Next Steps for Churches

Rocks 1Who? The Cascadia Residency seeks churches and ministry leaders who believe in the value of the creative arts for the flourishing of Cascadia. No matter where your church may be on the spectrum of engagement with the arts, the churches we seek will be ready to take risks by investing in a group of gifted, multidisciplinary artists.

What? Outcomes for congregations and church leaders include:

  • Theological Education in the Arts
  • Practical Tools for Artistic Engagement in Worship and Church Life
  • Reconciliatory Relationships with Christian Artists in Your Community
  • Customized Consultation with Residency Curators to Develop Arts Programming in Your Church
  • Certificate in Theology and the Arts for up to Two Members of your Church Staff

How? The ten churches who are a part of the residency will support ten regional artists financially, spiritually, and vocationally. A Church Liaison will be identified from each congregation to partner with an artist in conversation, learning, and fellowship throughout the nine-month period. Church Liaisons will participate in two retreats (September and November, 2017), the Cascadia Worship & Arts Conference (February, 2018), and portions of a two-week residency in late April 2018.

Church liaisons and congregation members commit to build relationships with one another and with the artists involved in the residency program. Community will be fostered through common readings, creative rhythms, spiritual practices, and sharing meals together. In the months between retreats, conference, and residency, each artist commits to visit churches in their region to share about the creative process and the network of relationships being formed throughout the program period. At the end of the nine-month period, artists will present work to the churches involved in ways that have become meaningful for both artist and church during the program. This nuances of this presentation will be developed throughout the nine months of learning and working together.

Tracks

The Church Track
Alongside access to the creative processes and finished works of the ten artists, churches who support artists via the Church Track will have access to specialized consultation opportunities with program curators, Shannon Sigler and Allyson Darakjian, in order to develop strategic ways to implement the arts in each unique ecclessial context. The Church Track also provides the opportunity to send two pastors or church leaders (the selected Church Liaison and one other nominee if desired) through our Theology and Arts in Ministry Certificate Program (non-credit) free of charge. The program curriculum allows the church leader to gain specific skills, knowledge and relationships to develop arts programs in his or her community, and happens in the Residency fall retreats. The cost for a church to participate in the residency is $4000.

The Pastor Track
The Pastor Track allows individual church leaders to participate in the Theology and Arts in Ministry Certificate Program outside of affiliation with a particular institution. Those participating in the certificate curriculum are also invited to the retreats, conference, and two-week residency. The cost to participate in this track is $1000, which supports both curriculum development as well as the artists’ residency project.

To learn more about being a Cascadia Church, contact us using this form. Churches for 2017-2018 will be confirmed by March 1, 2017.