It’s here! More than 26 artists presented artwork for Artistic Interpretation of Scripture Sunday, which happened September 28, 2025 at Boise First United Church of Christ! If you missed the Sunday, don’t worry – the show will be up until Sunday October 19, 2025.
The participants artistially interpreted Matthew 5: 14-16:
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Parent in heaven.
Reverend Josh Lee chose this passage for a number of reasons, among which is to preach on saving our faith, saving Christianity, from being co-opted by white Christian nationalists. Lee urges us to “go public with this, just as a city on a hill” and show that Christianity is not division, oppression, and hate, but instead truly modeled after Jesus’s teachings of inclusion, compassion, and love.
Another reason Lee chose this passage was so that each artist in the congregation would have a chance to show their unique “God colors” and express their oneness with God and their truths artistically, like artistic prayers!
The artists were the focus of the entire worship service. There was quite a broad range of interpretive media: Kids singing to a ukulele band, embroidery, paintings, woodwork, clay, woodblock prints, even belly dancing and food among others!
Here are some shots:
This Little Light of Mine
Here, Sunday School kids are singing This Little Light of Mine accompanied by ukulele players standing behind them.
“Black-Capped Chickadee” by Liz Roberts
Liz Roberts’s Artist Statement:
I wanted to make an image of the black-capped chickadee because it’s one of my favorite backyard birds. My mother was an avid birder and she was my inspiration. She also taught me how to embroider and my grandmother taught me to knit. When I work with yarn I remember them both.
Light that shines on the Earth is absorbed or reflected from surfaces of plants, animals, rocks and all creation. The beauty around us is visible thanks to the reflected light. We see color and patterns because of differences in how the light is absorbed or reflected by surfaces. We see the contrasting black and white on the head of the bird & the beautiful green colors of the leaves. Similarly, God’s love light shines on us and we reflect it to others and to the world by being kind.
The small embroidered lines on this image remind me of vibration and activation. Light is energy and when we reflect God’s light we’re radiating energy: by standing up for justice, helping others and speaking out.
“The Light Inside” by Dylan Watson
Dylan Watson, age 9: The Light Inside
Dylan Watson’s Artist Statement:
The title of this painting is The Light Inside. It is a painting of light shining out of me as I stand on a hill at night. It’s special to me because it reminds me that I am loving, caring, and kind.
That is how I show Jesus’s love for others in the world. The light shining out of me in this painting glows in the dark. To remind me that even when things are dark and scary I still shine.
“Three Crosses” by Doug Lindley
Doug Lindley’s Three Crosses: woodwork
Doug Lindley’s Artist Statement:
One afternoon, many years ago, I was waiting to transport several Pilgrim Cove campers back home.
You know about an idle mind being the devil’s workshop. During that afternoon I got the idea of 3 crosses rather than one. I conveyed the idea to Ken Weitemier who was the camp medic. He liked the idea, so we felled 3 trees on the site, which we carried to the worship area in front of Old Rice Meeting Hall, where they stand today.
On our way home from the recent family camp, I got the idea of making a small model of the 3 crosses which you see before you. The two smaller crosses might represent Roman brutality, while the larger cross represents our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“Clay Ball” by Andie Frosch
Andie Frosch Clay Ball: kiln-fired ceramic
Andie Frosch’s Artist Statement:
I picked this piece not because it took incredible skill to make or because it stands out from other work, but because I enjoyed making it. It feels pleasant to the touch and has a good weight.
Without glaze, its shadow is its texture, and it catches the light even in dim settings. Much like a ceramic ball needs a hole to let out air to avoid exploding in the kiln–the expression of one’s voice (or air) (or emotion) (or truth) protects our structural integrity.
“Be Still” by Donna Kreiensieck
Donna Kreiensieck Be Still: woodblock print
Donna Kreiensieck’s Artist Statement:
Matthew 5:14-16
- You are the Light of the world…
- Don’t hide your Light…
- Let your Light shine…
In these hectic times we are called to shine our Light into the world, to reflect the Light of Christ into the darkness – each in our own way as a beloved child of God – as a collective – as the community of our congregation and the greater church – we are called to be the Light.
This is the Light and Love that can transform the world. This is the Light of God, yet we feel drained and damaged by the trauma of these unsettling times. We must rest and find renewal.
Jesus teaches us to go to our inner room and pray to our Father in secret, and our Father who sees in secret will reward us. Matthew 6:6
Psalm 46:10 urges us to “Be still and know that I am God…” In contemplative prayer, we rest in God and gather renewed strength for action.
“Contemplation is “resting in God.” This was the classical meaning of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian tradition for the first sixteen centuries.” Fr. Thomas Keating
“We need both action and contemplation to have a whole spiritual journey. It doesn’t matter which comes first; action may lead you to contemplation and contemplation may lead you to action. But finally, they need and feed each other.” Fr. Richard Rohr
“Contemplation embodies compassion. The more we are transformed in compassion, the more we act with compassion toward others.” James Finley
References:
Contemplative Outreach – www.contemplativeoutreach.org
Center for Action and Contemplation – www.cac.org
Belly Dance to Misirlou by Austin Watson
Austin Watson – Belly Dance to Misirlou
Austin Watson’s Artist Statement:
The song Misirlou is a folk melody passed through Greek, Turkish, Arabic, and Jewish cultures during the Ottoman Empire. Like this melody, the light of Christ spreads across time and cultures, often by word of mouth, taking on new expressions yet always pointing back to it’s true source. We are called not to hide our light but to let it shine for others. Similarly, the ancient art of bellydance –rooted in Middle Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean traditions of celebration, storytelling, and community – reflects how art transcends boundaries.
This dance combines Egyptian, Arabic, and American Cabaret styles of bellydance while using a 3.5 yard, hand dyed veil made of raw silk. Just as Misirlou and dance connect people, Christ’s light unites and inspires across generations, geographical locations, and cultures.
Dark and Light Chocolate Cupcakes by Susan Barkley
Susan Barkley Dark and Light Chocolate Cupcakes
Susan Barkley’s Artist Statement:
Sometimes it’s easiest to see our own light when we’re surrounded by darkness.
Conclusion
In these trying times we can see quite a lot of unabashed darkness.
Emboldened bigotry and racism and lack of tolerance that turns neighbor against neighbor, the rich abusing the powers of our nation and squeezing resources and human dignity out of everyone else including the poorest among us, robbing millions of their health and healthcare, countless actions of sanctioned corruption and lawlessness destroying our democracy, punishing the earth and those who seek to protect her from pollution and climate change, punishing scientists seeking to help humanity’s current and future safety and health and well-being, efforts to turn us into an ignorant country of greedy self-centeredness and war and not a force for intelligent and effective peacefulness and compassion for all the earth, and efforts to whitewash our history and suck funding away from public schools so that the evils of the past aren’t discussed and our children aren’t exposed to the diversity of humankind to learn to build a safe and cooperative future for all.
All of these things weigh heavily on many Americans’ and global minds and hearts, including Christians’.
God calls us to lay bare these evils and bring about God’s justice, peace, and love for all of God’s children and our world. But first, God calls us, calls our children, to feel God’s love and what is holy and shining bright within each of us and all of God’s creation. This love is the foundation, in each person, to learn and respect and grow love and compassion for others; for all of creation and the world.
These artists have expressed, in diverse and thoughtful, and sometimes playful and joyful ways, their understanding of our world and how they see our place in it as light bearers. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of their artwork in this post, and if you would like the chance to see some more of it in person, we’d love to welcome your visit to Boise First United Church of Christ (located at 2201 Woodlawn Ave, Boise, ID 83702.)
The show will be up until Sunday, October 19, 2025.
Thank you for supporting the arts!
– Gretchen Weitemier