The “Fall”-out of Generosity

Things have settled into a rhythm here at the Montpelier Atrium. Other than a hit-or-miss schedule in November, we’ve been meeting like clockwork on Friday mornings and Sunday afternoons, serving about 8 level II kids and 5 level I kids.

Thanks to the continued generosity of donors, this Fall we’ve been able to stay on track with building works that are appropriate to the liturgical season we’re in. We received the funding to purchase what was needed for Advent works, and have been slowly building those. With the second round of funding that happened around September, we also purchased a reel for the La Fettucia work and the pieces for the topographical Jerusalem map, which will be one of the first things we assemble for level II in preparation for Lent in February.

Here is a little pictoral update on the space here at Montpelier, thanks to the generosity of donors near and far.

The “La Fettucia (“long ribbon”)” and sequential works of the “Blue Unity Strip” are within the overarching category of “The History of the Kingdom of God” in Level II. These works contemplate the vastness of the history of God, its unity towards the purpose of redemption, and the gifts of love given to us through the three major “moments” of history that we denote in these works as creation, redemption, and parousia (when God will be “all in all”).

With many moving pieces and lots of repetition, these works took a long time to make!

The La Fettucia is a series of different-colored ribbons with a few points of embroidery for context along the way. It is over 168ft long (over 2,000 inches, as my son kept marveling!). Because of the length, it is very easy to get tangled, so the ability to purchase a custom-made reel made for keeping it together as it’s wound and unwound was a luxury and a great gift to us. In November, we were able to present this to a number of our level II kids outside in our yard. It spanned much of the length of our 1 acre back yard and effectively represented the utter incomprehensible vastness of God’s plan in the history of our world and of us (Pictured: the reel with the wound ribbon in it!).

Usually made from paper, I felt the inspiration to handsew our Unity Strip using materials I already had on hand. This was a special creative project for me that makes the work particularly unique to our atrium and I am proud of the result and the kids’ wondrous response to it.

It was particularly challenging because this work needs a control (pictured: the one hanging on the wall) and a “mute” version with separate pieces that the children can place along the timeline themselves. It also involves a small booklet that I assembled which takes the kids through the history of the kingdom of God in narrative form so that they can read as they do the work without the help of an adult. Finally with all the pieces assembled, I was able to present it to my children this week (pictured: my daughter completing the mute strip for the first time). This work comes after the first two moments of presenting the La Fettucia. I am excited to start presenting it to the rest of the kids that attend our atrium as they receive the context of the first work: it is a very tactile and engaging work that has a lot to contemplate and can be returned to time and again to glean deeper truths.

Another work that was completed this fall (also a big undertaking!) was the “Holy Bible and the Books that Comprise It.” Again, I love how tactile this work is, and that it is designed to reflect that the Bible is one large book containing many smaller books: many stories telling one story. Inside the cabinet, it is broken down by categories (discussed in the presentation of the work) which gives the kids even more context for the many names of the books, what they contain, and their significance to the Bible as a whole.

The cabinet and books I purchased from the artisan known as The Catechist’s Husband. Once received, I was able to do all the painting, book covering, labeling, etc. This work was presented in September as well. Very recently, I sat down and finished the control and mute charts for the work’s extension, which gives the kids more ways to repeat this work and internalize the knowledge it affords. Not only are the kids subconsciously learning the names of the books and the order they come in, but they are now being inspired to use the Bibles in the atrium to find where the scriptures are that are associated with each work. It is amazing to see them gravitating towards the Word of God out of their own curiosity and feeling empowered to navigate it.

The Books of the Bible extension work is a great example of the small, “unseen” places that donor money goes: cardboard, tape, lamination, velcro, special pens for a variety of different surfaces, poster-board, glue, etc. etc. etc. I hope those of you who have given never doubt the importance of every dollar, for even a dollar can purchase a couple of pieces of poster-board which can be the deciding factor between having a whole new work for the kids or not.

Today is Giving Tuesday, and if you find yourself feeling inspired to use this day to extend a hand of generosity into the world, please consider us as a place to send your gifts. We have purchased the peg dolls, paint, and plywood for Advent works and once those are complete, will be turning our sights towards the many Lent and Easter works on the horizon. In the next couple of months, I will send out a report with a breakdown of what that will entail. In the meantime, here again is the link to our Go Fund Me. Thank you as always for your gifts on behalf of the children whose lives are being spiritually enriched by this space and the works within it.