Pottery proves time and time again that it is one of the oldest and most enduring of the arts.
Archaeologists continue to unearth remains of jars and pots thousands of years old, and the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs show potters at work.
More than 600 years before Christ, Jeremiah carried this message from God to the people of Israel: “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand” (Jer. 18:6).
However, evidence of this ancient art form is rare in the programs or fine arts conservatories of Alabama Baptist churches.
Keith Hibbs, who oversees creative arts ministries for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said a few churches offer painting classes. However, he knows of none teaching pottery courses.
“The level of difficulty may be the main reason [pottery classes aren’t offered],” Hibbs said.
In addition to the aesthetic aspect of pottery making, the potter must form vessels from balls or coils of clay using a manually or electrically operated potter’s wheel.
After “throwing” the pot, the artisan permanently hardens it by firing vessels in a kiln. The potter can then decorate the object, either by dipping it into a glaze or by painting on designs.
On the other hand, ceramics classes are common in many churches. Ceramics, which means “potter’s clay,” also involves the use of clay, other materials and a kiln.
But students normally use preformed molds to make decorative or practical objects such as Christmas angels, vases and ornaments.
“I can tell many stories of how our ceramics program is used to minister to the sick and homebound,” said Susan Forehand, director of women’s ministries at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, in Birmingham Association.
While pottery-making may not play a role in Alabama Baptist church programs, some artists use pottery in presentations at church or denominational meetings.
For example, potters sometimes help Margaret Kennedy of Dothan, a writer and public speaker, in presenting a program called “In These Jars of Clay.”
Kennedy said the presentation demonstrates the purpose God has for individuals.
“My theme addresses why God would deposit His greatest treasure — Christ — in unfit vessels (humanity),” she said.
“I have a potter demonstrating his or her work, with displays of earthen vessels in the background,” she said. “I encourage people that no matter what kind of pot you are — sturdy and practical, or fine and fragile — God has a purpose in your life.
“We also use broken pieces of pottery to represent whatever people are holding onto that prevents complete dedication to Christ,” Kennedy said. “In an invitation, those broken pieces are surrendered.”
Stephen Glaze, former Judson College art professor now on the faculty of Mississippi College, teams with his artist wife, Ruth, to present art devotionals at churches.
“When we first started this ministry, I was working on a doctoral program at Florida State University and teaching at Judson,” Glaze said.
“Part of my dissertation dealt with the attitudes of Southern Baptists toward art in the church,” he said. “I worked in six Alabama churches, testing attitudes, conducting workshops and presenting devotionals using art activities.
“I then post-tested attitudes. What I found was that Baptists haven’t been very receptive to the arts,” Glaze said.
“But if you can show that art enhances spiritual growth in fellow believers and that it’s something that edifies the heart, attitudes change,” he said.
Glaze said the couple’s devotionals feature combinations of painting, pottery, sculpture and music.
These accompany written and spoken Scripture passages. He often uses a verse from Jeremiah as a key Scripture.
“When you combine all these media, people will remember what they see and hear for many years,” Glaze said.
“People have come up to me 10 or 15 years after they’ve seen one of those pottery devotionals and tell me what I did and the spiritual points I made,” he said. “I use art as a symbol of something beyond it.
“Just as Jesus spoke in parables so that people would better understand His meaning, I believe He also took advantage of visuals as He spoke,” Glaze said.
For more resources on churches and the classical arts, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org.
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