A New Renaissance of the Arts Rising in Churches

Published on October 19, 2009 by Christy Tennant

(The following is not an IAM event, but we thought it might be relevant to members of the IAM Community.)

INDIANAPOLIS-- On Saturday November 21, 2009, churches and artists around the world will celebrate God’s renewal of the arts during “The New Renaissance Rising: Arts Renewal Celebration”.

In September the Vatican announced that the Pope will hold an arts summit on November 21, 2009, with 500 world-renowned artists meeting in the Sistine Chapel for the purpose of “rekindling the special historical relationship between faith and art." The guest list had not been released at this time of this writing, but Bono (U2) has acknowledged that he will attend. According to church officials, this is to be the first of many initiatives aimed at bridging the gap that has developed between spirituality and artistic expression.

The Vatican adds its voice to a growing number of churches and denominations seeking a New Renaissance of art in the Church and the culture.

In July, leaders from the Charismatic movement released powerful statements about God’s plans for the arts, and have begun using the arts as prophetic vehicles during their services and outreaches.

At the beginning of the year C.I.V.A. (Christians In the Visual Arts, artist’s organization) said that more evangelical and traditional churches than ever before added art galleries to their buildings in 2008, not to mention the explosion of electronic media, contemporary music and drama that has swept churches in the last two decades.

On Saturday November 21 -- the same day as the Sistine Chapel Art Summit—local artists, churches and organizations around the world will gather in churches and public venues to celebrate God’s movement to reestablish the arts as a conduit for His love and light. These “New Renaissance Rising: Arts Renewal Celebrations” may be as simple as a small half-hour prayer gathering or as large as…whatever God inspires! More information and resources are available to churches, organizations and individuals can be found, free of charge, here.

It’s a movement that will bring refreshing vitality to the Church, and new hope to the world through the reintegration of inspired art (music, painting, dance, drama, sculpture, design, and more) into the church and an infusion of spiritually powerful art into the culture.

About The New Renaissance Rising:

It’s a movement that will bring refreshing vitality to the Church, and new hope to the world through the reintegration of inspired art (music, painting, dance, drama, sculpture, design, and more) into the church and an infusion of spiritually powerful art into the culture. The vision for The New Renaissance Rising is that churches and artists across the world would take this date (November 21) to start or intensify the faith/art groups, initiatives, projects and relationships in their circle of influence.