“How could we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4)
“Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” (Joel 1:3)
Entering a third month of physical distancing and online worship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s stay-at-home order, we may resonate with the psalmist’s experience in exile. We are challenged to express our faith in the foreign worship space of the Internet when we no longer can sing God’s praises together in our church buildings.
Yet it is important for us to find ways to tell the story of these challenging times, even as we live through them. Telling our stories helps us examine and process what we are experiencing, gives us insight into what we have lost and learned, and records what has happened for ourselves and future generations before our memories of these intense days merge and fade.
Through the COVID Creations project, we invite you to help tell your stories using various artistic media. Every two weeks, we will solicit contributions in two different media on a particular theme, and we will introduce new media each month. A selection of these contributions will be published in the VOICE online and on the diocesan website.
Here are the themes, deadlines, media and instructions for June and July:
Theme: Spirit
Deadline: June 4
Media: Photography and Group Poetry
Photography: Submit a photograph of an image capturing the theme “Spirit” to CovidCreationsStory@gmail.com.
Group Poetry: Send word or short phrase describing any or all of these to CovidCreationsStory@gmail.com:
- What Spirit sounds like
- What Spirit smells like
- What Spirit tastes like
- What Spirit looks like
- What Spirit feels like
These descriptive words and phrases will be assembled into one group poem on the theme “Spirit.” A sample of a group poem created several years ago on the theme “Heaven” by a church school class at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown is printed at the end of this article.
Theme: Courage
Deadline: June 18
Media: Photography and Group Poetry
Photography: Submit a photograph of an image capturing the theme of “courage” to CovidCreationsStory@gmail.com.
Group Poetry: Send word or short phrase describing any or all of these to CovidCreationsStory@gmail.com:
- What courage looks like
- What courage smells like
- What courage tastes like
- What courage sounds like
- What courage feels like
These descriptive words and phrases will be assembled into one group poem on the theme of “courage.” A sample of a group poem created several years ago on the theme “Heaven” by a church school class at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown is printed at the end of this article.
Theme: Essential
Deadline: July 2
Media: Videography and Songwriting
Videography: Submit an up to 1-minute video on the theme “essential.” Click here to upload the video file.
Songwriting: Submit an original song on the theme “essential” to CovidCreationsStory@gmail.com.
You may submit new words to a familiar tune or new words with a new tune. If submitting newly composed music, please include either a PDF of the music or a YouTube link to a recording of the music.
Theme: Disposable
Deadline: July 16
Media: Videography and Songwriting
Videography: Submit an up to 1-minute video on the theme “disposable.” Click here to upload the video file
Songwriting: Submit an original song on the theme “disposable” to CovidCreationsStory@gmail.com.
You may submit new words to a familiar tune or new words with a new tune. If submitting newly composed music, please include either a PDF of the music or a YouTube link to a recording of the music.
Sample Group Poem: Heaven
Heaven
sounds like people playing the harp,
like angel wings flapping above
and dragon wings flapping below.
Heaven sounds like prayers and hymns.
Heaven smells like flowers, roses
rainforests, the ocean, nature.
Heaven smells like orange juice and coffee.
Heaven smells like … nothing.
Heaven looks like gold,
like a white fortress in the sky
and a many-headed snake with a room
in each head.
Heaven looks like clouds and acorns,
like a big castle,
like a gate, a rocky path and God breaking sticks.
Heaven looks like whatever you want.
Heaven feels soft, hard as rocks,
warm, comforting, peaceful and relaxing.
Heaven feels like feathers and snakeskin.
Heaven feels however you want.
Heaven tastes like buttercream frosting,
like salty mashed potatoes,
like the ocean and fish.
Heaven tastes like water because
it’s in the clouds.
Heaven is whatever you want!
