The experience convinced me that this process of teaching skills of imagination and improvisation through the arts and with artists not only works but should become part of the program of theological education. What I know best is how this process works in worship. I have been involved in worship education and experimentation for many years with the Union Seminary community, with various Jewish and Christian congregations and with women's communities. Artists have been our partners, offering us strategies for both interpretation and communication. Students enroll at Union, in fact, because of this emphasis in our daily worship.
Pastors come to observe.
Again, imitation does not suffice. What is necessary is learning and using skills that evoke the power that already exists in our worshiping communities At Union we are poised to begin this work. Artists who have been part of our programs and our worship such as Ysaye Barnwell, Meredith Monk, dancer Linda Kent, formerly part of the Alvin Alley and Paul Taylor companies, and many others, some from Manhattan School of Music, where we are in the early stages of developing joint programs, are eager to work with us. The culmination of this project, if funded by the Luce Fellows program, will be a book and videotape or CD ROM targeted for seminary students, clergy and congregations. A number of publishers have initiated conversations with me about producing the book and whatever visual piece accompanies it.