Joint Retreat on the East Coast

Hi, Everyone!

Caroline Chehade, one of the Bible study leaders at Manhattan School of Music, is currently organizing a retreat for the Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard, Curtis, Peabody and Montreal’s Crescendo group, sometime around March 9th.  A pastor from Montreal connected with Crescendo (a European organization that is based on the same principles as CPAF), will be coming in to speak for this retreat.

I wanted to announce this for two reasons:  One — it is a GREAT idea!  I would love to see Bible studies connect regionally.  If you would like to organize a similar retreat for your Bible study, check out the Bible Study Locator on the website, at www.christianperformingart.org     Representatives from CPAF or Crescendo will be happy to assist you in planning such a retreat.

I would also like to send out a general request for prayer and information as they plan this retreat.  It is difficult to find an inexpensive location for a retreat on the East Coast, somewhere between New York and Baltimore.  If you have any ideas for Caroline, could you please post them to this blog?

Thanks and God bless!~

Jennifer Jackson

Poster ideas!

Some places are more appropriate to hang posters to advertise for a Bible study than others. If you happen to be able to put up posters where you are located, but aren’t feeling particularly creative, check out the poster I created for our Bible study on the book of Romans. Romans Bible Study Poster Maybe you’ll be inspired with creativity. Some things to remember while creating a poster:

Keep in mind who you’re trying to reach. Are you trying to draw Christians or non-believers? Is the Bible study exclusively for performing artists or for anyone who wants to come?

Be sure to include details of when and where and what you’re studying.

It’s great to add “For more information, call __________”

If you’ve registered your Bible study with us, you can add that you’re sponsored by the Christian Performing Artists’ Fellowship.

Try to use something eye-catching, something unexpected that will cause a passerby to stop and take notice

You can create posters from a lot of different programs. I used PagePlus 9, which is a program I purchased from Serif software. However, for free you can download an older version of PagePlus which is great and very easy to use. Click here for your free PagePlus 6.

If anyone else has a poster you’d like to share with the masses – send it our way! Email a copy to cpaf.absc@gmail.com and we’ll post it in our next blog entry.

Bible Study – “unofficial” start

Last night, I got together with the Grace College girls who met with me last semester for Bible study. It was really good. It was the unofficial start to our Bible study this semester, basically because I hadn’t invited anyone else yet or made posters to advertise and I’m hoping that more people will be able to come next week given due notice. So, next week we’ll start back into Romans.

Psalm 103 was the topic of discussion last night, and we used the inductive Bible study method. It was really good. Psalm 103 is – wow – it’s really good! Praise the Lord, Bible study leaders – our God is loving and compassionate! Because of Him, we have hope. Because of Him, all artists can have that same hope. He is in control. Stand in awe. We are but mere mortals. He is forever and ever and holds all power and authority.  Take a fresh glance yourself at Psalm 103 and be amazed at the God to whom all glory is due.

Psalm 103 – Praise the Lord, my soul;  all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul; and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for mortals, their days are like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.

Hymn Ideas:

In the latest MasterClass Monthly newsletter, we said that Hymns could be used as a supplemental resource for your Bible study. You can be really creative in how you incorporate hymns. Here are some ideas to get you started. If you have ideas you’d like to add, just send a comment to this post.

Sing a hymn to open or close your Bible study that ties into the ideas emphasized from the Scripture passage that day.

Invite members to bring along their instruments to play a hymn for a time of meditation/contemplation during the study.

Use a hymn’s lyrics as a springboard for group discussion.

Corporately compose your own hymn.

Arrange an old hymn, or create a new melody using exsisting lyrics that you like.

Have everyone create a piece of art work (anything – paining, drawing, pottery, music, drama, poetry, mime, dance, etc.) which expresses a particular hymn and have everyone share their art form on the same night. This would also be a great idea for Scripture – to represent a particular passage through art and to then share the art with one another.

Check out your public library for books on the history of hymns and their composers. Share what you learn with the group to add to the depth of meaning of the hymns.

Create your own Bible study based on theology found in your favorite hymns.

If you want a great service project for your group, coordinate with a local nursing home or a children’s hospital to be able to use your artistic gifts to minister to the elderly or children. While there, you could give a short devotional based on a hymn and and ask the audience to join in with singing it.

More ideas? Send ‘em our way!

Converse College

Katelyn Ridenour, a pianist at Converse College, will be starting a Bible study for performing artists this January.  Pray for her as she embarks on this venture.  Katelyn was spurred to start the study after noticing a flyer posted around her school by the Friends of Lesbians and Gays association.  The flyer read:  “What’s the Secret to Life?  Come Watch Fried Green Tomatoes”

We’re praying for you, Katelyn! 

Video Inspiration

Check it out! I found this video online a while back and I wanted to share it with you. It is amazing! It’s called “That’s My King.”