During my vacation in Japan, i attended a kintsugi 金継ぎ workshop. i really wanted to learn how to do kintsugi – the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold.
During the workshop, the artist shared with me her works – and another form of kintsugi called yobitsugi 呼び継ぎ – where broken parts from different pieces of pottery are joined together creating a patchwork effect.
Yobi means to call together – and this echoes what a church community is about – that we are called to be together. We are like the yobitsugi pottery that needs gold lacquer to join different pieces together. To be in community, we need love – love that is from God that surrounds each individual and creates space for each person to be in community. It is what binds us together.
May we keep the image of yobitsugi in mind throughout the year as we dive into the theme for this year – Welcome Home.