Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Explore the role of faith in the arts

Brehm Center Summit planned


By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

"Gloria," by Leslie Anderson, is one of the paintings inspired by faith that will be on display at the Worship Summit.

In the past, the church was a main supporter of the arts. Think Leonardo di Vinci, Donatello, Botticelli and Michelangelo, as well as the popes who were their patrons. However, in the early 16th century, theological support for the arts fell victim to the Reformation. For Martin Luther, many non-essential indulgences were not a strict adherence to the gospel.

By nailing his 95 Theses—an attack on papal and church leaders' abuses—to the door of the Wittenberg Church, Luther, a Catholic priest, instigated the Reformation.

"It was a lovers' quarrel," Ketchum artist Leslie Anderson said. He loved the church so much he was prepared to be excommunicated. In fact, he was tried for heresy. "I like to say they threw the baby out with the bath water. Since then, art languished."

It's taken time to mend some of his more lasting impressions, one of which is understanding the connection between worship and arts. Anderson, along with Bob Henley, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, is instrumental in the upcoming Brehm Center Worship Summit.

The aim of the summit is to "explore the role of the arts inside and outside the church," Conference Chair Clayton Schmit said. A pastor and the academic director of the Brehm Center, Schmit teaches homiletics and liturgical arts.

The summit is Sunday, June 12, to Wednesday, June 15, at the Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum. It will bring together theologians, artists, pastors, musicians and worship leaders to discuss questions facing the church in worship today.

The Brehm Center is located at the nondenominational Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.

"As a Fuller alum and pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, I am pleased and excited to host the first Brehm Center Worship Summit," said Henley.

The concept for the summit, the first Brehm has ever conducted off campus, began with Henley and Anderson.

"I said 'wouldn't it be cool if we hung paintings in the church.' He called Brehm and suggested they have a conference here. (It will cover) what is worship about across the board ecumenically? Is it that you come and are a spectator, or is it to experience God's presence and engage? How is it changing? What are all the elements of worship? What role does art—music, film, visual arts, liturgical dance—play in worship?"

There has been a gradual awakening of the connections between art and worship in the past few decades, Anderson said. "There's a renaissance in people of faith who're artists to embrace the gift of their talents. It's like the medical community saying 'mind, body, spirit.' It's not unusual now. It's the same with arts."

There are several speakers and workshop leaders attending the summit. Registration for the entire conference costs $250.

There will also be free events for the community at the Church of the Big Wood, including a show with Caleb Quaye, an English musician who has played with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townsend and Paul McCartney, among others. He is now a musician/evangelist with the Foursquare denomination. Quaye performs during the Concert for the Community on Sunday, June 12, at 6:30 p.m.

A screening of the film "Laundry and Tosca" with a performance by the documentary's subject, Marcia Whitehead, is 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 14.

A "Meet the Artists" reception is Tuesday, June 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the new Outer Court Gallery. This room is the culmination of Anderson's original idea.

"We are so excited about having a visual arts gallery area within the church that will exhibit local artists' work as well as art from other areas," she said. "We have been a venue for the musical arts since the new sanctuary opened and now we hope to engage the visual arts as well."

The inaugural show will include work by Renee Kuross, Betsy Pearson and Anderson.

"Our hope is that there will be annual Brehm Center Summits. The facility certainly can house something of this scope. Bob Henley has a great love of the arts and has been very encouraging."

For more information, contact event organizer Karen Hold at 725-0559 or visit http://www.brehmcenter.com/Events/Worship_Summit.shtml.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.