Click on images for larger versions: SEVERAL LOCAL WATERSHED community members made the trek to Edmonton in late 2000 to visit the Anno Domini: Jesus Through the Centuries exhibition at the Provincial Museum of Alberta. The exhibition was a huge collection of historical artworks and soundscapes, gathered from dozens of museums/institutions worldwide, that depicted the cultural heritage of Jesus of Nazareth throughout the last two millennia. It was organized around the 18 themes - from "Jesus the Jew" to "Jesus who Belongs to the World" - expressed in Jaroslav Pelikan's 1985 book, Jesus Through the Centuries. The hugely popular exhibition reflected Pelikan's grand idea that understanding how Jesus was interpreted in each era goes a long way in identifying the nature of the culture doing the interpretation. Lorna Derksen and Dave Berg made the trip in November and Cal Wiebe, Linda Tiessen-Wiebe and Lyle Penner went in December. Our interest in visiting Anno Domini was sparked by the coincidental startup of our local group study on Christology, a two-year look at the meaning of Jesus for us today, from cultural, historical, and theological vantage points. These are some of our reflections, with some accompanying images: Leaving Winnipeg International Airport Exhibition billboard in front of Provincial Museum of Alberta Visitors Cal, Linda & Lyle Linda in front of the Jesus Exhibition Entrance STRANGERS ON THE ROAD / by Linda Tiessen Wiebe AS I SAT through the introductory video, watching centuries of images of Jesus' face superimposed on each other, I felt the shock of recognition. It was as if meeting a stranger and then discovering you know them intimately. There was someone behind the familiarity of the images, that was knowable. /MORE Identifying Image of Jesus used as Exhibition Logo PERSONAL REFLECTIONS / by Lorna Derksen AS OUR BAGS pass through the metal detectors at the Winnipeg airport on our way to Edmonton, one of the luggage handlers picks up the Anno Domini catalogue with the icon of Jesus' face on the cover and asks us how old we think the world is. That morning the front page story reported Alliance leader Stockwell Day's contention that as much evidence exists to support the teaching of creation in schools as does to support the teaching of evolution. /MORE PERSONAL REFLECTIONS / by Cal Wiebe I HAVE ALWAYS found Jesus a compelling figure. When he spoke, he spoke with authority. When he saw pain he set out to heal it. When he saw hypocrisy he confronted it. There is a power in his life that intrigues and inspires me. The question of who he was and who he is engages me. /MORE Cal at Provincial Museum Exhibition Curator David Goa MEETING DAVID GOA / by Lyle Penner "MR. GOA, I presume?" He smiled and warmly shook my hand. Right away I felt assured that meeting David Goa was going to be an enhancing experience. As curator of the Anno Domini exhibition, Goa was in charge of this massive undertaking that strived to interpret the cultural heritage of the most revered and multi-faceted individual in Western culture, Jesus of Nazareth! Can you imagine the responsibility and challenges inherent in such a task? /MORE (The virtual Jesus Through the Centuries website created for the exhibition which ran from October 7, 2000 to January 7, 2001 is found here.) Top