Simpleigh

"James Hampton's entire artistic output is this single work which he called  The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly.  Hampton worked for more than fourteen years on his masterwork in a rented garage, transforming its drab interior into a heavenly vision, as he prepared for the return of Christ to earth... Hampton's full creation consists of 180 components...  Massive wings, suggesting angels, sprout from most components; framed tablets line the walls, and crowns and other complex foil decorations fill every available space of the assemblage. The entire complex was originally placed on a three-foot tall platform set stage like against the rear wall of his garage. The Throne  and all of its associated components are made from discarded materials and found objects consisting of old furniture, wooden planks and supports, cardboard cutouts, scraps of insulation board, discarded light bulbs, jelly glasses, hollow cardboard cyli...

It's official, I'm a seminarian. The reality set in yesterday as I sat through my very first chapel service and class. The strangest part is how natural and yet unnatural it is to be here. In one sense I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be, which is a comforting feeling. However, in another sense, this space and process is so unfamiliar.  I like to call this one, "Jesus Plays Hide and Seek" Taken at the Library of Congress. In Church History yesterday we recorded how many denominations were represented in our class. The white of the white board got smaller and smaller, as the names of every stream you can think of were put up. The spread bridged everything between Unitarian Universalist and African Methodist Episcopal church; and yet there we no practicing Catholics. I never realized before how much Catholicism has informed my religious identity. But something about being here, in the process to be ordained, feels radical. Or maybe it's the si...