Events
Art is Everywhere: The Artist in Us All
October 2004
Orchard Hill Church
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Who Attended
350 people attended Art is Everywhere. Artists, worship planners and leaders, pastors, teachers, and students came together from Michigan, Canada, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin to focus on innovative arts ministry programs for local congregations. Our overarching focus for the day was Christians as servants - their art, in whichever form it takes, also becomes a servant, a means through which we can proclaim the gospel more faithfully.
What We Learned
We were a very ecumenical group who began by worshiping together, thanking the Creator and giver of all gifts: Morning Prayer Service
- Jim Fissel, director of worship and the arts at our host church, Orchard Hill, shared the story of his ministry and vision that art is everywhere and that all members of his church are artists (some just don't know it yet!). His passion and recognition that God works in mysterious, unexpected ways is shared by the congregation: Art is Everywhere (PowerPoint presentation)
- Members of Manna, a local group of Christians in the arts, shared their personal stories of how their art and faith interconnect: Artist as Believer (PowerPoint presentation)
- Chris Stoffel Overvoorde, Emeritus Calvin College art department, discussed his journey of being called to be a Christian in the best way he knew how - to be an artist. Through examples of his woodcuts, paintings, and liturgical work in churches he described working together as servants in a community: Art as Community (PowerPoint presentation)
- Christine Jerrett and Susan Woodhouse, co-directors of GraceWorks, Grace United Church of Sarnia, Ontario, shared their experience of bringing congregational artists and theologians together into "pod groups" to study scripture and create art that actively serves worship: Art Serving Worship
- Afternoon break-out sessions:
Artist as Teacher (Powerpoint presentation) - Eric Nykamp gave an overview of the adult Sunday school class he leads for artists and "other creative" types.
Art as Celebration - Lorissa MacAllister shared her work on organizing and running a gallery in her church, First United Methodist Church.
Art & Kids - Allison Fissel, Kalena Meyers & Carolyn Rock talked about how a lackluster VBS program was revitalized and transformed into "Horizons," a summer art camp for kids at Orchard Hill Church.
Art in Worship (Powerpoint presentation) - Steve Caton, program director
for worship and the arts, Covenant Life Church, described employing all of the senses in their worship environment.Art as Liturgy (Powerpoint presentation) - Virginia Wieringa, artist, presented the collection of seasonal liturgical art used at Church of the Servant.
Artist as Educator (Powerpoint presentation) - Betsy Steele Halstead, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, shared book resources that explore theology, worship and the arts. Included was a Christmas wish list of books for church libraries, pastors, and artists. - The day ended with a presentation by Edgar Boeve, Emeritus Calvin College art department, who shared his recent series of fabric art pieces which focus on the men of the Old Testament and the women of the Bible. He reminded us that the history of those who came before us is our story for today and our vision for the future.
- During break times we viewed the Visions of Grace exhibit which filled the narthex of Orchard Hill Church. This exhibit will be shown through the end of October, 2004. The iconographer, Tom Clark, was in town from Athens, Greece, and brought samples of his work to be viewed throughout the day.
Responses
The most helpful part of this conference was:
"sharing ideas and fellowship with so many others eager toSuggestions for improving the conference:
share their gifts."
"While the artwork and presenters were excellent they were not
overwhelmingly academic. They were spirit-filled and reachable."
"Overall it was very inspiring for the church as well as for the
individual."
"There were lots of ideas, even more inspiration - each session I
attended was interesting."
"Relief. Joy. Encouragement. Kinship."
"being immersed in a sea of visuals that glorify God and in a sea of
fellow believers who create to glorify God."
"More depth."What is one way you hope to practice what you learned?:
"Perhaps some hands-on demonstration of techniques."
"It was very intensive. I needed longer breaks to absorb and process."
"Study and meditate on scripture more."Hosted by
"Talking to my pastor and support staff regarding the ideas that I have learned."
"Loved the 'pod' idea, such a practical way to incorporate artists into the planning."
"Four of us attended and will bring ideas back to share with others."
Orchard Hill Church
Sponsored by
Eyekons
Manna (Christians in the Arts)
Contact: Laurie Nelson at lnelson@rbc.org
Calvin Institute of Christian Worship