A dedication ceremony for new artwork and library

DEDICATION CEREMONY
FOR OUR NEW ARTWORK, DOOR, AND LIBRARY
May 8, 2011

This morning we dedicate the gifts of creativity which we have received from many hands and hearts. To begin, I’d like to invite Nola Allen, Mary Goolsby, and Eileen Walker to come forward to tell us how this beautiful wall hanging came into being. Will the members of the Visual Arts Committee and the many other folks who helped with this creation please stand?

Please stand and we will read together our words of dedication.

CONGREGATION, TO DEDICATE THE FABRIC ART

Grateful for the gift of beauty we see before us and thankful for the many hands and hearts which created it, we dedicate this piece of art to the service of our community. May its colors and shapes remind us of the beautiful world in which we live and of our responsibility to nurture and protect that beauty. May those who created it for our sanctuary be blessed and may they continue to bring new visions into our world.

Please remain standing and turn around to face the carved doors. John, will you please come to the podium and tell us how these doors came to be? Will those who helped John with this work of art please stand?

Let’s read together our words of dedication. (I don't yet have pix of the doors or the library.)

CONGREGATION, TO DEDICATE THE CARVED DOORS

Grateful for the gift of beauty we see before us and thankful for the hands and hearts which created it, we dedicate these doors to the service of our community. When they are open wide, may they welcome all persons to enter this sanctuary; when they enclose us, may they create a space of safety and peace. May those who created it for our sanctuary be blessed and may they continue to bring new visions into our world.

Our library is the result of a huge gift of books from my friend Don Cooper, as well as those donated by members of this congregation. Don is a retired linguistics professor, who was moving from Ohio to South Carolina and wanted to bestow a gift upon our congregation. Over the course of several months, he sent us 13 or 14 heavy cartons of books, which were sorted, catalogued, and eventually shelved on the book cases in our hallway. He wrote this statement for me to read for you today:

“In this new religious world of America, in which there are twice as many Moslems as Episcopalians, I thought that it would be helpful for you to have available library resources which will help you to know who your neighbors are in religious terms. I hope that you will extend this collection according to your own tastes and interests by looking into what is available from such sources as( Beacon Press and Skinner House, UU-related publishing houses.)”

I’d like to ask the craftsmen who built the shelves and those who helped with design, plus the librarians in the congregation who sorted, catalogued, and shelved the books, plus devising the check-out system.

Let’s read together our words of dedication.

CONGREGATION, TO DEDICATE THE LIBRARY

Grateful for the gift of knowledge and inspiration for our searching and thankful for the hands and hearts which created this library, we dedicate our new library to the service of our community. May its many volumes inspire us to search for truth and meaning. May those who created it be blessed and may they continue to bring new inspiration into our world.

Let’s give one more gesture of appreciation for the many hands, hearts, and minds which have given us these gifts today.

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