Religion and the Arts

Fall colored leaves in reds and yellows.

The ministry of the Unitarian Church has long recognized the link between religious expression and the arts. In October of each year is Poetry Sunday. Paul Ingram, of Prairie Lights in Iowa City, visits often to discuss books. New member Kathleen Lawless Cox is the new Quad Cities Poet Laureate. Many of our members and friends are involved in theater, music, literature and the visual arts. They have discovered the many ways in which the sacred is expressed and experienced through the arts. And they have shared their gifts and talents with others, enhancing our congregation and the community.

Easy Search Listing.

ABOUT POETRY SUNDAY

ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH PRAIRIE LIGHTS BOOKS

DEE CANFIELD'S ALASKA BLOG

NURENAISSANCE CENTER FOR ARTS AND SPIRITUALITY

CHAMBER MUSIC QUAD CITIES

United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities:

Graduate Theological Union’s Center for the Arts, Religion and Education (CARE)

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST DENOMINATIONAL RESOURCES

STONE TREE RESOURCES OF THE PRAIRIE STAR DISTRICT

LOCAL RESOURCES FOR THE ARTS AND RELIGION LOVER

Figge Art Museum

MidCoast Fine Arts

River Music Experience

Quad City Arts

Midwest Writing Center

ABOUT POETRY SUNDAY at the Unitarian Church
In October of each year, is Poetry Sunday. In the past, Poetry Sunday has been visited by Professor Rebecca Wee
(http://www.augustana.edu/academics/english
/department/wee.html),
at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.

James McKean came to be with us October 3, 2004. He is a teacher at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids. (http://msupress.msu.edu/authorbio.php?authorID=2029)

In October of 2006, Illinois Poet Laureate, Kevin Stein, will be with us at our morning service For information about Kevin Stein visit
http://www.bradley.edu/las/eng/Eng/stein.html
Kevin Stein came to Bradley in 1984 from Indiana University, where he received the Ph.D. in American literature and the M. A. in Creative Writing. He teaches a range of graduate/undergraduate courses in American literature, including Ecstatic Dialogics: Poetry and Ecstasy; The Contemporary American Narrative Poem; Men, Women, and the Family in American literature; James Wright and Philip Levine: The Poetry of Work, and the Work of Poetry; and Public and Private History in Contemporary American Poetry. Professor Stein also serves
as director of Bradley's vital Creative Writing Program, leading workshops ranging from the introductory level to the capstone course, ENG 407/507, in which students write and design a chapbook of their own poetry.

In December 2003 Governor Blagojevich named Professor Stein the fourth Illinois Poet Laureate in the state's history. Stein's poetry collections include the forthcoming American Ghost Roses (spring 2005)and two previous volumes published in the University of Illinois' Poetry Series, Chance Ransom (fall 2000) and Bruised Paradise (1996). His collection A Circus of Want (University of Missouri Press) earned the 1992 Devins Award for Poetry. His award-winning chapbooks include The Figure Our Bodies Make (1988 Stanley Hanks Award Winner) and A Field of Wings (1985 Illinois Writers Award Winner). In
2001 Stein co-edited (with poet G.E. Murray) Illinois Voices, a comprehensive anthology of twentieth-century Illinois poetry.

Professor Stein's poems and essays have appeared widely in journals such as American Poetry Review, Boulevard, The Gettysburg Review, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, The Southern Review, and TriQuarterly.
In addition, Stein has written widely on comtemporary American poetry. His Private Poets, Worldly Acts, essays on the interplay of contemporary poetry and history, was published by Ohio University Press. That volume was named a 1997 Recommend Book by Amazon.com and was reprinted in paperback in 1999. His other critical study, James Wright: The Poetry of a Grown Man, also appeared from Ohio University Press (1989).

Professor Stein has received numerous honors, including Poetry's Frederick Bock Prize, the Indiana Review Poetry Prize, and three Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards for his poetry. In addition, he has been the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship and three such fellowships awarded by the Illinois Arts Council. In 1989 Professor Stein was named Bradley University Professor of the Year for excellence in teaching.

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ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH PRAIRIE LIGHTS BOOKS
Twice a year, Paul Ingram, the book buyer for Prairie Lights, has come to our Forum (September - May, 10 a.m.) to speak about the most compelling books of the season.

For more information on Prairie Lights, please visit
http://www.prairielightsbooks.com/.

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DEE CANFIELD'S ALASKA BLOG
Our church member Dee Canfield spends the bulk of the year in Alaska. She has been sharing her writing and her journey to self-discovery through a blog. You can reach her at http://www.deecanfield.blogspot.com

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NURENAISSANCE CENTER FOR ARTS AND SPIRITUALITY
Dino Hayz, Director of Lifespan Religious Education for the Unitarian Church, has long been a force in local theater. He has recently successfully toured Godspell, as part of his NuRenaissance Center for Arts and Spirituality. For information about NuRenaissance please call Dino at 563-359-0816.

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CHAMBER MUSIC QUAD CITIES
by church members, Connie Sauer Adams and Len Adams, CMQC provides the community with opportunities to hear world-class musicians, Greg Sauer, (Associate Professor of Cello, University of Oklahoma and Principal Cello, Oklahoma City Philharmonic) Tom Sauer (Mr. Sauer holds degrees from the Curtis Institute, the Mannes College of Music, and the City University of New York.

His major teachers include Jorge Bolet, Edward Aldwell, and Carl Schachter. A member of the piano faculty of the Mannes College and the music faculty at Vassar College, Mr. Sauer is the founder and director of the Mannes Beethoven Institute and co-artistic director of Chamber Music Quad Cities, a festival based in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa.) and Serena Canin at
(http://www.music.princeton.edu/~brentano
/IndividualBios_SC.html).

Upcoming dates, forthcoming.

We do know that Robert Saterlee will be performing February 12th.
Pianist Robert Saterlee has developed a reputation as an accomplished and versatile solo recitalist and chamber musician. He plays regularly throughout the United States, delighting audiences with his incisive and imaginative performances. He has appeared on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, San Francisco’s Old First Concert Series, the Schubert Club in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Quad Cities Mozart Festival. For information, 563-322-4524.

How Rev. Butts Came to See the Arts as Vital to Spiritual Development Roger went to Wesley Seminary in Washington DC. While there, he came to appreciate the role of the arts in religious expression as a result of the seminary’s Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion. He came to see that the arts prepares creative problem solvers. The arts gathers people who want to collaborate. It enlivens worship. It helps us grow as a community of faith and as faithful individuals. It develops passion and compassion. And art
encourages fresh perspectives. As one Episcopalian as recently written, “The arts are outward signs of grace—expressions of faith. We are beings that live by our five senses. The more we incorporate these sense into worship, the more fully we can live our faith. This is why creating art can be so healing.”
(Billie Abraham, Postulate in the Episcopal Church).

One of Rev. Butts’ goals for the long term at the Unitarian Church is the development of a Center for the Arts and Religion here. To learn more, visit these seminaries that are in the forefront of religion and arts programming. Wesley Seminary, Washington, DC:
http://www.luceartsandreligion.org/

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United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities:
http://www.unitedseminary-mn.org/arts/index.htm

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Graduate Theological Union’s Center for the Arts, Religion and Education (CARE)
http://www.gtu.edu/page.php?nav=53

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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST DENOMINATIONAL RESOURCES

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STONE TREE RESOURCES OF THE PRAIRIE STAR DISTRICT
http://www.stonetreeuu.org/
The Stonetree Spiritual Resources web site provides Unitarian Universalist congregations in the Prairie Star District region of the Unitarian Universalist Association with a means of exchanging ideas for speakers and arts resources.

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LOCAL RESOURCES FOR THE ARTS AND RELIGION LOVER

Figge Art Museum
www.figgeartmuseum.org
The Figge Art Museum, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, actively serves the public by collecting, conserving, and exhibiting art, and by promoting appreciation and creation of visual art through education. As a vital, responsive institution, the FAM brings art and people together, expands the knowledge and love of art, and enriches the life of the community through the power of art.

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MidCoast Fine Arts
http://www.midcoast.org/index.htm
MidCoast Fine Arts is a non-profit, community development arts agency, founded and run by artists, that creates and promotes innovative models which embrace regional artists and cultural organizations in advancing the quality of life and marketability of our community.

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River Music Experience
http://www.rivermusicexperience.com/
Enter River Music Experience - a one-of-a-kind music center tracing the people, places, styles and movement of America's music on America's River. Rock-n-roll. Jazz. Gospel. Country. Blues. They're all on tap at River Music Experience. Through high-tech exhibits, live music and programs for all ages, you'll conduct the show.

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Quad City Arts
http://www.quadcityarts.com/
QUAD CITY ARTS is a regional arts council serving the citizens of Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties in Illinois and Clinton, Muscatine and Scott counties in Iowa and artists within a 250-mile radius.

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Midwest Writing Center
www.midwestwritingcenter.org
Founded thirty years ago by David Collins and Evelyn Witter, the Midwest Writing Center offers opportunities for writers and readers alike throughout the Quad Cities region.

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Have a local arts project you’d like to see mentioned here, contact us at Webmaster@qcuu.com