Mystery and Transcendence
What if each Sunday, rather than gathering to sing and pray and bask in the mystery of the liturgy, we merely sat down to talk about God? Setting aside the songs and the silence, what if we simply expounded on theology and debated the finer points of orthodoxy, or just took classes on the history of the church or the ethics of Christian living? Though all those things are valuable and interesting, we would likely come far short of a life-changing encounter with God.
That is why we approach God not solely through argument or rational thought, but through poetry and song and visual expression. That’s why art in all its forms, from hymnody to painting to sculpture to architecture, is so vital to us as we navigate our lives faithfully and with openness to the Spirit.
During the month of March – Women’s History Month – Trinity Commons is hosting Anne Kmieck’s In Confidenza: Secrets and Transcendence in the gallery. Anne is a member of Trinity whose artwork has been exhibited all over the world, and she has created In Confidenza in response “to the ongoing crusade to erase moral agency by criminalizing gender and reproductive decisions.” Drawing on a 15th century painting of the Madonna, the fabric installation “is an artistic expression of the extraordinary selective nature of the female reproductive system.”
The issue of access to reproductive healthcare is a critical one for us all, one that invites faithful and critical thinking and as much rational thought as we can muster. Yet the very depth of the issue calls for more than that, which In Confidenza offers: a work of art that invites us all into a deeper story of mystery, humanity, life, loss, and lived experience.