CRC Congregation Active in ArtPrize 2014

A few people were discretely filing through the door to view entries to ArtPrize 2014 in Monroe Community Church as the worship service began.

Meanwhile, about 80 people sat in chairs to take part in the Sunday service.

Since art is such an integral aspect of this church near downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., none of the worshipers seemed to mind that maybe a dozen people had come in off the street simply to check out the art.

As Rev. Henry Schenkel prayed, it was as if the members of the church and those on hand to view ArtPrize entries were all part of the same congregation.

“We pray about these works of art. Their beauty reminds us of God who created us,” said Schenkel, who pastors the church located in a renovated warehouse near downtown Grand Rapids, Mich. with his wife, Amy.

“You, God, have given these artists their abilities.”

One of a few churches in Grand Rapids serving as a venue for ArtPrize, Monroe displays several works from various artists on its walls during the international, urban competition that runs through Oct. 12.

“We pray also to God who keeps our hearts beating. We give you all of the praise and glory,” said Schenkel.

After he prayed, Schenkel told people today’s service would include a baptism, an interview with David Macomber, an artist whose work ItsWell is one of several displayed throughout the church, and a sermon from the Book of Joshua that would tie in with Macomber’s ArtPrize entry.

ArtPrize is an open exhibition, spread over a three-square-mile area in downtown, that this year has drawn more than 1,500 entries.

ArtPrize is an open exhibition, spread over a three-square-mile area in downtown, that this year has drawn more than 1,500 entries.

Prize money of $560,000 is awarded to the winning art works and venues. The public votes for some of the winners; other winners are part of a juried competition.

Located in an area of former factories turned into upscale condominiums, Monroe Community’s mission statement says its goal is to link “our downtown community with our life-changing God.”

As a result, they got involved with ArtPrize right away and have stayed active, says Brian Bolt, a member of the church’s vision team.

“We’re trying to be relevant and connect with people in our downtown community in ways that open up eyes and bring people to Jesus,” he said.

As part of its connection to ArtPrize, Monroe finds different ways to link the the competition with worship and outreach.

The “Meet the Artist” sermon series, this week featuring Macomber, is an example.

After the baptism and before giving his sermon, Schenkel interviewed Macomber about his work, which depicts a large wave nailed together from boards and other pieces of debris left behind by Hurricane  Sandy, the “superstorm” that hit the Atlantic Coast in 2012.

The name for his work comes from the old hymn that states "When sorrows like sea billows roll . . . it is well with my soul."

“Through this trial, which was devastating to our area, God was testing our faith,” said Macomber whose studio is near the ocean.

“Each piece in the work represents lives coming together in a wave,” said Macomber. “I want people to be encouraged that we can all come together during trials …”

Schenkel echoed these sentiments in his sermon. He set the stage by describing the scene in the book of Joshua in which Joshua fearfully faces leading his people across the Jordan and confronting the many uncertainties of the Promised Land beyond.

“How can we be strong and courageous in a world when the swells of life seem to come over top of us?” he asked.

“Joshua will need courage as he faces the swells … His courage will be rooted in what the Lord is doing and will do for him. He is assured that God will never leave or forsake him,” said Schenkel.

After the service, California artist Paul Rio, who was interviewed for the “Meet the Artist Series” last week, stood by his work Living Words and talked to people about what drew him to paint Jesus and a woman, symbolizing the bride of Christ, the church.

From across the sanctuary, his pictures look as if he painted them with delicate, crisscrossing lines. But closer inspection shows these to be phrases from the Old and New Testament.

“The inspiration for these came from the Lord. I started to see flashes of these words in my head.” ArtPrize artists Paul Rio

“The inspiration for these came from the Lord. I started to see flashes of these words in my head,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what application they would have. But then I went back and methodically studied these verses and started using them in a painting.”

Rio says he had finished the picture of Jesus, focusing on the Hebrew qualities of Christ, when he learned that one of the previous winners of the competition lives in his community of Santa Ana. She has done a work portraying Christ’s crucifixion.

“Before that I never  heard of ArtPrize, and then when I heard that she won with her piece that had a religious theme, I decided to enter,” he said.

After finishing the picture of Jesus, he started on the bride, guided, he says, by prayer and insight from the Holy Spirit.

“I want to convey through the bride what the Bible says about how God loves the church the way a husband loves his wife,” he says.

Although he had never done art such as this before, he says, “When you hear the voice of the Lord, you obey. In doing these paintings, I’ve stepped out in faith.”

So far about 2,000 people have come into Monroe church to view the ArtPrize entries.

Looking around the inside of the church following the service, as the art crowd grew larger, Riosaid, “The Lord is in this place. I’m blessed to be here.”

Various members of the Calvin College community are also involved in ArtPrize.