As the final two posts in the Wonders of Worship series were being created, I was mindful that this one about Pentecost would be delivered on Good Friday. I thought seriously about how to hold the two remembrances together, and finally resolved to pause the series for a day.
So, if you’re reading this on the day it posts, it’s coming to you on Holy Saturday — that day of sitting with uncertainty, of staring at the empty canvas, of trusting in the mystery.
When my husband and I lived in Washington State, we belonged to a church that celebrated the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. The evening began with a campfire outside, then the blessing and lighting of the Paschal candle, which in turn was used to light everyone’s small candles.
I’ve never been to Israel. I asked the internet whether there are fireflies in Jerusalem. According to AI, there are eight species of fireflies, or lightning bugs, that are found in Israel.
I find myself now imagining fireflies around the tomb, holding their own Easter vigil.
Welcome to Day 39 of the Wonders of Worship (WOW) series. Today we ponder Pentecost.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other languages,
as the Spirit gave them ability.
—Acts 2.4
Ways to Engage:
- Practice Visio Divina (receive, reflect, respond, rest) with the painting.
- Download the B&W image. Color it on your own or with a friend. Let it inspire further contemplation/conversation.
- You do you. Trust your intuition and engage in the way your heart desires.
To download the black and white image for personal use: on a computer, click and drag the image to your desktop; on a phone, press on the picture until it gives you the option to save it to your photos. The image is formatted to fit on an 8.5″x11″ piece of paper, but feel free to print it whatever size you’d like.
Background: I created a series of forty 5″x7″ watercolor paintings inspired by the elements of worship. It was work commissioned by a project with Nourishing Vocation with Children at St. Olaf College, a program funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative.
As the paintings are shared, you may notice a pattern:
- Music = Songbird
- Prayer = Seed and/or Fruit
- Word = Leaf
- Order of Service = Element of Nature
- Season = Insect with a Flower
One final creative invitation for this project remains for me: to paint a Tree of Life holding all forty elements. I plan to share its progress here.
For this series, I am grateful to have used handmade paper from White Dragon Paper and watercolor paints from Natural Earth Paint.
vonda drees art 