Of Light and Dark and Reveille: Opening Reception for Artist Bella Halsted and Sculptor Ben Westbrock.

On Friday, October 11th ,  our imagine ART Gallery hosted the Opening Artist Reception for Amherst painter, Bella Halsted, and Northampton ceramic sculptor Ben Westbrock. We met both Ben and Bella when they, at different times, traipsed up the stairs into the gallery to see what there was to see. I was the first to meet Ben. He stopped by in the summer and after a conversation at one of the ARTS Night Openings, returned a few weeks later to bring me a packet of pictures showing his work. they sat around for a month or two and Tricia contacted him after she's talked to Bella and they thought it right to do a joint show with Ben. One cool thing about this show both Ben and Bella are in their 70's and they are local. Ben is the shorter gentleman with the beard on the right in the first picture. Bella is the lady with the turquoise jacket in the second picture:

As with all opening night receptions for a new show, we're never quite sure who'll be showing up. What we can say is the numbers are increasing steadily since we began! We noticed a bit of a difference with this show. The pace of guests coming to see the exhibit was steady once it began. The gallery was full until right up to the end. Even after I closed up shop, a father and his two kids knocked on the door saying they'd heard they needed to see this exhibit so he wanted to know if I'd open up. Of course, I did.

As she has done before, imagineer Jenn Swick stood out front telling folks about the exhibit. Many of them hadn't been up to the gallery before, so she single-handedly was responsible for introducing all these new folks to the space. A number of the guests were friends or family of the artists. It seemed many of them came too. Some of our friends were there as well, including Bob and Barbara Japenga who we served with in the retreat ministry with at the Center For Renewal in Simsbury. It was a lovely surprise to see them. It was also lovely to see and visit with Bruce Mills and Tamar Shadow. Tamar was a key exhibitor and instigator of the very well-attended TWINE show we did last spring. They were out and about and stopped in. It's always great to see them. Scott Jackson and Leah Gregg also stopped by as they have at more than a few of our shows. We've known them since almost the beginning of being here.

I also recognized faces of people who've been to our other shows. There were some wonderful comments about the peace and "specialness" of the space and  how calm it feels. One faithful supporter said it was her favorite gallery (a couple of others said that too) and she's been to all our shows. She had tears in her eyes and apologized for getting emotional. People all raved abut the food calling it the best gallery food in the city. That happens every time because Tricia takes such care to make it wonderful, not just snacks. All in all, I counted 200+ by the end of the evening, Ben and Bella sold some work. We pray for that.

If you came into the gallery you'd have seen a combination of Ben's and Bella's work. What you'd notice would be all the vibrant color and interesting shapes on display. Tricia has a knack for hanging pieces; she's affirmed all the time about that by the artists. Bella's paintings are abstracts with bold colors and shapes of landscapes. With some, she does watercolor studies first so you would've seen seen both. Doing it that way helps you see into how she sees. And she tied many of them to a poem; something she's written or something by famous poets such as Wendell Berry or William Blake. Having a light on her work made the colors pop with strength and vibrancy.

Ben's ceramic sculptures also popped with color, texture, and with movement. Many are whimsical. All are abstracts, but not unrecognizable as something familiar. They have substance and clear form. Some look like sea creatures or cartoon characters. Some look like tools or body parts or knights. Others are abstract designs to be hung on a wall. They are well-made, evocative and you'd want to touch them. They catch your eye right away and you'd wonder what they are:

We are now a year into this and it feels like we are just getting anchored in the town. People often say, I didn't know you were here, even though we have been showing up almost every weekend since a year ago in September. There is much we still have to learn about being more public as a church and a gallery. We'll get there. I remember, we knew nothing about how to do most of this when we came to plant imagine/Northampton. The imagine ART Gallery was not even a thought. But here we are after a years and artists are beginning to ask if they can bring their  work in. Recently, I had two folks tell me we have a great space and this is a great exhibit. They both are connected to galleries one in Holyoke and one in Watertown. Some are fascinated we are a church.

May God accomplish all he desires through the gallery and the church we were inspired by him to start. I can imagine it. His being glorified by what we do here would be an exquisite joy for us.

If you haven't come out this Friday or Saturday to see Gordon College Professor of Art, Jim Zingarelli's "The 4/4 Series" of paintings and sculpture:

Artist Reception For Catherine Gibbs At The imagine Art Gallery Was A Smash!

Last night at the imagine ART Gallery we hosted an Arts Night Out Artist Reception and Opening for Impressionist painter, Catherine Gibbs.We didn't know what to expect in terms of attendance, but turnout well exceeded our expectations, both in number and enthusiasm for Catherine's bold and wonderful paintings. Her show was entitled Passing Through and had as its focus, trains. In Catherine's words:


"Through my paintings I have become attentive to the splendid drama of my everyday world; the passing of light through the day, the movement or stillness of water, or subtle shifts in seasonal color.” But, of late, she has started to focus on “urban scenes, specifically trains.” She says they are metaphoric in that they can evoke playful feelings or convey nostalgia, even loneliness. She sees as most compelling that trains evoke a “sense of hope,” in that, “whether they be moving at breakneck speed or pressing on slowly and steadily, there is promise in the journey;” they “transcend what could be considered mundane to beautiful.”

Indeed, they are powerful  because of her use of rich color, large structures which evoke movement and heft, and the feeling of power and energy. The train paintings fill the space with big shapes, bold colors and train yard majesty: big transport machines like big beasts of burden doing their work or waiting on the next leg of the task. In her exhibit, she's also included some earlier work of pastoral paintings lending of wetlands and  the diffuse light of the Impressionist's eye. Also, sprinkled in the mix are small and mid-sized paintings of New England warehouse and mill buildings of the Industrial Age. Her exhibit is both striking and subtle. It all works.

 

But before I go further, I need to thank some folks. First, thank you, Catherine, for creating the work and agreeing that the imagine ART Gallery was the next stop for it. Then, there is Tricia, who has this gallery in her heart (she's really it's curator), and lends a keen eye for atmosphere, optimal placing of the artwork, and then creating a spectacular feeling of grace-soaked hospitality through the delicious food of great variety and amazing taste she prepares. It's all a labor of love for her. Then, I must thank imagineers Jenn Swick and Kristen Hastings who faithfully show up on Arts Night Out, and other gallery evenings to do all manner of things such as setting up the hospitality, making sure the food is replenished, standing at the door down on Main Street to invite folks upstairs, and at the end of the evening helping clean up, or actually host for an evening when we can't. They also add to the bounty of the food table. Thanks also to imagineers Kevin and Janet Williams who always come by to lend support and help out, including with the making the signs on our Main Street front door. Imagine newbies Chris and Laurel Peltier and Lauren Raymond came by to support the evening. Lauren brought food as well and manned the door with Jenn for a while.

As with the TWiNE exhibition of exquisite tapestries, we were delighted by how many people came to see Catherine's work. . TWiNE was the largest Artist Reception and Arts Night Out we'd experienced by far. Catherine's night was not that far behind. There was a steady stream of people all evening. At times it was packed! They kept her busy in the front room talking about her work, and wrote comments in the Guestbook such as:

"Awesome! So beautiful..."

"Amazing!"

"Powerful; wonderful work. Wow!"

"These are wonderful - varied and with their names take on many dimensions!"

"Another beautiful exhibit. So glad we came!"

"Impressive body of work!"

"Am I hearing the image? feeling the air? the vibrations?" Yes." 

Added to our delight for her was all the folks we got to talk to: old friends, people from our past and folks that we've known by name, but never met. We also had artists come up to us and inquire how they might exhibit at the imagine ART Gallery. That's happened before, but we had more folks ask last night than any other night. It was our pleasure to meet and get to talk with them. They're still surprised we're a church. Some at first seem a bit guarded, but as we explain who we are, they ask questions or even pick up some of our literature. A few last night asked Tricia about coming to one of our worship gatherings. That'd be lovely.

Jenn mentioned folks are beginning to know who we are. She said she heard people talking about the space and how great was the experience they had. They tell others on the street to pay us a visit because of the art and the great food. She said someone walked by and pointed "that's where imagine is." So we're getting known in town - a reality longed for and very exciting to us because we want to be of service in Northampton.  

Everyone also talked of imagine's gallery being a great space for art. We've heard that from the beginning. More than one person said there was something about the space which made it inviting and serene. People notice the hospitality and the grace extended to them and it moves them. There are "wow, the food!" comments. We've wanted to do just that. One person said she'd been to the TWiNE exhibit which made her day, even her week, and she very much looked forward to coming back to see our next exhibit which last night had the same effect on her. We know it has mostly to do with Jesus being the center of and reason for all we do, and he is in our midst including the gallery exhibits. Plus, we sincerely want to bless people with beauty and grace and welcome. Art can be a such refreshing breeze to the soul, an unforeseen delight to the heart, and an unexpected liberator to the mind. So it's a lovely feeling to see people recognizing we want their experience with us to be special because the art is very well done, the food and hospitality are more than they've expected, and the space is curiously inviting.

So we're 6 months in and have no idea where God will take us in the days ahead, but there feels a momentum not of our making in this gallery work I'm very careful to assume too much because I've done so here before and way prematurely as it turned out. Doing so can be quite disappointing. Reality remains God will bless as he will bless to suit what he desires for imagine's work. Anything else we try is mostly chasing after the wind. We just need to show up each day ready to work, full of faith and hope and love. Our part is really for us to follow him when he calls from one day to the next. I think he's been calling us consistently through the gallery, but we'll see how it unfolds. 

I never will relish being a windchaser!

 

TWiNE Artists' Reception and Opening Night, May 10, 2013. WOW!!!

THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL TAPESTRY YIZKOR (REMEMBER)

Yehudit Shadur - Cartoon Design

Tamar Shadur  - Tapestry Adaptation

For the past few weeks Tricia and I have been mentioning to folks we are very excited by the opportunity to host the weavers of TWiNE (TAPESTRY WEAVERS in NEW ENGLAND) in a group exhibit they entitled "a piece of TWiNE". Tricia had been in contact with Tamar Shadur who created the tapestry above. She and her husband, Bruce, had come to our gallery exhibits a few months before. She and Tricia struck up a conversation about the possibility of the imagine ART Gallery hosting an exhibit in Northampton, their first here. Many of the women of the guild reside in New England, but not all. There were 8 of the 13 showing in the exhibit with us last night.

So with great anticipation on everybody's part, it became a reality. To be honest, we had no idea how many folks would attend. The weavers had sent out invitations as did we. Additionally, we put flyers around town, sent emails from out email list, put the exhibit on our Facebook page, and put in a call into the Arts person at the Hampshire Gazette. We've done 6 exhibits so far, and each has been different in terms of attendance. Some of that had to do with people not knowing we were here; some of it had to do with preference as to the type of art people like. Some of it had to do with being somewhat invisible. We have a shoe-string budget for advertising, and we've never done a gallery before.

Well...I have to say all of our expectations were exceeded last night, and then some. By all accounting, we had over 150 in attendance.One person estimated almost 200. If you've been to the space, you know that means we were packed in like sardines at times- indeed, we were! In fact, it didn't really slow down until after 8:30, and then we got a second small influx of people for a bit. The entire experience was amazing! And exhilarating. People, young and old came up the stairs to see the exhibit, and they lingered to talk with the artists, some were friends and family;  some just wanted to meet the artist and inquire about what it took to weave such wonderful work.Our gallery was alive with people engaging one another over what they saw on the walls, and I know the weavers were delighted. I hope they made many connections which will result in sales of their remarkable work.

                             

FOUR GIRLS AND AN APPLE, NEPAL

 

Eve Pearce

Another lovely reality was we recognized return folks, a number of them. They.reminded us of an earlier exhibit they'd seen here. Some who came, talked of imagine's being the best gallery in town. And they all raved over the food again! No one's offering refreshments at the level of quality we've offered since we began. If you know Tricia, that's a prerequisite, a core of her creative sensibility. Another delight was the fact there were also a number of artists in attendance, and if I'm right about someone I recognized, this person is world class.

And last night we had chances once again to introduce people to imagine/Northampton, the church with the funny name we planted here almost 5 years ago. It always tickles us when folks find out who we are. They get a surprised look on their faces, because outwardly we don't really look like a church in terms of a building or liturgical accoutrements, etc. That's by design. So when we get to talk about who we are and why we're in Northampton it's always a great pleasure. I don't mind gently poking people's categories about Christians and churches.

So while last night's exhibition and large attendance was a smash, I need to also say I've been around the block enough times not to assume because we had such a magnificent turnout last night that some sort of real momentum was created for the gallery. When you've lived a substantial part of your life in the arts you're familiar with having your hopes dashed, or setting unrealistic expectations because of a particular positive experience. Then again, I also don't want to appear faithless, because I'm not, far from it. So such a turnout might signal a certain new identity in the community, or a little traction toward what we view the purpose of the imagine ART Gallery. Then again, last night will turn out to be a highpoint on a long climb toward establishing a credible identity as a gallery of note. The latter is more realistic. No matter, we were thrilled with last night, want many more, and will work toward seeing them happen.

ROMAN WALL WEAVING I, II, III

 Julia Mitchell

I won't soon forget last night. But the long and the short of it is we at imagine/Northampton want the gallery to connect with the artistic community and the entire community of Northampton. Seeing so many in our space just felt right. We want people to know we are Jesus-followers who seek to love and serve folks in all sorts of ways, one of them being the imagine ART Gallery where we can beautify our little corner of the town, and help folks know we are a missional community by the way we show grace, joy and intelligence. Our gallery is not the only way we do it,but if last night was a harbinger of things to come, it'll be one of the key ways.

Remember this phrase: missional hub. I'll be writing more about the concept in the days and weeks to come as we get a better read on what such it might look like for us.

 

The Gallery's Abuzz Right Now With The Hanging Of Tapestries!

I'm sitting here waiting for a client, but for the last 2 hours the imagine ART Gallery has been abuzz with tapestry hanging. Three of the TWiNE (Tapestry Weavers in New England) weavers, Tricia, and a very able helper have been measuring, a-fixing, eyeballing, questioning, conferencing, then scrambling up and down ladders to hang 36 tapestries. The entire process is just wonderful to observe. I know nothing of weaving tapestries, but the minute the possibility of hosting an exhibition named "a piece of TWiNE" became a reality I've been excited.

For the last week, tapestries have been showing up in boxes, rolled cardboard. or wrapped in linen like a hotdog casing. Tricia took down Richard Hawley's Dreamscapes photography exhibit earlier in the week, and our gallery looked a little like a warehouse with drums, cymbals, a bass amp, a ladder, and tapestry containers all over the place. The space had a feel like a theater backstage with props and equipment waiting for the next show to materialize.

I have to say it was fun listening to Tricia collaborate with the artists as to what would be the very best placement for each piece of work. They had to be hung just right to showcase the shapes and colors meticulously woven into being. Light had to bring out each work just so. The folks doing the hanging were making important decisions for the weavers who weren't present - that's trust ... and serious responsibility.

As a musician who's been a contributing member to all manner of rehearsals, and has played hundreds of performances from stadiums to living rooms, I just love the anticipation of putting a performance together. So much potential lies waiting to be tapped. People feel a hope for what might materialize and how the audience will receive it. These artists are no different. They've spent hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of hours producing their work, and it's to be shown, so they want the presentation to do high justice to their creations. Set up is not throw together. Set up is more orchestration, visual choreography. It's never merely "hangin' a picher" in the den.

I'm also enjoying the congeniality evidenced in the collaborating. Everyone was in good spirits. They seem to freely offer ideas of what should go where. Later they sat and took a minute to eat dark chocolate together - a weaver's pre-show tradition? I don't know. All of them added something valuable to the setting up. It felt they liked being together. If there were egos colliding it was very subtle.

The long and the short of it, you just have to come and see the exhibit! Our walls are ablaze with fabricized color. The tapestries range from being from smaller to larger. Each weaver's style, color palate, textural sensibility, and subject matter is different as you might expect, but the variety holds one's interest on every wall. You can see evidence of substantial skill and care from each piece. It's a pleasure to see.

The exhibit will be up until June 1st. But I need to say it's fun to come to Northampton, get a bite,  then visit all the exhibits around town. There is often much to see. Many people come in town so there'll be street energy galore. We're anticipating the largest opening night Artist's Reception we've had to date. So join the party!!!

Being Near the Art Made By Another.

The imagineART Gallery experience has largely been a pleasurable one for me for two reasons.

The first is the chance to observe or meet folks as they come into our space and look at the work on the walls. I've already written about their response to the fact we're a church doing this at all (http://oldmenplantingchurches.blogspot.com/2012/11/youre-frickin-church.html ). But it's also a pleasure to see people gazing at, examining closely, talking about, or simply taking pleasure in the art we've exhibited. Anne Hulley's intricate wall-hangings, and lovingly hand-made books, Catherine Elliott's brightly-colored Impressionist paintings, Joe Don Richardson's curiously evocative black and white photographs, and Brad's life-deep poetry and a Polaroid happening for people who came to Arts Night Out, turn our gray walls into delightful tapestries and windows to the sublime. 

The visceral pleasure of experiencing hanging manifestations of someone else's artistic vision and sensibilities adorning the gray walls of our space is of a quieting sort so far to me, a meditative calmness rich in affect. Each piece of art is a "voice" whispering ineffable realities, which when lived with intentionally, opens us to wonders so exquisite we are made a little more alive. We can briefly peer into transcending Reality with each gaze resting on a painting or a photograph for a moment.

Since September, I have lived near the art made by another. We have all sorts of art hanging on our walls and sitting on tables in our apartment. But being in the amidst the varied works of one artist draws me differently because each piece is the one-of a kind expression of someone's God-given creative gift, exploring and journeying deep into their individual art. They unfold an evolving point of view for you and me to look at and be drawn into. I get to do that each time I come into the gallery and be greeted by what they've made. I can look, examine up close, and think about what each piece means to me. I can respond visceral or make judgments about whether I like or don't like a piece. Each they "wait" in silence for my looking.

Being near the art made by another counteracts for me the stress and weight of life and ministry. It brings me out into an open clearing for a bit where the air is fresh, the sky spreads large, the colors and shapes sparkle intriguingly, and my mood just feels good.

The imagineGallery has been an unexpected blessing overall. The effect of being near the art made by another has been most unexpected - a peaceful grace and quiet delight.

Imago:Self Portraits w/ Disposable Camera, January 11, 2013.

    

       Five days ago imagine/Northampton opened it's gallery for the fourth month to Arts Night Out Northampton. It was a cold and rainy January Friday, but people were out. Some were going to the galleries and other venues in town.
       In our minds, last Friday night was an experiment within an EXPERIMENT - the latter being offering the imagineGALLERY at all. The prior months were more traditional in the media we showed: paintings, photography and wall-hangings plus hand-made books. All very well-done and well-received.
       Last Friday's experiment took a different tack. Let me give you the back story. A number of weeks back, we asked CT poet and friend, Brad Davis, if he'd be willing to do something for our January exhibition. We asked him to come up with an idea. Beyond being a friend and a fellow color-outside-the lines Jesus follower, he has graced our space before first in September, 2010, when he coordinated and collaborated with poets Jendi Reiter and Nancy Watkins Denig for an evening of their poetry called the splendid ordinary. Then, last spring, he offered a day workshop for creatives called Place and Possibility. Both were well done and we knew he'd come up with something cool
       He did.
       He named it IMAGO: self portraits w/ disposable camera. The idea came from a chapbook he created called I & We You & I: self portrait w/ disposable camera. For those who don't know what a chapbook is: "a chapbook is a small book or pamphlet containing poems, ballads, stories, or tracts. The term is still used today to refer to short, inexpensive booklets." (web.mit.edu/21h.418/www/nhausman/chap1.html) His concept for the evening was people would come to the gallery and have the opportunity to have a portrait Tricia would take with a Polaroid camera in any pose they liked. They would also have to somehow hold or pose a small disposable camera in their portrait. Their posing was supposed to be personal and expressive of how they see themselves. Then, periodically, Brad would read from his chapbook. 
       To create a buzz, Trey McCain and I went out on Main Street with handbills to entice folks to come and see our gallery. We encountered young and old. Some were not gallery-hopping; others were, and many we handed handbills to actually took us up on our invitation. Our trudging around paid off.
       When people came up into the space they had three opportunities. The first, was to sample the wonderful food, some of it gourmet, we put out for each reception. It's part of offering quality and enhancing their overall experience. People ate. Ben, the street guy, piled a plate 3 inches high at it's apex. The second, was the chance to hear Brad ably read poems from his chapbook two times an hour. People sat and listened. They responded appreciatively. Their feedback was that of interest and connection. The third opportunity, was to sit for their picture in their preferred poses.
       Those who participated in the evening said it was fun and different. We loved the fact they joined in making the IMAGO collage of Polaroids. Some were playful. Some were reserved. There were couples and individuals each expressing a visual notion of who they are, or how they wanted to be seen in the image.. There was even a triad of friends.
       We were so glad Brad and Deb Davis were with us. We always are. They got to see Brad's creative idea enfleshed so to speak - the creative word blended with the created image making strangers collaborators in the imagineGALLERY space. Simple gestures and evocative word images married. Tastes and sounds and images all working together to create a simple happening for a few hours. It felt good.
       Equally important was people came into the space who'd never been there before. That led to conversations about what imagine is. No one ran screaming from the building when they discovered imagineGALLERY was an effort of imagine/Northampton, a church. Their assumed categories were altered a bit, I bet. We like that. Challenging cultural assumptions, and doing so with unexpected dollops of grace builds a human bridge.
       We like that too. A lot.
       Who knows how this EXPERIMENT will morph over the next months. We hope it'll create relationships, offer support for artists, and reveal that "church folk" can be about community or cultural activities which don't seem or look very churchy. In other words, what if people could let down their guard a bit, enjoy some art together, and perhaps, just perhaps, have a conversation about eternal things without everybody getting all weird.
       We really like that!!!

imagine/Northampton's Arts Night Out #2: Photographer Joe Don Richardson.

Friday night began Chapter Two of imagine/Northampton journey into becoming a contributing member of the arts community in this small city with Joe Don Richardson's exhibit of  color and black and white photographs he calls "Deep Waters." As you might recall, last month, we launched the imagineGallery with Catherine Elliott's evocative, contemporary Impressionist paintings. Joe Don's Opening Reception was similarly well-attended, and we made some connections with folks in town, including artists. A few of them returned Friday, in fact. More about that later.

I've known Joe Don for almost 10 years. I had the privilege of helping him decide to attend The Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turner's Falls, MA. He's always liked taking photos, including being a summer camp photographer for a few years in CT. Prior to going to the Institute, he'd also taken a trip to Europe and taken a bunch of photographs. He made them into a book. While that of an amateur, it also was obvious he had talent. When he chose to go to school to become a professional I was very glad for him. Going was a big step, but he went after it, and worked his talent to another level.

I was proud of all the work he's put in to do our second show, and proud of him. Unless you've done this, make no mistake it isn't easy to do. You put your heart and soul out there in front of friends and strangers. Doing so feels a kind of nakedness not for the faint of heart. I was also thrilled that many folks talked to him about his work, and one showed interest in purchasing a piece. I know Joe Don left on Friday night feeling drained, but buoyed (no pun intended), and encouraged. Our show brought more folks than his first, and they were supportive.

As we did with Catherine's show we had sumptuous food. One young fellow, by all appearances a college student, came in and blurted out with delight: "Oh, this is where the good food is!!!" Indeed. A number of folks remarked about the quality of what we served. The only refreshment we omitted this time was the wine. We had a bit of a problem last time with someone who revealed himself to be too enamored with the grape, shall we say. He returned this Friday and left within five minutes, not even glancing at the photos. Hmmm. Nevertheless, part of our mission is to offer hospitality which captures people and causes them to linger with the art and with us, wine or no wine.

As I've mentioned in earlier blogposts, it's both about supporting art and building relationships with folks in Northampton. Toward that end, it just so happens a man and a couple  from last month's show returned . We'd learned each other's names and seemed to hit it off then. Last Friday, there was talk with them of dinner together, and the wife is a weaver who's interested in perhaps exhibiting at imagine. She gave a CD of her work to Tricia. They'll be in touch.

Imagineurian Dave Sweeney invited a client who also lives in the area, She came with a friend, liked Joe Don's work, and then inquired about imagine/Northampton. She's walked by our space on Main Street and wondered about us. She took our materials as did others. The conversation we had opened a little door of awareness and understanding. Maybe Jesus will create a relationship. I hope so.

For us, getting face to face with folks and having an opportunity to perhaps reflect Christ to them is a key focus of our Kingdom mission. We need to keep joining the community discourse whether it's having an Arts Gallery, serving meals to the homeless at the Interfaith Shelter (as on the night before Thanksgiving), launching an Open Table in early 2013, running our second 5K Hot Chocolate Run in support of Safe Passages in December, and staying to help clean up, offering a Family Night in December so parents can go Christmas shopping, or maybe even hosting a Writer's Group next year in our 70 Main Street space. The point is we want folks to discover and follow the God who is far more than they imagine in our community, one person, one couple, one family at a time.

We're on our way. It's taken a while, but there is momentum building, slowly, but surely.

Pray for us and stop by one of these days. Come to dinner in Northampton, and check out Joe Don's work this Friday or Saturday evening, 5-9PM. We'd love to see you.

Addressing Some Concerns from Our Second Evening of Conversations

Last Friday evening after a challenging conversation around how we would do worship, it became readily apparent to me that we needed to clarify a few essentials. In this process of helping people locate themselves in the church we are launching in Northampton, we realized that the burden was on us to explain further issues that surfaced so that I will do.

The Centrality of Jesus:

Everyone on the imagine/northampton team is a Christ-follower. We know he is the way, the truth and the life, the Father is found only through him. The main reason we are in Northampton is to make him known through unexpected love and service to people far from him. Without Jesus and his completed work of salvation and redemption, we have nothing to offer anyone. Spiritual formation will be central to our life together, especially as it ignites our ability to love Jesus and people who do not yet know him. Therefore, those who join our missional community will be challenged in grace to know Jesus and surrender wholeheartedly to him, learning intimacy with God as a way of life.

He will be the sine qua non of everything we do.

The Scriptures Ground and Guide Us:

All of us on the Launch Team hold to the view that the Scriptures are uniquely foundational to the formation and life of all Christ-followers: inerrant, authoritative, and complete for salvation and sanctification. The Bible will be read, studied, preached and lived in the life of imagine/northampton. They and the vivifying Holy Spirit are our daily vitality. They focus, guide, chasten, inspire, and motivate us. Without the Scriptures in our hearts and minds we are impotent toward the Kingdom and the world. Therefore, those who join our missional community will have all sorts of opportunities to learn and live the Scriptures individually and together.

Truth and Love:

We believe that all truth comes from God. Most importantly, revealed truth from God gives all of life meaning. Without God's truth we are blind, deluded, and lame. We also believe that the truth is best lived and most expresses God's heart through sacrificial love to one another and to everyone/anyone who crosses our paths and lives in our lives. Imagine/northampton will work to exist within the revealed truth of God and manifest that truth through loving service.

Truth and love anchor us.

Truth and love guide us.

Truth and love tether us.

Truth and love free us.

Therefore, those who join our missional community will be invited constantly to think about the truth so that love rules their thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and actions with increasing maturity.

The Arts have a Unique Role in Revealing Truth and Beauty that Provokes the Mind and Captivates the Heart:

We believe the arts have an unmatched ability to see deep into the reality and mystery of life, people and God. Through the imagination, doors into the ineffable and the real are possible. Art and story open truth that can be felt and understood. We will use the arts in worship, teaching and outreach to express the heart of the Gospel and capture the exquisite joys and crushing sorrows of the human condition in a fallen but beautiful world. The cries of the heart, the play of the imagination and the searching of the mind for truth will find an ally through the arts at imagine.

Therefore, those who join our missional community will have ample opportunity to know and be artists in service of Jesus and Northampton.

We Will be a Missional Church:

One of our deepest desires in imagine is to love and serve the community of Northampton. We believe the best way forward is to incarnate the Kingdom through relationship building, loving and helping. We want to do so in a way that will be unexpected, outrageous for the context, out of the ordinary. We want to challenge the antagonism that people have toward Christ-followers by doing what they least expect and doing it selflessly.

So our life together will be about reaching "those guys out there." It will be in our DNA, at the core, a focus of our reason for being. On the other hand, don't misunderstand that we will care little for the community of Christ-followers within imagine/northampton. We will care much for people God sends us, but not as the sole end of the church. If we are going to be Christ-followers we think it means following him in the Kingdom work he is doing in Northampton. Helping each other heal, grow, strengthen and be freed will be in order to follow him with abandon outside our walls, not merely to enhance our imagine's community.

We are here for them out there....

Therefore, those who join our missional community will be cared for well so that they might take every opportunity to follow Jesus and love those he loves who are far from him.

Creativity:

Christ-followers we admire and respect believe that where there is creativity in the church there is the Spirit. The Scripture says that where there is freedom there is the Spirit also. Creativity thrives in freedom. Therefore imagine/northampton will be a welcoming, freeing estuary of creativity, imagination and innovation that glorifies God and enlivens people. We are not afraid of change that comes when creativity challenges our human traditions, best-laid plans security, presuppositions or sacred cows. As long as it seeks to tell the truth, ennoble people and point, however nuanced, toward the wonder and unparalleled magnificence of Jesus, we will strive to catalyze it in ourselves and others.

Therefore, those who join our missional community will be exposed to creativity, be challenged to create and encouraged to unleash creativity in others.

So....we love Jesus, period.

We stand on the Scriptures in their entirety, period.

We are humbly fierce for the truth and will try to express it through love as God helps us.

We will use the arts repeatedly toward truth and beauty.

We will be outwardly missional to the core.

We will invite creativity everywhere.

While I know there is much more to say on the ideas above and other equally important subjects, I hope what I have written helps people locate imagine/northampton's heart a little bit easier and perhaps themselves within it. If not, tell me. We'll talk.