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Redeeming the Arts
The arts are
important. We cannot escape them. They permeate our lives And
our culture. The decor of our surroundings; the music we listen
to; the entertainment we enjoy in books, television, and films
are all manifestations of the arts. They influence us and our
children whether we are aware of it or not. For good or for
evil, the ideas, the concerns, and the imagination of the age
are expressed and communicated throughout the culture by the
arts.
Properly
considered, the arts are inestimable gifts of God. They can
Enrich our lives. They have a spiritual dimension and can
enhance our Relationship to God and to our neighbors. The Bible
itself sanctions the arts, describing the gifts God has given to
artists and recounts in loving detail works of art that were
ordained by God to manifest His glory and to enrich His people.
That the arts can
be corrupt does not mean that Christians should Abandon them. On
the contrary, the corruption of the arts means that Christians
dare not abandon them any longer. Art (like all things human)
needs to be redeemed." --- Gene Edward Veith
Join us for a
panel discussion with artists and those ministering to Artists
to better discern how we may be salt and light in our culture.
Let us ask how we can redeem the arts for God's glory.
Panel
Melanie Cogdill
(panel moderator)
resides in Laguna Niguel, California, and attends Aliso Creek
PCA with her husband Dwayne and their two sons, Jack (9) and
Harry (2). She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has
been in the PCA for more than 20 years. Melanie is a graduate of
USC with a degree in English and Journalism. She serves as the
managing editor of Christian Research Institute (CRI). Melanie
has been a PCA PresWIC President for South Coast Presbytery and
is presently a Women In the Church Trainer for Christian
Education & Publications. Melanie enjoys gourmet food, reflected
in a collection of 110+ cookbooks. For more than 10 years the
Cogdills hosted a book club reading group which discussed
contemporary literature (fiction). This summer her family will
relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina where they will attend
Christ Covenant Church (PCA).
Dwayne Cogdill
founded Cognition Design in Orange County, California in April
1999. Since then his work has received more than 40
international design awards. His work has been recognized by
Communication Arts, the Evangelical Press Association, How,
Print, the Society of Illustrators, and the Society of
Publication Designers. Dwayne has been the art director for the
Christian Research Journal since 1999, and work from this
magazine has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Tulsa, and
Copenhagen. He has written for Communication Arts magazine, and
his work and ideas have been included in several books about art
direction and design. Dwayne has lectured at several
universities about art, design and faith and can be reached
at:dwayne@cognitiondesign.com. Dwayne was also a ruling elder
for almost 10 years at Aliso Creek Presbyterian (PCA) in Orange
County, CA and recently moved to North Carolina where he attends
Christ Covenant Church (PCA).
Luann Jennings
is the Coordinator of Arts Ministries at Redeemer Presbyterian
Church (PCA, New York City), a ministry that seeks to “equip,
connect, and mobilize” Christians working in the fine and
performing arts, design, media, and entertainment. Luann moved
to New York four years ago to study the Meisner Technique of
actor training and to work at Redeemer. Prior to that, she
worked in Atlanta as the founding artistic director of a theater
company for young and family audiences, as an arts
administrator, and as a free-lance director, actor, and acting
instructor. She has an MFA in directing from the University of
Tennessee-Knoxville and a BFA in acting from Baylor University,
and is currently doing graduate studies in Arts and Humanities
Education at New York University.
Kayb Carpenter
is a classically trained figure sculptor. She teaches art at
Covenant College and is a privately commissioned artist. She
also holds an MA in Missions and MFA in Art. Her passion lies in
the intersection of the two.
Rev. Joel Pelsue
has been a PCA pastor in New York and in Los Angeles where he
currently lives with his wife and two children. Two years ago
Joel founded Arts & Entertainment Ministries (AEM) with his wife
Michelle. AEM is a ministry dedicated to educating the church
and the artist, mentoring young artists in their faith and craft
and providing resources for the artist and the church to change
the world through cultural renewal. Joel is also a musician who
is trained on the Clarinet and Oboe; in college, he studied
improvisational jazz on both Tenor and Soprano Sax. His first
CD, “Windsome Thirst” played on radio stations across the
country and is currently in its second printing. He has a B.A in
Philosophy from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. and a
M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando). He’s been
ordained in the PCA for more than six years, and has been
ministering to artists for more than 13 years. The website for
AEM is www.A-E-M.org and he can be reached at joel@a-e-m.org |
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