Published: August 27, 2008 11:21 pm      

Carving out a message

Artists use clay and wood to tell the story of Christ

Raceland — Bob Sweeney is certain anyone who attends the Sunday morning or evening service at Grace United Methodist Church will be amazed by what they see and the lessons to be learned.

Sweeney, who became pastor at Grace in recent months, said Sunday’s guest presentation of “Crown of Thorns” by Wade and Jennifer Burleigh is captivating and inspirational.

“It covers all age groups. I’ve seen kids 3 and 4 years old just sit there in amazement,” Sweeney said, explaining he met the couple several years ago at the annual Ichthus Festival and has enjoyed witnessing many of their programs.

The Burleighs are the traveling team that makes up First Christian Ministries, a nationwide traveling ministry that utilizes dramatic staging and an authentic craftsman’s workshop, tools and techniques to illustrate scriptural lessons. The workshop includes a potter’s wheel and clay, a forge and blacksmithing tools and chunks of cedar wood and chisels.

Wade Burleigh, 52, said his passion for wood carving started at an early age, recalling watching a neighbor’s father experimenting with different carving styles.

“I would just sit for hours and watch over his shoulder,” Burleigh recalled, adding his mother gave him a set of X-Acto knives as a Christmas gift when he was 14 and he began teaching himself how to carve.

His early carvings, he said, were based on pages from coloring books applied to boards and then carved away to replicate the original image. He later dabbled in chainsaw carving and selling his carvings at fairs and festivals, not realizing where his artistic talents would ultimately lead.

For the “Crown of Thorns” presentation, Burleigh has between 23 and 26 minutes to complete a carving of Christ, working while his wife narrates and connects the action with scripture.

“I try to correlate the tools he is using to the tools God uses in our lives,” Jennifer Burleigh said, explaining those tools “can often be sharp,” but ultimately result in a transformation to serve God’s purposes. During their pottery presentation, Burleigh said she communicates a similar message about “the ups and downs of that piece of clay” as it becomes a useful vessel.

One of the most fascinating demonstrations in the presentation, Sweeney said, is the transformation of a chunk of wood into a truly artistic rendering of Christ as the Burleighs present the “Crown of Thorns” lesson.

“It is just amazing to watch. There’s no chain saws and no power tools. It is all hand tools,” he said, noting he expects the Burleighs to present the wood carving program at 6 p.m., while the couple’s morning presentation, set for 10:45 a.m., will use the potter’s wheel.

The program at Grace, at the corner of U.S. 23 and Caroline Road (near Raceland-Worthington High School), will include a reception following the 6 p.m. presentation.

For more information, call (606) 836-8159 or (606) 694-5335. A photo gallery of Wade Burleigh’s carvings can be found at www.firstcenturyministries.org.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.