By Scott Philips, Mars Hill Art Team

Summer brings sunshine, even to Seattle, and opportunity to marvel at what our God has made. He has made so much, and though it is easy to become lost in the grandeur of it, there is a simplicity under-girding everything that exists.
 
Everything and everyone was made to worship Him, and though the expressions vary, the devotion remains steadfast. As the psalmist says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136) The artists currently on display throughout our building remind us, in all their form of expression, to give thanks to the Lord: for what He has given, for what He has made, for how He has done it, and even for the things we often forget to thank Him for.
 
If you enter through the main doors of our campus, you will enjoy the work of Brittany Sponseller. With a vibrant kaleidoscope of color, held together by the common thread of Scripture, her work is unified in theme but diverse in content. Her work demonstrates how God has given us the capacity to experience so much – that our emotions run a wide gamut – though it is all for His glory. We respond to His freely given love, by giving it back just as freely.

Entering the main sanctuary, you will see the works of Devon Watson. With crystallizing images, her photos bring the less clear into focus. What we see is not always what is really there; sometimes we need another to show us what is hidden. We are reminded that creation is displaying more than we are noticing, and the trick is to keep our eyes open, and our hearts soft. Just a bend of light, or a twist of angle, and we are once again enraptured by an awesome God. Our response is one of wonder.

Past the stairs on the main floor, you will see the works of Matthew Bodaly.  With silhouettes and shadows they also convey a playfulness of light. At first glance somber, these photos’ subtle dance of light also creates an undertone of play.  Its duality reveals that God makes, not because He has to – bound by rules – but He makes and does all that He does out of joy, out of sheer delight to share His relationship with us.  We respond somberly and delightfully.
 
As you make your way downstairs for refreshments and fellowship, you will see the works of Annette Reisbick as well as the remaining works by Brittany Sponseller.  Annette’s felted pieces visibly exude texture and her work escapes constraints – a line twisting here, a piece of material flowing there.  They are simple, but by their simplicity conveying what is complex.  We are shown the mystery inherent in our Maker in crafting a universe so complex, and yet doing so with nothing more than the power of His word.

God has made everything that we can see, and everything that is hidden, and even our bodies to experience it.  Our response is simply to echo the words of our Maker, “It is very good, God. You are very good, God.”  It is the prayer of the artists, the prayer of our church, and the continuous prayers of our great High Priest, Jesus, that you would find your own voice and your own way to express devotion to our great God.