Rainbow God, Rainbow People!

As we begin a new Methodist year, the trees are dressing in their autumn colours. I love the orange, reds, browns and yellow that replaces the green. I wonder at the fruit, the berries and the seeds. As the temperature drops, energy bursts out in a final blaze of activity. Soon the hibernating, darkness of winter will enfold us. But for now there's plenty of colour!

John Ruskin, the 19th century artist and philosopher, declared, 'of all the gifts that are bestowed upon man, colour is the holiest, the most divine'. A while ago, there was great interest in the concept of 'Colour Me Beautiful': we would look better and feel happier if we wore colours that matched our inner personalities. A the same time, 'Colour Me Spiritual' by Ann Bird was published. She believed that colour deeply appreciated, can touch and mould each one of us, not only on the surface but at a deeper spiritual level.

What colour God? The question posed by the art exhibition, 'The Colour of God' by a group of local Christian artists at Saltaire Methodist Church. We may not have thought of God as colour! Yet, vibrant green, sunny yellow, rich amber, earth brown, enfolding darkness, dazzling light, deep purple, love red or even rainbow striped surely express something of the nature of God who is beyond imagining.

Each of us, like the artists in the exhibition, will glimpse, experience and express God differently: through colour, in the black and white, in words, through work, in worship and prayer. God created us all unique! No two of us will experience God exactly the same. We need each other to get the bigger picture.

As we begin again the cycle of the Methodist Year, it's good to remember the bright red flames of Pentecost: the dynamic Spirit of God enabling those early diverse followers of Jesus to become a community of faith. The on-going Body of Christ in the world: rainbow people.