Loading...A group of 28 young people and 12 staff spent a warm June week at Messiah College exploring seven forms of prayer, and discovering that sometimes hands can be as prayerful as words.
The centerpiece of the effort was the creation of two mosaics—the inspiration of Pastor Jennifer Looker. She conceived the idea as a way to honor the Rev. Ron Lynch, who was assisting with the conference for the 40th consecutive time.
Since none of the group had experience in making a mosaic, they enlisted the help of stained glass artisan Carl Hartman (St. John’s, Lancaster) who, while new to the medium, had some significant experience in working with glass. Over a three-day period, the group designed two mosaics, then cut and ground glass pieces to fit into their designs.
The work sessions served as small group opportunities to discuss prayer in its various forms. The Rev. Patrick Collins, conference director, used a “multiple sort” strategy (by first name, by last name, by zip code...) to ensure that everyone got acquainted. Participants quickly realized, though, that their artistic task was becoming a prayer in itself, so the reflections going on during the week were far more than what the young people could see in the glass itself.
The end products, two large mosaics honoring Fr. Ron, will be on display in the main foyer of the Diocesan Center. You can see a collection of photos taken during the week on the Diocesan Flickr account.
