Our Mission is To be the image of Christ to the world through faithful discipleship and service.
Our Mission is To be the image of Christ to the world through faithful discipleship and service.
The Mosaic Cross
It all began with a casual comment, *I covet that cross."
You see, I created, along with the Rev. Hannah Shempert, a 5'x4' cross for the Mississippi Annual Conference of the UMC. This original cross was a first and a labor of love that I did at Hannah's urging. It really made quite an impact at the conference.
Days and weeks of sadness ensued after Annual Conference, yet the cross stood in my studio reminding me that God’s grace walked with us each step along the way. Those days were extremely difficult for me. I wrestled with the potential loss of my church. I wrestled with the potential loss of relationships with family and friends. I wrestled with what I would do in light of all our ‘what if’s’.
But the voice of someone (who shall remain nameless) kept playing over and over in my head. I covet that cross for Grace. So, I began the process of creating another cross. One that would be more appropriate in a smaller venue. I broke more pottery (and yes, I have the cuts to prove it!) and bought more mortar and began to construct another mosaic cross on a form perfectly constructed by Gus Martin.
Two weeks after I began, I had the cross completed. Ugh, I hated it. It was not what I had envisioned and not something I wanted to share. Then ... I got incredibly sick, and though I kept testing negative for Covid, it really seemed like this was what I had. Two weeks later, the fog began to lift, and I started going back to the studio to work on the cross.
My heart broke as I looked at the original cross, knowing that it was not "God inspired" and not one that I wanted to share. So, I took a chisel and began the daunting project of breaking up the mortar and removing the glass pieces. And yes, more cuts! Once I had the frame clean again, I sat down and looked at the blank cross and prayed. I needed inspiration. I was almost afraid to begin again, fearing I'd find myself tearing it apart again. I kept looking at the middle of the cross as my starting point, almost like starting with the "heart' of the cross and working my way to the outside. The Celtic cross has always been my favorite cross design, so with that in mind, I began.
I laid the entire cross out with tiny pieces of glass. I changed the grout color from white to black
- a decision I would come to regret. The black grout burrowed under my nails, made its way up my forearms, and ruined quite a few articles of clothing. Once the tiny pieces were in place, I painstakingly began to remove small sections of the glass, smoothing in grout and replacing each glass piece. This process took days to complete. As each section dried, I cleaned the black residue off the glass pieces. Finally, the design began to take shape as with each step, I prayed that God would guide my hands and reveal the design to me.
When the cross was finally finished, I contacted Gus to see if he would help me hang it. That's when I found out that we were asked not to put nails in the walls of the church. Oops ... there would be no way to have the cross behind the pulpit except to hang it. The decision was made that we would ask forgiveness rather than permission.
This cross is a symbol to me of our church. Out of the darkness came light and color and form. And so, it is with us at Grace United Methodist Church. Out of our darkest times, God brought forth light, form, and vivid color so that together we might serve God, knowing that we are being guided each step of the way.
Debbie Hamrick