Covenant News

Rembrandt Painting Inspires Prodigal Son Interest Center

JERICHO, VT (September 13, 2004) - A parishioner at Evangelical Covenant Community Church in this Vermont community has created an exhibit and interest center inspired by Rembrandt's famous painting The Return of the Prodigal Son, presenting the congregation with a new perspective on an age-old Bible story.

The exhibit – created by Susanna Olson - has been open to the public most of the summer and will be on display through September 19. The Luke 15 story of the Prodigal Son has been the subject of sermons by the church's pastor, David Hawkinson. A supplementary event was an August dance movement and labyrinth retreat facilitated by Olson and Denny Moon, a former Covenant pastor and noted singer/songwriter serving another denomination.

Olson holds a Master of Arts Degree in theater from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She has several years of experience teaching creative drama, movement and storytelling through the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington and St. Michael's College Graduate Arts in Education Program in Winooski. She is also a staff associate for Faith@Work, an ecumenical Christian organization based in Washington D.C. She considered the idea of an interest center after seeing a print of Rembrandt's painting in 2003. "The image spoke of a brokenness I understood and a grace and a resting place for which I longed," she says.

While at her local library a few months later, Olson discovered archive recordings of lectures given by theologian Henri Nouwen that pertained to the painting. His words resonated with Olson and she hopes her ideas help stimulate the thinking of those who have experienced the interest center.

"My experience of the painting and Nouwen's work was transformative to me," she said. "I wanted to be open to ways I could share it with my faith community . . . I felt called to make this one happen. My family, friends, pastor and fellow Faith@Work staff associates were critically supportive, offering extraordinary suggestions, spirit-filled dialogue and prayer. Throughout the months of listening, brainstorming and constructing, I have sensed the divine in the work."

Hawkinson has been affected both by the interest center and his extensive reflection of the story of the Prodigal Son. He wrote about the importance of viewing the story through different points of view, which the center offers via a multitude of learning tools. "Her (Olson's) approach honors the parable by inviting each of us into the many dimensions of this astonishing story by avoiding the appeal for a single, simple conclusion," he stated in a recent church newsletter article. "For example, if we read the story as a fable, we might conclude that the prodigal has learned his lesson the hard way – that running off to experience the world only led back to home – and thus the moral: we could learn from his mistakes and so avoid squandering all that money. But, a parable is not so constructed nor does it share the same intention as a fable. We are not let off that easy."

Olson said a number of learning options are available at the center, including:

• Reading the Prodigal Son story from different points of view
• Sitting inside a paper cave and imagining being the Prodigal Son who is taking refuge before returning home (accompanying photo)
• Listening to Nouwen's taped lectures
• Choosing an image from a collection of art prints and using it to write about what one's own image of "home" may be
• Creating a clay sculpture to embody words that may describe the painting

Said Olson of the many learning tools created for the center, "Good teachers strive to offer opportunities for learning through a wide variety of intelligences. I say, let us open ourselves to using all our intelligences to deepen our relationship with God."

The Prodigal Son Interest Center at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Jericho may be visited by appointment and the church has scheduled times for viewing. For more information on the center or the church and its ministries, call the church office at 802-879-4313.

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