I am looking forward to the new year before us in regards to our liturgical floral designs as another year has come to an end. I wish to thank all who have sponsored flowers to grace our sanctuary table each Sunday. I have to thank you for giving me the freedom to use my talent and creativity in creating displays for our table and sanctuary. This is a floral designers dream.
As always Lent and Easter is a big event for floral designs in our church and last year was a delightful challenge with a theme of Balance and Wholeness. With the scriptures as my foundation, each week’s display evolved around the natural physical and visual balance of different materials in the display. Some of the displays although physically balanced, visually looked slightly off balance. With God all things are possible.
The All Saints’ Day display is a great example of creating a different art form. This was also an interactive display. The congregation was invited to place flowers into ninety water tubes that were place in a large contorted wire structure. The wire structure also represented the trials and struggles in our lives and throughout the world. The red roses were in memory of loved ones who had passed as well as remembering lives that were lost throughout the world.
I worked on the worship committee for the Vermont Conference of the United Church of Christ Annual Meeting at Lake Morey last spring. This theme was Telling A Story. The display base was similar to what we used for All Saints’ Day a couple of years ago with water tubes and branches. There were two-hundred-twenty tubes in the display. This time the branches represented the different ministries of the conference and the tubes represent the stories of all who work in those ministries as well as ministries in their own church. Everyone was invited to place a flower into the display representing their story. I also presented a workshop on storytelling with flowers for the conference.
Our Christmas display was repeated from last year. It had a great impact not only on our church but also the community and other churches that viewed our Christmas display. Just by adding branches to the wreaths, garlands and changing the organ display, the branches elevated traditional forms to a natural modern classical look. I had many people look me up at work and complement us on our Christmas Sanctuary that had not seen it last year. I also want to thank all for helping bring down the display materials from upstairs and then put them back after Christmas. I am working on a whole new look for 2019.
In closing it has been my pleasure serving you as the Minister of Liturgical Floral Design for the Waterbury Congregational Church, United Church of Christ and I look forward to another exciting year in the art of Liturgical Floral Design. To the Lord God I give all the Glory.
Respectfully submitted,
Ned Davis,
Minister of Liturgical Floral Design