Fifteen years ago this month I had the opportunity to create something unlike anything I’d ever done—or had ever been done before in a church. The Renaissance Service (TM) took place on Wednesday evenings in the candlelit dark, inviting people to look to the arts as a window to the divine. There was poetry, prayer, Taize chant refrains, and a wonderful message each week about an artist or art form and how faith intersected informed them. My husband recently transferred some old video tapes onto DVD, allowing me to see for the first time one of these moments from a distance. It is only now that I realize what an awesome thing these vespers were, not only in their fullness, but as a testament to where I was in my walk with God. At the time these were created I had only been a believer for a few years. Yet this outpouring of beauty infused with the divine feels to me now like a whole life’s work. This is the gift we often call “first fruits.” If you have a little time, you might want to watch this “vintage” recording. I will still remember these services as some of the greatest evenings of my life.
Heather Choate Davis 