1/23
Kristen Leigh has
driven down to the city from her place in the woods an hour outside of Albany.
To take care of some business and to continue our conversation. Living in the
woods in winter has made very elemental concerns…is
there enough propane ? how much snow can the front porch hold? How will I survive if my car gets stuck in the snow? Do
I have enough food if I get snowed in? ….the highest priorities. And the fact
is, that is where most of the world lives its life…struggling to get by for the
next day, the next moment..
Her thesis Finding God in the in –between: A Post
Modern Approach to Sacred Music and Art in Contemporary Western Culture tackled
a lot of subjects, important for me was her critique of the institutional
church for viewing music and art as illustrative or didactic exposition of the word when in reality, artistic
expression is a word of its own, its own meaning inherent not derivative. The
songs sung in the Saturday night bar or
café just as much to God’s glory as a Sunday morning offering. On this we
totally agree. In my own dissertation, I had written that in a post 9-11 world,
creation itself was an act of defiance and resistance against the forces of
non-being, an act of partnership, co-creation with the creator.
In her post-graduate travel to Bali, she had learned that for much of the world , the distinction between sacred and secular doesn't exist. It's just life. the separation is a particularly western enlightenment late development. Likewise, the concept of art as a separate category is itself also a western concept. All to be taken into consideration as we consider art and the holy.
In her post-graduate travel to Bali, she had learned that for much of the world , the distinction between sacred and secular doesn't exist. It's just life. the separation is a particularly western enlightenment late development. Likewise, the concept of art as a separate category is itself also a western concept. All to be taken into consideration as we consider art and the holy.
She also critiques
so-called art for art’s sake, looking for a connection between beauty and truth
as I look for the intersection between beauty and justice. She is helping me fill out what I had
intuited when I saw this intersection as a vital part of an urban theology.
Reading her thesis inspired me to go back and reread my dissertation which left
me with ambivalence. On the one hand, ten years ago I had clearly seen what was
essential coming down the road. And the plan that I had developed had already
started to show success…23 new members in one year. But the intervening
landmarks struggle, building struggles and resulting conflicts plus an economic
collapse had drained our energy. Is there still time?
I had heard her say
that church is needed for when the shit hits the fan, but she pushes me further
on that. Not church, but something deeper,
God, Jesus , the source. Ultimately, church has to be not about us, but God.
In the meantime, we
share our sense of the demise of the church as we have known it. Yes, there are congregations with enough
resources to keep on living the present reality into the future, but in the bug
picture, we are already in the postlude.
In her view, church is there wherever there are two or three gathered…and that can even include a work of art, so
there will always be church. But my question is what does that mean for small
churches like West-Park who have to find the funds to support a creaky behemoth
of a building? Is Sunday morning still as possibility for the community I see
coming into being?
She’s also faced the
reality of churches concerned with safety in downtown settings behind security
systems like I encountered when I first came to West-Park. Our front doors,
open to the street, move her. And there is the experience of liberal compassion
from position of privilege combined with judgment around drug use, etc. What
we’re called to, she agrees, is vulnerability.
We talk about roles.
What I learned in Occupy. And the current Black Lives Matter movement and the
emerging spiritual communities that are forming themselves. We (well at least
me, she’s younger) are not going to be the leaders. (Sorry Union Seminary, not you
either…) That day is past. We are viewed with suspicion as if we think we know
better and are going to tell them what they should do. Which is frankly what a
lot of us still want to do. But if we listen closely, stay present, earn trust,
we will be given our opportunity to reflect, advise, exegete, share language and
structure and strategy. It is a ministry of radical accompaniment.
The late afternoon sun is shining through the windows at the Gate. I’m looking forward to
making music with her tonight.
