Faithfully Artful, Artfully Faithful

I grew up in the Methodist church, but I also grew up on the stage. At the age of three, I re-enacted the entire Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears story at a living storybook exhibit. A few years later my mother put me in a children’s community theatre class. I continued with Davenport Junior Theatre until I graduated from high school, and proceeded to become a Theatre Arts major at the University of Iowa.

When I took (the required course) History of Theatre, I was fascinated by the connections that the church had to theatre. The ancient Romans had a very different idea of theatre than we have today. Sure, they had plays with men standing onstage and telling stories. But in these performances, unlike their Greek counterparts, they had absolutely no problem with shedding blood. The Greek victims would be killed offstage, with a messenger coming onstage to tell the audience what had happened. The Romans would stop the action of the production, bring in a slave or prisoner, and kill them in front of everyone. The Romans also loved their gladiatorial games and filling arenas with water to recreate naval battles.

During the early ages of Christianity, Christians were finding themselves the victims of Roman blood lust. It is no surprise that as soon as Christianity became the state religion, Christians acted quickly in abolishing theatre. They associated these forms of entertainment with their own persecution. And so theatre remained sleeping for hundreds of years.

Illiteracy was one of the things to bring theatre back into the Western world. Parishioners could not read, and their only connection to the Scripture was hearing it read to them at church. Priests were realizing that performing these Bible stories for the congregations would help them remember the stories. On Easter Sunday, priests would do a short skit of “Quem Quaeritis,” or “Whom do you seek?” They were telling the story of the women finding the empty tomb. The skits grew and developed, soon with multiple priests reenacting the story. The stories grew larger and more elaborate and had to be moved outside to the church courtyard.

It was only a matter of time until these plays became events of which the whole town would be a part. They were used as a tool to instruct people how to follow God and stay away from evil. Theatre was reborn and eventually became a secular practice. Once again, the church would condemn theatre, and declare that it was no better than prostitution.

Obviously, I have a higher opinion of theatre.

I think those priests performing the Quem Quaeritis had the right idea. Theatre is an excellent story-telling tool. The advantages of drama ministries go far beyond the annual Christmas pageant. In high school, I was part of a youth-led drama performance group. We would do short skits during the youth worship service. We were telling stories that could spark conversation. Most were funny, some were serious, and some hit too close to home for those who saw them.

Alan Moore, in V for Vendetta, said, “Artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.”

I would argue that part of religion is about finding the truth. It may be the truth of the universe, the truth of life, or the truth in ourselves. I would also argue that this is the focus of many artists. Painters, writers, dancers, actors, photographers, and millions of other artists are all trying to show the truth to others.

Ministries benefit by embracing art. They benefit by using it as a tool to tell stories or to simply show the beauty of God. I feel that part of my call to ministry is to bring art into the churches I will serve.

I have a passion for partnered dancing, which holds beautiful metaphors for following God’s lead. I have passion for photography, which exposes us to the beauty of the everyday. I have a passion for arts and crafts, which shows us that patience and love can create amazing things. I have a passion for theatre, which tells us truths about ourselves.

One of the things that I love about Garrett-Evangelical is that I am encouraged to think outside of the box. I am encouraged to find new and amazing ways to praise God and teach others. I am excited that during my time here the things that I learn will inform my understanding of art. And I know that art will always continue to inform my own faith.

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Heather Streicher is a first-year student in the Master of Divinity Program at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Reflections on the road and on the call

Bette Thompson

So I am a seminarian. These words still sound so foreign to me. This is my first semester at Garrett, and I commute each Thursday, as I travel 115 miles from my hometown near South Bend, Indiana, and then after my class, I pack it all up and travel the same distance home again.

As I journey along this road each week, I am ever amazed at the spiritual insights that the Holy Spirit brings to my mind.

I am immersed in the wonder of being part of the traveling “community” of vehicles. In the afternoon, I am driving at a steady, yet hurried speed along Lake Shore Drive, gazing at the beauty of Lake Michigan, while maneuvering through the lanes of traffic.

At night, driving on the Dan Ryan towards home, I feel like a tiny red blood cell in the sea of red lights, flowing along the expressway, flowing towards my destination, home.

On my drive home, there is a certain spot on the expressway, where I look up and see the wondrous beauty of the city – with lights glowing in the tall buildings, and against the black night sky it looms over me in my little car with magnificence.  The image takes my breath away every time, and it reminds me of the glory and grandness of God’s call on my life.  There is purpose in what I am doing at Garrett-Evangelical. I am being strengthened and prepared to join the ranks of pastoral caregivers that offer grace and leadership to Christ’s Church.  I cannot gaze for long, since steady focus is necessary for me to make it to my destination.  I must be looking forward, paying attention to the right, left and behind for obstacles. I am a particle in the flow of something much bigger than myself, and it is exhilarating.

As the chaos of the traffic and sights whistle past me, I sense a steadiness and stillness in the car, and in my soul. The presence of God is with me, and he guides me with assurance and comfort.

But, I believe it is all about finding a balance between “good sounds” and “no sound.”

On the way to Garrett-Evangelical, sometimes I listen and sing out loud in my car to worship music. At times I am led to just turn off the radio or CD and drive in silence, talking with God out loud in my car, or just enjoying His presence, while meditating or listening to what He might be wanting me to know.

On the way home, however, it is quite different. Fueled up by the wonderful energy and thoughts of my Intro to Pastoral Care class, many miles are spent pondering what we talked about, and many challenging thoughts of that evening come to mind. It is late, and I have my coffee, and it is here that the louder and faster the music, and the more noise for me the better.  My favorite radio station plays the old rock classics, and the loud beat keeps my mind alert. The drivers in Chicago are very different than the drivers in South Bend, so I need to pay attention.

I am sensing, as my weekly drive continues to become more of a routine, a challenge to devote this five-hour block of time to these two question: “How can I honor God and remain faithful to Jesus on the journey? How can I be faithful and use these hours to their fullest benefit?” I am looking forward to many new discoveries in this area.

Bette Thompson is a first-year Master of Divinity student at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Fifth Annual Student Theological Conference

Let all who have ears, hear! The Student Theological Conference at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is entering its fifth year of bringing together students from Chicagoland theological and divinity schools to share their papers, sermons, and presentations on a designated theme.  As the political rhetoric heats up over the next year in anticipation of the 2012 Presidential Election, “Church and State” seemed to be a most appropriate theme for the Fifth Annual Student Theological Conference.

The theme of “Church and State,” as well as being timely, offers students a broad array of paper, sermon, and presentation topics. Students could write a theological paper on abortion, a history paper on Constantine’s Christian State, an exegetical paper on Jesus’ view of government, or an adult education curriculum that examines the Christian ethical issues around war or the death penalty. Other topics include gay marriage bans by state/federal governments, the right of parents to not vaccinate/seek medical attention for their children based on religious beliefs, or how much voice the church should have in the government and vice versa.

The Conference brings together students of various denominational, political, and theological backgrounds to discuss these important issues and to hear the many viewpoints and stances. While it may seem that some of these topics may be better argued in a political debate or courtroom case, these are issues that persons of faith must also grapple with theologically, biblically, and in ministry.

At the same time, the Conference also recognizes that these are issues of Church and State and therefore we must be in dialogue with our brothers and sisters who are educated in law and the legal system. This is why Marci A. Hamilton, the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, is our keynote speaker. Hamilton, who has worked on a number of religious land and clergy sex abuse cases, gives us the legal perspective on issues of Church and State. The issues that fall under the theme of Church and State involve persons within and outside of the local church who will not only be depending on their theology and beliefs to guide their actions but also the law of the city, state, and federal governments.

Students who are interested in presenting their work should contact student coordinator, Tasha Sargent or staff coordinator, Krista McNeil at stc@garrett.edu or by seeing Krista in office 213 in the main building at Garrett-Evangelical. Persons interested in attending the day-long conference on April 20, 2012 should likewise contact Tasha or Krista.  Please visit our website at www.garrett.edu/stc.

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The Student Theological Conference at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary offers students enrolled in any Chicagoland theological or divinity school the opportunity to present, critique and share their writings on topics related to theology. It creates communion and ecumenical discussion through open invitation to the Association of Chicago Theological Seminaries, the University of Chicago Divinity School, Loyola University of Chicago's department of theology and Wheaton College's biblical and theological studies department.