Image and Words
Fr. Fady Abdulahad from the Syriac Orthodox Church once said this, “[In the West] you always have theologians who are philosophers but in the East you always have theologians who are either poets or maybe icon drawers...”
Finally, the poet and the image-maker make their entrance, summoning us to worship God in creative ways through images and words, engaging our imagination and senses.
Chris Thorpe and Jake Lever are one such poet and image-maker. They have created ‘Touching the Sacred’, a book that offer us a wonderful and practical resource for reflective worship. ‘Touching the Sacred’ is a collection of user-friendly liturgies and easy on the eye images. The book is divided in four main sections, Michaelmas, Epiphany, Holy Week and Pentecost. Each section contains various creative liturgies which are accompanied by images of hands. The themes are imaginative and unusual, such as angels, exile, dreamer, astrologer, emergence, risk, paradox; to mention just few.
The language is inclusive; the themes are relevant, understanding well the zeitgeist of our time. The poised images are easy to grasp and engage with, providing the viewer a sense of transcendent mystery, particularly the more abstract and primitive images which are a delight.
The book comes with a CD Rom which is easy to navigate. It has all the written and visual material ready for use, as well as suggestions for music.
The partnership of poet and image maker has given us a magic blend of words that resonate deeply in the cords of our soul and pictures that lead us to places of spiritual enlightenment.
Here we have something ancient and new, fresh and relevant, honest and inspirational. This book brings beauty and poetry into the heart of worship. If you are looking to inspire new life into your worship, this book will do it.
Finally, the poet and the image-maker make their entrance, summoning us to worship God in creative ways through images and words, engaging our imagination and senses.
Chris Thorpe and Jake Lever are one such poet and image-maker. They have created ‘Touching the Sacred’, a book that offer us a wonderful and practical resource for reflective worship. ‘Touching the Sacred’ is a collection of user-friendly liturgies and easy on the eye images. The book is divided in four main sections, Michaelmas, Epiphany, Holy Week and Pentecost. Each section contains various creative liturgies which are accompanied by images of hands. The themes are imaginative and unusual, such as angels, exile, dreamer, astrologer, emergence, risk, paradox; to mention just few.
The language is inclusive; the themes are relevant, understanding well the zeitgeist of our time. The poised images are easy to grasp and engage with, providing the viewer a sense of transcendent mystery, particularly the more abstract and primitive images which are a delight.
The book comes with a CD Rom which is easy to navigate. It has all the written and visual material ready for use, as well as suggestions for music.
The partnership of poet and image maker has given us a magic blend of words that resonate deeply in the cords of our soul and pictures that lead us to places of spiritual enlightenment.
Here we have something ancient and new, fresh and relevant, honest and inspirational. This book brings beauty and poetry into the heart of worship. If you are looking to inspire new life into your worship, this book will do it.
