The creative arts and their expression have always been a crossroads where spirituality and religiosity clash.
Christmas Eve 1818 at the church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria was probably anything but a ‘silent night, holy night’ in many quarters.
As the legend goes, Father Joseph Mohr and organist Franz Gruber put the classic Christmas lyric for Silent Night together with a melody to meet the need for music for the holiday celebration after the church organ malfunctioned and could not be repaired in time for services.  According to the traditional account, the original rendition of the now beloved hymn was performed at the Christmas Eve Mass to the accompaniment of Gruber’s guitar and ‘made a deep impact’ on the parishioners.

Closer to the less romanticized truth – as any pastor may attest – is the version of the story that reports that half the congregation probably left the church in protest over the abrupt change in musical styles, and the other half blamed Father Mohr for irresponsibly neglecting the repair of the treasured organ.  That Silent Night so long ago was probably filled with more than a few self-righteous cries from church-goers so entrenched in tradition that this musical hiccup was proof positive that ‘God’s Spirit has departed the church’!

Sound cynical?  Maybe, but surveys of the church always indicate that we trend behind culture in embracing creative change by 15 to 20 years, that most churches are stuck in traditions and styles that make no sense to spiritually hungry people who have no church affiliation or background, and that – particularly when it comes to expression through the creative arts – as one observer in a recent poll commented: (Christians) “are judgmental, arrogant…they never bother figuring out what other people actually think.  They just like to hear themselves talk about their own opinions.”

Enough.  Are you an artist – musician, indie film maker, poet or writer, graphic/visual artist or performer -- who’s found that a typical church environment isn’t the easiest place to find avenue for creative expression?  Are you looking for a place to be an artist that happens to be a Christian, rather than simply being a ‘Christian artist’?

Are you a person who’s unconvinced and uncommitted to the Christian faith but open to shedding the idea of distorted religious experience in favor of finding personal faith discovered through a process of getting to know creative people of faith in a comfortable and agenda-free environment?

If so, join us this Christmas season for a fresh take on a classic idea – maybe our Creator is totally into creativity and maybe, just maybe…He’s outside the box this year – including the traditional Christmas box!

For more information, contact PastorJimCPC@hughes.net or visit our website at www.centrepointe.org .