Close up of the arrangement.
The Russian congregation had made this sign of the 126th. Psalm (125.5 in their Bible) and placed it above the altar. The Russian word above 2009 means 'harvest.' Both that word and the year were made out of tiny mums.
Wow, what exquisite colors--such variety of vegetables, fruits, and breads. Your color with your camera did a great job. It's hard to imagine the word and years made with tiny mums--must have been beautiful.
Quite a collection of different shapes and colors. Indeed a "harvest" for the eye as well as the body.
Such a splendor of colors! The shots are so clear that it is possible to see any detail of the “harvest” in a Russian Baptist Church!
Although neither Russian Orthodox Church nor Catholic has not such a holiday in Calendar it is in the Slav’s Agricultural Calendar and is known as “Thanksgiving of the Mother Land” for the harvest (in September).
Thanks for your comments Eduk8, Riki, and Valery.
Thanks for the additional information, Valery. This group appears fundamental to me in that the married women wore scarves on their head, all women wore long skirts, and many did not speak English. I stuck out as the 'obvious foreigner' waiting for the service to end (three hours long). A young woman from Estonia came up to me and explained a lot about the service, their beliefs, and how they perserved as an Underground Church in the USSR. After the photo taking, she invited me to eat with them, take food home for Richard and me. Mennonites from northern MN were there as well.
It truly was a great celebration for them and for me as well, especially of their hospitality.
Certainly that is an alter dedicated to the bounties of the earth! The colors are warm and vibrant and the details wonderful. I am glad that you did a close-up of the alter as I would have missed the careful arrangements of the foods and flowers and the little painted porcipine brush peeking out between the broccoli and the grapes! I liked your story about this celebration. It just goes to show that America is a culturally rich country. Seems that we have just about every ethnic group in the world represented here.
Lovely colours, so sharp and clear.
Thanks Tl and Taffy. One last photo to show some of the flowers that were also part of the celebration, and also to give depth to this whole arrangement. Many came in the day before to make the structure and plan all the details.
OOOOOhhh...you saved the best for last!
Beautiful, colorful and a real Cornucopia of the Earth and representation of Human bounty.
