wfn.org | UCC Synod meeting learns about "right brained ministry"

[George Conklin <gconklin@wfn.org>]

United Church of Christ
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Right-Brained ministry enlivens worship
by Tim Kershner

Providence, July 3, 1999

        At first glance, their display seems out of the ordinary.
        The Advocates for the Arts/Right-Brained Ministry is one of several
groups exhibiting this week during the United Church of Christ’s General Synod.
        Churches can do a better job of incorporating the arts into worship,
says the Rev. Drew Willard, associate pastor of Mystic (Conn.) Congregational
Church, UCC. He is representing Right Brained Ministry at Synod, a resource
committee of the UCC’s Connecticut Conference. It hopes to encourage churches
to make better use of music, the visual arts, and the performing arts to
illustrate the Gospel to their members and to invite potential new members.
        “Art can help us get back in touch with one another,” said Willard. And
art can be an excellent vehicle for sharing God’s Word.
        One can see the effect of the arts in worship at this year’s General
Synod services. Using music, sound effects, lighting, and colorful artwork, the
theme of the Synod and the work of the wider church is communicated to
delegates.
        During the opening worship Thursday evening, delegates heard drums
beating rhythms from around the world. Special music, from traditional sacred
organ pieces to modern music with a rockandroll beat, in incorporated in all
the worship experiences, Bible studies, and even during business sessions.
Colorful images are plenty in the plenary hall, exhibit hall, and even at the
registration booths.
        These are worship elements that many delegates have never experienced
before, and may not see again until the next Synod.  But Advocates for the
Arts/Right Brained Ministry says that these are elements local churches can use
to keep worship vital.
        A resolution authored by Willard and adopted by the Connecticut
Conference reminds us that Jesus was “not only a formidable poetstoryteller who
could rap spontaneous parables, but also drew with his finger on the ground to
defend a woman accused of adultery.” Characters throughout the Bible sing,
dance, and play instruments as they share their experiences and tell their
stories.
        These are examples of “applying the faith,” says Willard. And he is
quick to point out that the arts should not be reserved to those who profess to
be artists. “There is an emotional truth in sharing the scriptures” through the
arts, he says.
        Although the Connecticut resolution is not on the Synod agenda, members
of the Advocates for the Arts/Right Brained Ministry urge churches to use the
creative talents of their members as part of worship, not as “performance,” but
as a “presentation of one’s gifts.” Through the arts, we open ourselves to God.
Art, he says, serves the message. “The arts involve us in what we love.”