An Obadiah Slope column
At the risk of offending those who think meeting places, aka churches, should be devoid of art, Obadiah was sitting in the chapel at Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne the other day. He has spent long days in Melbourne, alternating with his twin Peter on sibling care.
So, taking a moment to read the Bible and pray, he thought why not wander down to the chapel, an exercise in modernist architecture in a city that makes geometric architecture work?
He sat down and read his daily Bible, prayeed and paused.
And then he saw the stained glass windows around that chapel and felt the sympathy and insight – dare I say empathy – that the creator poured into them.
The Australian artist David Wright created them in 1994. Three decades later they still speak.
Above the holy table/ altar – it is a Catholic space – is this:
It spoke directly to me. Amid the tumult of the hospital, the confusion and noise of modern life and death, there is resurrection. We will be taken up. Yes, there is sacrifice, death, and confusion. But the window boldly proclaims life after death. It is a big window, it dominates the spavce as you walk in, or glance up from praying or reading the Bible.
And then you look around.
Love and nurture -and the stories of Jesus and his fisher disciples were combined here for Obadiah. The hospital is a place of nurture and love. There are no longer any Cabrini sisters at the hospital, but here this series of works in glass memorialises their mission.
And other images are directly about the hospital: Imagine seeking comfort for someone who is in the operating theatres. Yes, Obadiah had this on his heart.
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Sydneysiders might recognise David Wright’s style. He is responsible for the most outstanding piece of 20th-century glass in the harbour city. Visit St James King Street, and you will see his Creation Window.
And St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide has his Magdalene Window, in honour of the ordination of women.
(Images from art.catholic.org.au)
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Life sentence: From Seven News Adelaide, Obadiah learns that a possible life sentence hangs over a man found inside Bridge City church in Murray Bridge. “He was searched and allegedly found to be in possession of scripture books belonging to the church. The man, a 25-year-old from Mount Gambier, was arrested and charged with sacrilege.”
Sacrilege carries a maximum life sentence in SA. It is a hangover from when Adelaide really was a city of churches. Somehow, Obadiah suggests that the magistrate will downgrade the charge.
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Election News: Bob Day, former Family First Senator, is on Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots Senate ticket for SA. Hid Australia Family Party has joined forces with Palmer. (h/t Ben White)
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Keeping score: A bonus episode of churches for sale, with a round-up of six from nine’s CommercialRealEstate.com
For the record, they are:
• Habitat Uniting Church, Canterbury, Vic
• Uniting Church, Daylesford, Vic
• Haigslea Uniting Church, Haigslea, Qld
• Chalmers Church, Launceston (Ex-Uniting)
• Holy Trinity Church, Sebastopol, Vic, Anglican
• Cardinia Presbyterian Church, Cardinia, Vic
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Risky church: “The pastor of a Fort Worth megachurch is celebrating that a school affiliated with his church has the lowest vaccination rate for measles of any school in Texas.” The Dallas Morning News reports. “’Shoutout to MC Prep for being the least vaccinated school in Texas!” Landon Schott, pastor of Mercy Culture Church, said in a Wednesday Instagram video.”
Teaxs is leading the pack of US States with measles outbreaks and it is getting worse. As of last week Texas had 400 cases. A school-age child died of measles in Texas in February.