A chance to dance, A Time to Fly Blessed with artists, musicians, writers and performers, some Maine congregations see the arts as part of their mission

A performing arts camp inside Trinitarian Parish Church in Castine doesn’t seem wacky or even innovative to Aynne Ames.

After all, theater began as a way to explain and spread religious ideas before the written word, said Ames, a former theater director who teaches at a boarding school in New York.

Earlier this month, Ames sat in a wooden pew in the church to supervise the dress rehearsal of “The Sea Sprite,” a musical she wrote with Grammy-winning composer Len Filipowski, a friend from New York. The two wrote the musical for an art camp at the church.

“Theater has always been a part of worship,” said Ames, who teaches in Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y. “That was the original function of music, art and theater. We’re just returning to the origins of the arts.”

Early Christians often acted out the teachings of Jesus as disciples sought converts for the new faith.

And spreading the word is one of the reasons churches in Maine are offering arts programs, some area pastors say.

“Last year, we started having conversations about how to fulfill our mission in the community,” said the Rev. William Friederich, 51, pastor of Trinitarian, a Congregational church.

“We looked at our strength as a congregation and saw that we are blessed with artists, musicians, writers and theater people in the community as well as the church. … We also thought there was a void here in terms of the kinds of arts opportunities available for children in the summer.”

A percussionist who performs frequently with Blue Hill resident Paul Sullivan, Friederich includes in Sunday services an eclectic blend of musical traditions, featuring local artists. He also conducts a traditional Communion service with organ music and traditional hymns on the first Sunday of each month.

Spirit, community, God and soul are not the words that the 18 children who starred in “The Sea Sprite” used to characterize their experience. From the tiniest fiddler crab to the Sea Sprite herself, fun was the word they used most often to describe their encounter with church and the arts.

“I like getting to fly around the room. I have my own song, and the play’s named after me,” said 7-year-old Jacqueline Modesett of Houston. “I like being in this play … better than school plays because this one’s about animals. At school, we mostly do plays about people.”

Another arts camp, at Redeemer Lutheran Church this week in Bangor, drew more than 50 children.

Called “Building a Peaceable Kingdom,” the production included dance, music, sculpture, painting, assemblage and even some journaling, according to the Rev. Elaine Hewes, pastor at the Essex Street church.

The church decided to do the arts program instead of the traditional week of vacation Bible school. Only about a third of the children who attended belong to the church, according to Hewes, who hopes that the art camp will become an annual event.

“For a long time, I’ve felt that the expression of faith and art go together really well,” she said. “Art allows God to enter us not just through the brain but through the heart as well. Secondly, we know that kids love art. We want them to love church. This way, they can do both together.”

Hewes added that there’s been a growing awareness among mainstream Christian denominations that there’s a significant relationship between faith and the arts. A few years ago, the United Church of Christ – which is the denomination of many Congregational churches – published a set of books about “imaging” the word as a companion to the lectionary, a list of biblical readings often used in Sunday worship services by Lutherans, Congregationalists and other groups.

“The companion books give examples of poetry, songs, literature and works of art that help explain lessons on any given Sunday,” Hewes said. “When you have a different way in, through metaphor, God enters people in a different way. Art helps them carry out [of church] something tangible and visceral. People come to understand their faith in a deeper way.”

The Rev. Grace Bartlett, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Bangor, started a program called Neighboring Arts. The group has offered occasional classes for children and adults at the Union Street church since early 1999.

Bartlett, 50, is convinced that art is a path to spirituality. An artist herself, the minister earned a master’s degree in sculpture and was an art educator before becoming a minister.

“Art has been a part of the church for centuries,” she said when Neighboring Arts was launched. “I know from my own experience that creating art is a doorway to one’s soul. Art allows healing to happen, brings people together and creates bridges, which creates community.”

“Into the Arts,” a summer drama and arts camp, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 29-Aug. 9 at Trinitarian Parish Church, Main Street, Castine. Participants, 7 and older, will create and perform an original drama based on the history of Castine. Call 326-9486.