April 2018 – Stations of the Cross
Summer is a productive, busy time of year here at Adventures. It’s when a vast majority of our training camps and trip launches happen. But the “slow season” between January and May, while still busy in it’s own ways, allows us time to pursue other things here in Gainesville, GA.
Stations of the Cross
As an example, at the end of last month, we had an event here at Adventures called Stations of the Cross. Historically, the Stations of the Cross refers to a series of 14 images depicting Jesus’ crucifixion with accompanying prayers, designed to help Christians contemplate Jesus’ experience of being crucified.
Instead of hosting a traditional style of Stations of the Cross, we took a slightly a different approach — to replicate those 14 stations with various artistic interpretations of the moments captured in the traditional stations.
So we had several artists create 14 “stations” with artistic forms including several paintings, 1 musical composition, 3 lyrical songs, 1 choreographed dance, 2 interactive pieces and a monologue, and created a journey around our campus on Good Friday for people to come experience the stations.
Here’s a video one of our event workers created to capture the evening:
As a part of this event, I decided to try my hand at an art form I’ve been interested in for a while, but have very little experience with: Composing Orchestral music.
I listened to some different pieces that captured the kind of emotion I was looking for and went at it. The most difficult part was when I got several hours (of work, not of audio) in and realized what I was creating wasn’t communicating the right emotion, and had to start over.
My Station?
Station 9 – when Jesus’ garments are torn from his body and nails are driven into his hands and feet.
I wanted this piece to capture the intensity of what scene might feel like, followed up with a somber pause to take in what just happened. Here’s the result:
Someone else had painted a painting for this station, and together in the room, the art was on display and my song would play automatically every few minutes. People were invited to lay on the ground with their hands out at their sides to imagine themselves being in a posture similar to what Jesus’ might have been in those moments.
The event ended up being a huge success by our standards, with an estimate of over 200 people coming through, with roughly half of the attendants being people outside our “Adventures Bubble”.
It was a ton of fun to host an event like this! People seemed deeply impacted by it, and others are convinced this should be an annual event we host each year.
Time will tell!
Support Update
As my supporters know, a huge part of me being able work here, as part of a non-profit organization, includes fund raising for our organization. My fundraising goal is $7,000 a year, which helps offset the reality that the value my department produces isn’t a financial one.
Based on commitments I have from my supporters, I’m on track to raise $6,540 by the end of the fiscal year! Which is so great!
Current Projected Funds: $6,540 of $7,000
To meet my goal, I need either:
- Monthly commitments equaling $92 a month
- A one-time donation of $460 made before September 30th
- Or, of course, any combination of the two!
I’d love if you’d consider supporting me by donating to Adventures in Missions! Many supporters give $25 or $50 a month, but any amount will greatly help! All donations are tax-deductible. Setting up a one-time or recurring donation can be done by contacting me or clicking below:
That’s it for this post! Thanks for reading!
