About the Vermont Conference on Christianity and the Arts

Our first conference was held in Middlebury in May of 2003 at Memorial Baptist Church and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.  Areas of art represented were dance, poetry, sacred music, fiction, and photography.  Several of us had felt a keen vision for this conference for several years preceding the event!  It was truly both an answer to prayer, and also an effort bathed in prayer.  But it was also—to use the imagery of Gideon—something of a “fleece” placed out to the Lord to see if such an event were possible in Vermont, and whether it was something we ought to continue.  In particular, we were testing whether there was both a broadly perceived need for such an event, and also if there were resources to continue it.  The wonderful response received in 2003 led us to answer yes to both questions.  Our second conference, also held in Middlebury, included workshops and presentations on painting, poetry, dance, songwriting, fiction, and photography.  The third conference was held at North Avenue Church in Burlington, Vermont, with sessions on architecture, poetry, painting, fiction, photography, cartooning, guitar playing, song writing, and grants.

Our twofold vision is based on the simple belief that creativity and artistic expression are important parts of who we are as beings created in the image of a creative God, and that artistic expression should therefore be encouraged and nurtured within the body of Christ.  To that end, our twofold aim is as follows:

1.  To nurture the church as a whole by providing a Christian perspective on the meaning and value of art, and encouraging the church to view art in a Biblical perspective; and

2.  To nurture Christians who are practicing in the arts by providing them with skills and tools of the trade so that they can grow and develop further as artists, producing works glorifying to God.

Steering Committee 
As a steering committee, our beliefs are rooted in Christianity, and we affirm the historic proclamations of the Christian faith including the Apostle’s Creed.  However, attendance at the conference is open to all who are interesting in learning about art from a Christian worldview.

STEERING FELLOWSHIP

Members of a number of Vermont fellowships have helped with planning and hosting our conferences since our beginning:

Memorial Baptist Church (Middlebury), Bridport Congregational Church, Essex Alliance (Essex), Hunger Mountain Christian Assembly (Waterbury), Lincoln United Church, Jericho Congregational Church, Middlebury United Methodist Church, North Avenue Alliance (Burlington), St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Middlebury), Wesleyan Chapel (Ferrisburgh)

Matthew Dickerson (Founding Member, at left) is the director of the New England Young Writers Conference at Middlebury College and the author of several books, including a novel (The Finnsburg Encounter), a biography (Hammers and Nails: The Life and Music of Mark Heard), and a work of literary criticism (Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings). Matt is also a fishing (especially fly-fishing) and outdoors writer with a regular column in The Addison Independent, and is a frequent contributor to Fly Fish America and the Burlington Free Press.

Esther Ehmann, Meg McFadden, & Tyler Smith have joined our planning efforts for the 2008 conference. Welcome!

Annette Franklin joined our planning group in 2006. Annette lives in Bridport, Vermont where she is wife to a local pastor, mother to four children, and worship leader at the Bridport Congregational Church. In her free time, Annette performs with the Joe Levesque Big Band in the Burlington, Vermont area. She enjoys any new creative challenge and likes to make lists of all sorts.

Cyndi Freeman enjoys all forms of art, and her talent lies in the visual arts. She has been capturing people in photographs for over fifteen years, and expresses a special philosophy about her work. "A photograph is art and to beheld forever. A good photograph will be looked at often and will bring back emotions, often new ones each time. I set out to create such images in which not only time, but a feeling is captured." She attended the first Christianity and the Arts Conference and was so impressed, she joined the steering committee. For examples of her photography and more information, visit www.cyndifreeman.com

We acknowledge the contributions of past members of the steering committee:

Leigh Harder (Founding Member) has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Creativity from Geneva College, and has studied studio art at the Pennyslvania Academy of Fine Arts and the former Philadelphia College of Arts. She was a fellow in the National Writing Project's summer institute and also the advanced institute. Leigh has taken graduate courses in education and the arts, and created teacher workshops on creative writing, the multiple intelligences, and multiculturism as explored through the arts. She is currently teaching at Weybridge Elementary School, near Middlebury, Vermont. Leigh lives with her husband and family, and a hyperactive Australian shephard, in East Middlebury.

Reed Prescott is one of New England's premier artists and illustrators. His oil paintings are receiving acclaim throughout the country. Prescott was the feature artist at the Seacoast Flower Festival in Durham, New Hampshire, and was asked to write a section in the North Lights on "How to Paint with Water Soluble Oil Paints." As a painter, Reed's work appears in numerous galleries and shows across the northeast, including Maryland's renowned Easton Waterfowl Festival, The Vermont Institute of Natural Science's wildlife art show, the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance's Reflections on Basin Harbor, and group shows in New Jersey and Cape Cod. As an illustrator, he has illustrated ten books, including Owls and Birds of Prey, both by Floyd Scholz; Ron Rood's Vermont: A nature guide; and Vermont Wildlife Viewing Guide by Cindy Kilgore Brown, developed in cooperation with Defenders of Wildlife. For more information visit www.prescottgalleries.com.

Jeff Rehbach is director of the Middlebury College Community Chorus. He leads the annual Middlebury "sing-along" of Handel's Messiah each year during Advent, an event that began in 1986. Jeff leads the choir and assists with worship at Memorial Baptist Church in Middlebury, Vermont.

Marcella Smith is an active arts and music supporter in Vermont, and is Producer of the Crossroads Concert Series based in Ferrisburgh. Her vision is linking musical groups with a desire to reach others for Christ through contemporary music ministry and testimony. Marcy has served as the Booking Manager for Clean Slate, a contemporary Christian band from Panton, and serves as co-chair of Friends of Music supporting the Music Department at Vergennes Union High School, as well as working on the Just a Little Kid recording project together with Chestnut Bay Studio in Addison and contemporary Christian band Fynyte from Barre.

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For more conference information and updates, please call 802.453.5583.