Beautiful

Here is a beautiful video that features the music of Seattle Band, Barcelona. It is mesmerizing!

John August Swanson

I love the work of John August Swanson. He is a visual artist with gift for capturing scenes of procession, joy and community. His work is copyrighted so I cannot show it here, but here are a couple of links:

• A gallery with a slide show of his works.
• John August Swanson's website.

In my classes, I often use his image of the "Festival of Lights". For some reason, I think of this as a Los Posadas procession. (I wonder if I remember that from his comments at a conference where I heard him speak about his work because it is not in the description of the painting.) It is a dual image for me. First, this image speaks of the importance of theological education. Education is never just for the personal enrichment of the student, or it shouldn't be. All education is for the benefit of others. I think of my students as preparing to go back out into the world as a procession of lights. A powerful image.

Second, this image reminds me that as we are in the world, we need to keep asking the question: "Is there room for Jesus to be born here? Is there room for hope to be born and thrive here?" Do we believe that hope is possible? I am reminded of a phrase from James Houston: "When you are in an age of darkness, light as many fires as possible." This image shows something of the hope of this statement.

Enjoy! And be one of the people bringing light and hope to the world!
-Chelle

My New Book; as if I have an old one...

I have a book. Well, I am one of 5 authors. We are a diverse crowd: gender, race, theological passion, denomination, doctrine, etc. What unifies us is a love for the church and a love/hate relationship with the movement called E/evangelicalism.

Most of the authors met at the Lausanne Conference in Malaysia. (I'm the only one that didn't go...) On the way home from the conference a few of them asked the question, "Do I want to be an evangelical?" Out of this came a set of articles in The Other Journal dedicated to this question: Earth to Christians. Mark Russell, one of the original crowd, thought that this conversation would be a good book, so voila! here is the fruit of this original question.

I guess we all want to remain evangelical, in one way or another, because we spent the time writing this book. We even got together for a writing a few summers ago in order to all talk face to face about our chapters and our visions for the future of evangelicalism. It was a good time, though very tiring. We laughed a lot, cried a bit and, from time to time, fought passionately about our ideas. We, for the most part, agreed about the need for more conversation and flexibility within the tradition. We also agreed that the church needs a more robust understanding of God as Trinity and we need to live in the world in an attitude of humility and love of neighbor. What we disagreed about were the specifics of how this happens within the community of the people of God. But conversation is a very good place to start. Conversation about our passions, our difference and our commonalities (especially our love for God and God's love for us) is a vital key for creating community. If evangelicalism it going to not only survive but also thrive and flourish, then broader and more open conversation is needed to establish trust in the ranks. I tend to think that God is really the answer to all the questions but we are a diverse and creative people. Because of this, we are all called to take part in the formation of the church, the 'how' of this call on our lives to be the people of God.

The authors are Allen Yeh (he teaches at Biola), Michelle Sanchez (she is a pastor in Boston), Mark Russell (a missiologist, who writes and teaches about micro-finance in the two-thirds world and how business and missions can work together to help two-thirds world economies), Dwight Friesen (who teaches with me at Mars Hill Graduate School) and me, Chelle Stearns.

What did I write about in my two chapters? Worship and the Holy Spirit. Ahhh, for a really robust doctrine of the Holy Spirit within our understanding of the workings of the church!

So, look out for Routes and Radishes: and other things to talk about at the evangelical crossroads, Zondervan, 2010.

I for one benefited from conversing with this small group of theologians and pastors. Who are you talking to about these issues?

Peace,
Chelle

Steve Reich

Right now, this very minute, I am procrastinating. I am suppose to be writing a book review. This book is all about music. In fact is a broad sweeping portrait of Western art music, which was developed over the course of the second millennium.

Ruth Katz, the author of A Language of Its Own: Sense and Meaning in the Making of Western Art Music, touches on key turning points in the formation of Western music. By the time she gets to the twentieth century, yes the century of Arnold Schoenberg!, she tells a tale of the primacy of self expression for the creative genius/composer, the dissolution of traditional musical unity (via triadic tonality) and, most importantly, the fissure between the composer and the audience. In other words, by the end of the nineteenth century, composers had became so obsessed with originality, creativity and self-expression ("But art belongs to the unconscious! One must express oneself! Express oneself directly!" Schoenberg in a letter to Kandinsky) that audiences just didn't get what was going on. Concert goers began to disconnect and stop attending performances of "new music."

As I was contemplating this, I was reminded of an interview with Steve Reich (contemporary American composer) that I had heard a number of years ago on Terry Gross's "Fresh Air." It is a delightful interview with Reich explaining his various compositions and thoughts about the various techniques that his uses. Along the way he tells a number of funny anecdotes, highlighting both the difficulty of performing and listening to his music.

My favorite story is about a performance in 1973 of Reich's Four Organs. This was not the premier of the work but, instead, a more mainstream performance at Carnegie Hall in NYC. This simply meant that the audience was more conservative--preferring Mozart or Beethoven--and did not know what they were getting into. Evidently, there were three distinct moments when concert goers attempted to stop the performance. At one point a woman walked down the center aisle, banged her head repeatedly on the stage and wailed, "Stop, stop! I confess!" Ah, twentieth century music. Who says audiences don't get into this music? I would call that extreme audience participation. When is the last time you felt motivated to run down to the front of the stage at a classical music concert (no, I don't include the last U2 concert you attended!).

Anyway, for anyone who is interested, I thought that I would include a link to Terry Gross's interview with Steve Reich. It is well worth the 40 minutes of your life, even if you dislike Reich's music. However, you may be surprised!

Oh, and look for my book review in Book & Culture sometime in the future.

Enjoy!
-Chelle

John Cage

I really don't know if anyone is reading this blog, but I'll put stuff up from time to time. I have another class blog. I just wrote a post about the composer John Cage. I thought it was a good crossover to this blog, so here is the link:

http://thetheologicalmosaic.blogspot.com/

Who knows what life would really be like if we lived into chaos more. Madeline L'Engle talked about the task of the writer as that of creating (shaping) cosmos from chaos. I wonder if that is really what Cage is doing, or did he just like chaos for the sake of chaos...

For the Love of the Vuvuzela!

Well, it seems that the vuvuzela has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. The melodious sound inspires the artistic impulse in all of us. After watching the Brazil/Netherlands game this morning, the sound of that most auspicious of instruments still rings gloriously in my ears. Ahhhh....

So, in honor of the vuvuzela, here are a few links to how the imagination of the world is responding. Enjoy!

Article about the South African Vuvuzela Philharmonic.

And who knew that Brahms and Ravel wrote for the vuvuzela!

Episcopal Barbie!

I was so inspired by all of our female MDiv'ers today that I thought that I would share this link with you all: Episcopal Barbie, High Church Edition. I have to say that I want one. She is great in her clerical collar and red pumps. (Abigail, what say you to Barbie's collar?)

Oh Barbie, you have come a long way baby!

Reading Report

Hello to you all,

Great class today. Thank you for bringing yourselves in such powerful and diverse ways.

Here is the link to the reading report: reading report. Feel free to email this to me...

Peace,
Chelle

"Naps are radical acts." Anne Lamott

To All of you Bronte Sister Fans

OK, I'm sure you all have seen this video, but it totally cracks me up! Take that you sexist pigs!

Enjoy!
Chelle

Football Fever!

So, this happens to me every four years, I start to get obsessive about watching football--soccer to all of you. There is something about the game itself because moment by moment you don't know what will happen next. Then you add the pressure of tournament play and you have World Cup Fever!!

Football is so much like life. You prepare and you prepare but you never know how you will perform until the very moment something happens. So many variables at play and so much risk and chance. There has to be some connection to spiritual formation here...

OK, so I haven't had as much time this time around to watch this first round of play, though I did enjoy the England vs USA match. (Click here for a Lego version of the goals...not a pretty goal for the US, but it worked.) I'm hoping to have more time this next week. Maybe I'll take my grading down to the pub...

And finally, for a funny on the philosophical side, here is Monty Python's "Philosopher's Football". Hilarious!

Enjoy!
Chelle

The Sacramental Possibility of Every Thing

Good class today! I really enjoyed the student presentations--good food, how can one complain? Food, sacrament, abundance, story... Thank you for your contributions.

Here is the blog that the food group is starting:
welcometable.wordpress.com

If you want to contribute: reingenuity AT gmail (etc)

And here is the quote from David Jones that Lisa used last week in her presentation. I can't get it out of my head:

"Man: sacrament at every turn and all levels of the 'profane' and 'sacred' in the trivial and the profound, no escape from sacrament." (David Jones, "Art and Sacrament")

Peace to you all this week,
Chelle

Want to See a Play?

Christie Lynk has organized an evening for faculty and students to go together to "The Thin Place" at the Intiman Theatre on June 4th. Conversation with the cast will follow the play. Here is her invitation:

The Thin Place: A Play at the Intiman Theatre
In every religion and every tradition, people have grappled with what it means to be human and remain connected to the divine. Life's biggest mystery plays out in one young man's quest to restore his shaken faith. When his mother suddenly collapses in church, Isaac begins to question his religious upbringing. Doubting his family, his community, and everything he believes, Isaac sets out in search of answers where no concrete proof exists. His journey, and the guides he encounters along the way, leads him to Seattle - a city supposedly without religion. In a viscerally staged race to find faith - or accept God’s absence - true stories of extraordinary and ordinary Seattleites inspire Isaac to find something he'd neglected all along - himself.

Come join students and faculty from Mars Hill Graduate School and Seattle University for an evening at the theatre on June 4th at 8:00 pm. We will meet at the theatre at 7:30 and you are invited to stay for a conversation with the cast after the show. Tickets are $11.00 for students and $26.00 for faculty and staff. Please R.S.V.P. to Jenn Frechette if you would like to purchase a ticket. We have 30 tickets reserved. See you there!

U2

So, we didn't really talk about U2 in class, though I suspect that many of you have favorite stories. What is your U2 story? Or do you have a different band that stirs your soul?

Scott offered this past blog post:
http://scottsmall.vox.com/library/post/all-we-can-do-untitled-music-posts-3708.html

I would love to hear your stories...

-chelle

10AM Start Time Next Week!!

For all of you that are actually checking this blog (hi, Mom!), I wanted to remind you that class starts at 10AM. We will make up this class time during presentations in the final two weeks of class. The final day we will meet at 9AM and go until about 1:30 (with a potluck lunch so you will be fed before Old Testament Survey). I am also thinking that we will meet either on Thursday June 17th or Friday June 18th in the evening for a meal and presentations.

So, see you next week at 10AM!

Peace,
Chelle

The Artistic Impulse and the 2010 Summer Term!!

Hello to you all,

Welcome to Theology and the Artistic Impulse. My hope for this blog is to stir up conversation, thoughts and, most of all, creativity. I am willing to post your thoughts, announcements and ideas on the blog, so feel free to email me your posts. (I retain the right to edit...)

I have asked Cheryl to post the George Mackay Brown story ("An Epiphany Tale") that I read in our first class. You can find the story on our.MHGS in the "Theology and the Artistic Impulse" folder.

Watch this space for announcements and the occasional random thought...

Peace,
Chelle