C.cada Art Show

C.cada (Cornerstone Christian artist’s day apart) was begun in an effort to give artists from every genre an opportunity to come together to discover, develop, and deploy their talents in ways that will better the church and the community.

This is our church’s artistic community and on Saturday Oct. 20th we  pooled our resources to put on our second annual art show.

Work by Wendy Brouillet

Various works by Charlotte Dorais

Our prayer shawl ministry set up a display. They have sent out almost 400 shawls to the sick across the globe this year!

Lion by Sandy Freeman

This year our goal is to break out into the community. God has told us to “Build the audience”. So we are taking the message of Jesus into the highways and hedges through the artistic media! Let’s see what fun we can have this year shall we?

Here’s a promo for one of our worship bands…If you would like these guys to come minister for your event contact them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/1OneDesire?fref=ts

Various works by Kenneth Knowlton

various works by Lisa Johnson

Our artists have put together a calendar for 2013. They make great Christmas gifts!

If you would like to purchase a calendar you can do so on-line by going to http://www.cornerstoneag.net Go to the “Giving” section of the site and click on “E-giving”. Select “Guest Transaction”.  Then in the “other” section list “C.cada calendars” and fill out the amount. Calendars are a donation of $15.00 and $5.00 for shipping.  Then leave me a comment or a facebook message to let me know that you have bought one so I can send it right out to you!

C.cada will be running a free beginners keyboarding class open to the local community starting after the holidays. For more information e-mail me at pjlillie.1@juno.com

If you want more information on C.cada or you would like to join us for one of our days apart you can contact me at pjlillie.1@juno.com

C.cada Update August 2012

I was looking back at some of our community posts from a year ago. So much changes in a year! Our name has changed from C.C.A.C. (Cornerstone Christian Artists Community) To C.cada (Cornerstone Christian Artist’s Day Apart) and we have streamlined our vision from: Pray, plan and perform to Encourage, equip and activate.

Through every change God has been faithful to move us as a community forward into what He has for us in ministry. The goal is to use art to build the kingdom.

In our morning discussion this month the question was asked, “What is creativity?”

Here are some of the definitions we came up with.

Using common things to produce uncommon results.- Mike Murphy

What happens when the mundane becomes unacceptable -Don Haas

I love these! So much in life rises to stymie our creativity. But one of the greatest hindrances to the Christian creative flow is focusing on results before obedience. When we focus more on the result than on our obedience to the inspiration of God we usually end up bottle-necked by fear or lost in selfish pride. But if we can somehow suspend  our worry about the endgame and turn our eyes to obey the heavenly vision then we will end up in artistic victory!

Here are some artistic victories from this month.

SKY VBS- You may remember many of our artists helped construct the VBS set and worked with the 170 plus children who showed up for the week of day camps. We saw forty children give their hearts to Jesus this year.

C.cada worship board- This month’s art board,”Portrait of a Family” was created by Sandy Freeman

 

 

 

 

 

Worship leading opportunities- I was invited to lead worship at the local visiting nurses day program and my daughter Amanda and I were privileged to minister in music for a week at the Connecticut Special Touch Getaway.

National Fine Arts- One of our very own Lillian Lapoint was invited to sing at the Assembly of God National Fine Arts Festival in Kentucky! Congrats Lillian! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can hardly believe all that God is including us in! We are truly blessed!

How has God included you in His blessing this month?

 

C.cada Update July 2012

Warm Summer

We have certainly gotten a lot done this month artistically!

Last month I posted some of the work of Charlotte Dorais which will be show-cased in our annual art show coming up in October.

I got a jump on some  photography. “Warm Summer” is now framed and I am working on another called “Lost in the Windmill”. Added to the “Broken Branches” photos I should have a pretty good portfolio to put up by October.

This month Charlotte worked with some of our up- and- coming artists on VBS sets which we will also display as “art in ministry” pieces at the show.

Musically we are putting together a number of instrumental quartets and duets. Our vocalists are also doing some great work.  If anybody wants to come for the show it’s Oct. 20th.  Mark your calendars. We will be displaying the art work of:

Charlotte Dorais

JE Lillie

Wendy Brouillet

Lisa Johnson

Sandy Freeman and hopefully Jason Blanchard

Musically we will be listening to original compositions by Clayton Phelps

Jon Bauver and One Desire

Throughout the day music will be made by:

Cornerstone Choir:

Cornerstone worship team

Sandy Freeman, Debby Maciowrowski, JE Lillie, Jody Clapp

The Young Cornerstones

Lillian Lapoint

Poetry readings will be given by Garrick Brewer:

Does it sound like fun? Let me know if you would like to travel across the world to visit. We’ll make it a special trip!

C.cada Update June

Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days – when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when your out of options, when the pain is great – and you turn to God alone.- Rick Warren
From the album “Broken Branches” JE Lillie

C.cada is our church artist community. We meet once a month to pursue our art and encourage one another in the work for Christ. Here are some of the things we have finished this month.

The Three Sisters- From the album Broken Branches- JE Lillie

All of our artists do double duty, making money at things other than their art work. Charlotte Dorais (pronounced Doray) is our church administrator. This is a picture of her private studio. In the background you can see a mural she has done for our upcoming VBS, “Sky”.

Here are more of Charlotte’s original works.

Stolen Mountains By Charlotte Dorais

Port Porpoise ME by Charlotte Dorais

Nova Scotia Harvest by Charlotte Dorais

Nova Scotia Sheaves by Charlotte Dorais

If any of this inspired you rise up and pursue your art! God put the passion inside of you to be used. Take the time to bring Him glory!

C.cada Update April

I love this “Hand in Hand” piece by Sandy Freeman. I am not sure if that is what it is called. But it fits don’t you think? Here’s another piece that was finished for this month’s C.cada community meeting. It’s by Lisa Johnson. What would you entitle it?

I am so excited that each month new work is being brought forth. We are now discussing what is the best way to show our work. Who knows maybe we’ll start the C.cada museum and center for Christ Centered arts!

Here is the piece our C.cada choir worked on this month. They sounded awesome! I however massacred the accompaniment. 😦 Looks like it’s time to get back to practicing!

C.cada Update

Holy Week is upon us! C.cada, our church’s artist community, is getting ready to minister  for Good Friday and Easter services. Our choir is doing a choral medley of the two songs listed below. Clayton Phelps, one of our guitarists, has written a Gethsemane piece for Friday night. I can’t wait to sing it with him! 🙂

After I play piano for Good Friday and Easter services I am making dinner for Mom and the girls. What are your Easter plans?

C.cada Artists Gathering March

C.cada’s artists are busy about the work of the kingdom! Yesterday one of our new choreographers met with nine children from our kids church to rehearse a sacred dance. Later in the afternoon the space was used by a twenty voice choir to practice for an upcoming work in the nursing home. Space booking is getting a little tricky. I miss my sister who is a whiz at space control and time scheduling!

This month I wanted you to see some of the work we are doing in graphic design.

Here is a piece by one of our portrait artists, Lisa Johnson. It is a portrait of her grandmother who at the moment is preparing to walk into the arms of Jesus.

Lis a keeps telling me how she is desperately trying to break into other art forms. Yet she keeps getting drawn back to the faces of people.

 

 

 

 

 

I have just started working on a photo project called “Broken Branches”

 

Sandy Freeman another of our portrait artists has been working on our invitational card project. Below is a concept for a Mother’s Day invite.

What is God calling you to do with your artistry?

C.cada Weekend

Yesterday was our monthly meeting of C.cada, Cornerstone’s artist community. I am so excited by what is happening through this fledgling group of musicians, painters and poets!

This month we began our spring choir and spring instrumental groups. They are getting ready to minister in our church and in a community concert sometime in May.

Meanwhile our graphic artists and poets are working on an outreach program designing  greeting cards to minister to people in our community, and one of our artists

is working on a painting to be sold at a Teen Challenge auction.

The ladies who work in fabric, our prayer shawl ministry, just sent 30 prayer shawls to India to minister to ladies being set free from human trafficking! Hallelujah!

And two of our musicians are working on music projects hoping to go to recording soon!

I am so humbled by what God has done with us in less than a year! Thank you Jesus! May Your kingdom be built! May souls be won!

Here is one of the songs we will do for our spring concert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgQ98x1CAF4

The C.C.A.C. Vision (There’s a Hurricane A’Comin!)

     

       Last Saturday we held our second monthly gathering of the Cornerstone Christian Artist’s Community. We had twenty artists in attendance throughout the day. As we awaited the arrival of Hurricane Irene, I had an opportunity to sow out the community vision.

     There is a hurricane coming on our nation. It’s a force that is going to reshape our culture: physically, emotionally, socially, and economically. In its wake Christians are called to respond in three steps: We are called to Pray; We are called to Plan; We are called to Perform.

Pray:

          In this cultural hurricane we must come to understand we cannot save the whole world. That is a task beyond us. Praying things like: “God don’t let anything bad happen to anyone anywhere.” Or “Dear Jesus save the whole world.”, while noble are a waste of breath. Our prayers must be “eyes wide open and heart exposed” so to speak. We have to come to it that we are in the end times. Things will be difficult. Bad things will happen. People will be lost. That doesn’t leave us hopeless though. It leaves us with the need to be specific. We aren’t called to save the world. We are called to defend our part of it. So let us pray specifically: “God save my son.”; “God show me how to fund this art project or that music project.”; “God show us how to raise our church missionary budget.”; “God strengthen my pastor and the pastor’s of my town.”; “God show us how to minister effectively so souls will get saved.” In prayer we have to stop losing the trees because of the forest.

Plan:

     As we begin to pray specifically God will give us His plans for the things we pray about. Inklings will begin to enter our minds…ideas of what we could do and how. We need to write down these God-given goals and plan how we intend to reach them step by step.

Perform:

     Finally we have to do our part. When once God has given us the vision, we have to begin to carry it out trusting that God will meet us each step of the way.

Cornerstone Christian Artist’s Community,  is a vision born out of specific prayer. It has been seen that the hurricane will affect the arts in two ways: As the economy dries up so will public funding of the arts. As the spirit of Antichrist rises the tide of wickedness in the arts will rise with him.

    The church has the answer to these issues. C.C.A.C. is that answer:

1.Our goal will be to influence the arts in our region for Christ, through our artist’s days apart, by providing a place where artists can come and practice their disciplines in a healthy, peaceful environment based in a Kingdom culture.

2. Our goal will be to provide training, through our artist’s days apart, so that artists may grow and excel in their craft.

3. Our goal will be to provide an opportunity for artists to display their gifts in two yearly art shows and in church settings where appropriate.

4. Our goal will be to bring the artists to the attention of church ministries in order to raise up the next generation of church artists should Jesus tarry.

     Perhaps we cannot fix everything in the world but with God’s help we can rebuild our corner of it!

What has God told you to do in your corner of the world?

Artist’s Day Apart!

    Last Saturday our artist community was born!

    It was awesome!

   The time has come to breathe God back into the arts, to create a culture of worship to Him through them. 

      I believe that Christian artists need time and peace to create. So on Saturday we turned the church into an artist’s playground.

     Almost thirty artists from varying disciplines gathered to dedicate the day to God and His creation.   

     Rev. Brenda J. Lillie opened the day with a devotion regarding the artist’s need to draw creativity from the Creator rather than from the well-spring of flesh.

 In the morning our painters and sketch artists embraced the out doors under canopies. 

    Then hid from the afternoon heat while painting our monthly still life

     We opened our doors to wood carvers.

and instrumentalists.

Singers sang in choirs. Actors came to put together performance art. We had songwriters  and poets too!

     The goal of our artist’s day apart is three-fold:

1. To provide artists with a space in which they can practice their skills and seek God for inspiration.

2. To provide artists with an opportunity to create with outreach in mind. Our work and witness will be displayed for the community in an October art show entitled “Falling into Jesus”.

3. To raise up the next generation of artists within our community of faith.

     To that final end the main stage was given at day’s end to our youth worship team. Our youth worship leader has been charged with writing an original worship set.

I can’t wait to hear the finished product!