Big weekend coming up

This will be a big weekend for Headwaters. On Friday night we'll be participating in the Fall Art Walk downtown. Come see us at the old Blackfoot River Brewery Co. taproom at 54 S. Park Ave. next to Miller's Crossing. We'll have food, drink, and the photography of Tiffany Bushilla.

On Sunday, we're back at ExplorationWorks for our November worship service. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for coffee, tea, and refreshments and the service begins at 10:00.

At our previous worship gathering in October, we learned a few things about using the space at ExplorationWorks. So this time we'll be setting up the room a little bit differently. We'll have a more extensive program for children during the service. And we'll also be celebrating communion during our time together. My message will be taken from Luke 4:16-30 which tells of Jesus preaching in his hometown. This is where Jesus sets the agenda for his ministry--an appropriate place for us to start. Join us!

Some great art

Back on line for a few minutes today.

Last Thursday we went to the Art Institute of Chicago, a world class art museum. The much parodied American Gothic is there (you know, the old guy with the pitchfork standing next to his daughter in front of the farm house). So is Nighthawks by Edward Hopper (also often parodied). And A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. My girls recognized it because I have a coffee mug with it on it. There are a bunch by Georgia O'Keefe, Monet, Manet, Cassat, Sargent, Whistler, and on and on. I could spend an entire day there.

But I was glad we managed three hours with the kids.

Standing at a painting to take it in isn't exactly an everyday experience for most people now. We're accustomed to TV, to movies, to endlessly moving images. It's a rare thing to focus on a canvas and try to draw out the stories it conveys, try to uncover the intentions of the figures, their motivations, their feelings.

Even in a grand museum like the Art Institute it's hard to do. There is so much to see, it's hard to give attention to any one piece for more than a few moments. More often, people breeze in to see the big work (like the Seurat), take a cursory look at the smaller canvases that most any other museum would be proud to display with fanfare, and then it's off to the next important work.

Maybe someday I'll go back and spend the day taking in just a few of them. Try slowing down today to take in something that you normally pass by without noticing. What might you learn?