The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) is combining liturgy, worship and art to highlight the church year and our Anglican tradition. The result is a beautiful liturgical calendar featuring original pieces of art crafted by artists within ANiC. The proceeds will benefit ANiC’s work to plant and build Biblically faithful churches in the Anglican tradition.
Each month of the calendar features original artwork, everything from a depiction of the wise men to a crown of thorns titled “Majesty,” and a corresponding Bible verse. It notes the artist and his or her home church as well. Throughout the calendar, ANiC relies on talented artists who were eager to offer their gifts in service of the church community.
ANiC was very deliberate in determining the focus of the calendar. Considering that many of its member churches have walked away from their buildings, it does not include a single depiction of a physical church structure, as most would expect from a church calendar.
“The liturgical calendar points beyond itself to the revelation of God in human history and guides us into communion with our God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. Using this on a regular basis helps us mark the church year as we observe the birth, life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and of His sending us the gift of the Holy Spirit. When this is combined with daily Bible reading and prayer, it can become a foundation for our Anglican spirituality,” said The Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey, bishop and moderator of ANiC.
In fact, the concept for the calendar goes hand in hand with the theme of a recent Anglican 1000 conference on liturgy, formation, mission and art. The calendar’s cover artist, Ann Balch from Moncton, New Brunswick, has two works featured in the calendar (both April and October) and attended the Anglican 1000 event. She is thrilled about the growing recognition within the Anglican Church in North America of the role arts can play in the life and witness of the Church.
In addition to the beautiful art, the calendar provides an explanation of the church year and discusses the use of liturgical colors to “give visual expression to the different moods and themes of the calendar.”
It also contains information on the Anglican Network in Canada and the Anglican Church in North America. As a bonus, it includes the full Jerusalem Declaration, the doctrinal statement which emerged from the remarkable unity of spirit and purpose experienced when Anglicans from around the world gathered in Jerusalem at the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference.
As Bishop Harvey noted, the calendar can “become a quiet form of evangelism as we share with others the wonderful heritage that has been enshrined in our Book of Common Prayer and other manuals.”
The 8×10-inch calendar includes both Canadian and U.S. statutory holidays and is available for order online: http://anglicannetwork.ca/liturgical_calendar_2012.htm.
