The Flickr Parkchurch Image Generatr

When this church opened in the late 1800s the range of artificial fabrics and dyes was much more limited than today. So most people seeing the vivid stained glass colors and themes portrayed on walls and at the front and rear of the church would be much more impressed than modern viewers who carry millions of pixels on pocket-size screens or see full color on oversized TVs at home or work.

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One of the windows bears the "Tiffany Studio" signature, attesting to work from the famous maker of glasswork.

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The expression comes to mind of visual delight, especially gratuitous pleasure that need not accomplish anything more than viewing fun, "eye candy."

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This is just a section of one wall window of perhaps 18 or 20 in the worship hall at Park Congregational Church in downtown Grand Rapids, dating to the late 1800s and designed, fashioned, and installed by Tiffany Studios.

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In 2025 many people already know from personal experience the sound of church organs and the colors of stained-glass windows. But historically, going back several hundred years, both the sights and sounds of church were rare things; perhaps uncanny, overpowering, or beyond words. So while a visitor to this church today might admire the organ builder's handiwork, the organists skill, the composer's creativity, and the visual splendor of the colored glass, what is missing from modern engagement is the old-time shock of seeing such intense color and hearing such unusual chords and melodies.

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Descriptions of heaven in Bible scripture include a few named instruments. When it says 'harp', though the image is something hand-held, not this massive Concert Harp strung with 6 or more octaves. This photo near the front of the worship hall at the First Congregational Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan juxtaposes the 3-D instrument with the 2-D stained-glass angel in the background.

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Apart from Covid disruptions in 2020 and 2021, this annual series of weekly musical performances has been going since around 2001. This photo comes just before the pianist and solo soprano began their program for the 50 in attendance, some of whom joined in the lunch service provided.

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Since around 2001 the concerts have been hosted at the First Congregational Church in downtown Grand Rapids for a variety of musicians. Today it is pianist and soprano vocalist. This video clip of the opening notes of the first piece they performed gives a glimpse of the scene.

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A few steps away from the coat room where visitors and members of the body of worship place their things week after week, this small room is open so that people can conveniently pause to pay their respects at the place their friend or relative has arranged for cremains to be installed. Each of the wooden boxes has a nameplate to distinguish it from the others.

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The ability to start with a mass of wood (or stone) and sculpt a figure or scene is something like magic. Unlike the digital working space with "undo" and "redo," the masterwork made in the analog world of physicality must be executed artfully with no possibility of redoing a cut or a shape.

This large wooden sculpture above the altar at the First Congregational Church is filled with detail that can only be appreciated up close. Since the face of the Jesus figure is perhaps 10 or 12 feet higher than the viewer's eyes, it could be that the sculptor modified the design so the visual experience from below would not distort the proportions by giving the impression of a too small head.

If the maker's name is present, it is very discreet indeed. Viewers see the composition and witness the marks of each chisel stroke made by the artist or artists' hands. But any thought of the artist is secondary or may even be overlooked entirely.

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The Bible story of "the widow's mite" makes the point that the quantity of coin put into the offering plate (or envelope, or electronically transferred) matters very little, compared to one's intention or qualitative spirit in which it is given: not a burden but a pleasure, not an obligation but an opportunity to dwell on the work of the Lord.

This envelope from the pews at the First Congregational Church includes a QR code to give online. Even 5 or 10 years ago, far fewer QR codes could be seen in daily life (unlike in South Korea, where the technology has been pervasive for much longer). In 2025, though, the QR codes appear on billboards, posters, packages, or in this case on the church offering envelopes for use by people without a box of their own at home, and for those wishing the privacy of putting their monetary details outside the view of fellow worshipers who pass the plate.

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This part of the church bulletin board spells out in large print the elements going into the idea and values of Social Justice, as it relates to the church members inside the building and outside in the wider world.

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So many layers joined to form this table that it boggles the mind, something like the Grand Canyon in reverse; not eroding through eons but instead additive processes that result in the finished table.

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The artist biography describes the bodily limitations that led to work in this medium; click on Sharon Vance's name in the entry link, below.

The artist statement describes the balancing of human and non-human lives, www.artprize.org/entries#45208

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It would be interesting to see a video or timelapse to show "the making of..." these patterns and the careful capture of them for this collage.

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The artist statement gives a capsule description of the project, www.artprize.org/entries#73284

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A cityscape type shot from Garnethill in Glasgow.

From Garnethill.