREE RESOURCES.