What appears in this portion of the website are somewhat random reflections about the role of the arts in churches.  The arts, for me, include poetry, music, visual arts, drama, dance, indeed any form that can enhance our worship of God and our call to be a loving and healing presence in the world.

November 26, 2024

Haiku

It was in about seventh or eighth grade that I was introduced to Haiku.  Many of you may have had a similar experience.  If not, in brief, Haiku is a form of poetry that is composed of three lines and seventeen syllables.  The first line uses five syllables, the second line uses seven syllables, and the final line completes the poem with five more syllables.  There are, of course, many more subtleties to this art form, but that basic structure is what appealed to me in those school years.  You see, I wasn’t very good at writing rhyming poetry, but I was good at math.  So not only could I figure out the structure of Haiku, but it didn’t have to rhyme.  I had found my form of poetic expression.

Through the years I have continued to appreciate Haiku, including buying a book about it to further educate myself, which introduced me to the idea that modern writers of this form take liberties that diverge from the three lines and seventeen symbols.  In another book on my office shelves, which offers a series of creative expressions of the Christmas story through story and verse, there are two or three Haikus.  During one Advent season, as I gathered with my youth on a Sunday morning, I brought out two of these Haikus and we spent time reading and discussing them.  Then I asked them to write three Haikus about three different aspects of the Advent and Christmas seasons.  They too were familiar with this form of poetry from school experiences, and they responded with creativity.  At the same time, I joined them in writing, and again discovered the joy that I derive from this art form.

One part of Haiku that I believe is so powerful is that the poet needs to find the right words, and put them in the right places, in a way that is necessarily brief, because of the structure that is imposed by the traditional art form.  It requires one to think, to evaluate the possible words, and to make choices that communicate clearly in a rather minimalist way.

It occurs to me that preachers, or maybe any speaker, might benefit from the use of Haiku.  If a preacher were to sit down and write a Haiku before beginning to work on their message, it might help to define the focus of that message.  Too often we preachers have so much that we would like to say, even so much that we are excited to share, that we fail to establish a clear focus and thus wander around for much too long a time.  By having to define the message in a mere seventeen syllables, we might be able to recognize more clearly exactly what the message is that we are anxious to share.

When I listen to a sermon, or to a speech of any kind, the clearer the focus is, the more I take away from it.  I want to offer that same gift to others.

November 16, 2024

Patrons of the Arts

When I go to a music center or a theater, I am one of those who glance through the list of names of people who have supported an organization and are designated in various categories.  Chances are slim that I will recognize any name, but there is still a fascination for me because these individuals have found an organization to be meaningful enough in their lives that they have given financially to support the artistic creativity of that organization.

As I wrote about our performance series last time, I mentioned our Patron of the Arts program.  This is an opportunity for people to support our program in categories ranging from $50 to $750.   We are a small church and so it doesn’t take long to read our list of names.  But I am incredibly grateful to each and every person who gives in that way.  In truth, because we keep ticket prices modest enough for anyone to be able to experience the fine music that we offer, these Patrons are the ones who help us to bring such fine programs to our community. 

There were times in history when the church universal was one of the prime patrons of the arts.  Sometimes that was a matter of wealthy bishops having a commitment to the arts and the inclusion of the arts in churches.  Sometimes there were wealthy church members who served as patrons for artists whose work they found impressive or inspirational. 

But with the advent of the Protestant churches, the preaching of the word became the primary means through which God was revealed to the people.  The arts took a back seat in many cases, and in some churches the visual arts disappeared altogether.  Music has remained a staple in most churches, and when funds have been available, often through memorial gifts, stained glass windows have graced the sanctuaries of some churches.  However, the reality in many churches was not only that patronage of the arts disappeared, but the visual arts themselves were nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, in the last one hundred years especially, some churches have reawakened to the power of the arts in their midst.  There are churches that have art on their walls, others that host art exhibitions, and still others that have art galleries where they display the collected art of the congregation.  It is heartening to hear the stories of these people who have opened their hearts and minds to the arts again.

I wonder though whether the church in general will again emerge as a patron of the arts.  I hope so.  I think it can be a wonderful partnership between the church and artists.  It does involve a willingness on the part of churches to being open to seeing life expressed in a variety of ways.  It does involve a willingness on the part of artists to help nurture an understanding and appreciation for such expression.  It can be an enriching journey for both the church and the artist.  I hope it happens more frequently.

November 6, 2024

A Performance Series

My congregation has sponsored a concert and arts series since 2009, and we are now launching our series of concerts for the 2024-2025 season.  When we first began, knowing that finances are always tight in smaller churches, I told my Board that the Series would be self-sustaining, that it wouldn’t need any support from the church budget.  As we are set to begin our thirteenth season, we have kept that promise.  We certainly operate on a very tight program budget, but through careful stewardship and the generosity of faithful donors to our Patron of the Arts program, we continue to be self-sustaining.

I offer this brief history because, despite my vow at the beginning of the venture, there was uncertainty about the ability of the Series to function entirely on its own.  After all, to undertake an arts series sounds both ambitious and costly.  And, to tell the truth, it is ambitious, and it can be costly.  But we have managed to offer high-quality concerts and art exhibitions, and have done so within our series budget.

Sometimes smaller churches dream small.  That caution is in part due to being careful with the resources that are available.  But it is often also true that people are afraid that their church may not survive if they attempt anything that is too ambitious.  The trouble is that when we adopt that survival mentality, we are already close to losing something that is important, even precious, to us.  When we begin to depend only on our own resources to survive, rather than on God’s leading to thrive, we have begun to defeat ourselves.

In truth, anything is possible, if we walk in faith, plan well, and find others to join us in turning a vision into reality.  Our concert series is testament to that.  If you had told me thirteen years ago that we would by now have presented concerts featuring artists from around our country, and even from around the world, I would have been very skeptical.  If you had told me that the quality of music that we hear in our small church is equal to what you hear in famous music halls around the world, I might have wondered where you were getting your ideas.  But we have done these things, and more. 

If you are a part of a smaller church, or perhaps even a larger church with limited vision, know for a certainty that anything truly is possible.  Vision, hard work, faith and partnerships accomplish so much more than we can even imagine.  The fun is in watching it all come to life.