Newspaper Page Text
Extra
Extra
SPOTLIGHT
Z/y ATLANTA, GEORGIA
MARCH, 1966
A. U. Center Opens
Religious Emphasis
Week
The week of March 7-11
has been set aside for the ob
servance of Religious Em
phasis Week for 1966 in the
Atlanta University Center.
This year’s observance will be
the thirteenth program on a
center wide basic.
During 1953-54 school year,
the six institutions in the
Atlanta University Center
joined together in their ob
servance of Religious Em
phasis Week. The activities for
the week were planned by joint
student-faculty committees.
These committees were headed
by one of the presidents of
the colleges in the center, who
served a term of two years.
This year’s chairman is Dr.
Vivian Henderson, the newly
elected president of Clark
College. The guest speaker for
the Atlanta University Center
will be Dr. Robert Spike, Pro
fessor of Ministry, the Divinity
University of Chicago. Dr.
Spike will center his discus
sions around this year’s theme,
“A Relevant Theology in Mod
ern Society.”
Ernestine Clowers
RELIGIOUS EMPHASIS
WEEK COMMITTEES
On Monday, February 21,
the Spelman College Religious
Emphasis Committee held its
first meeting for this year.
They began to make plans for
this year’s observance to be
held during the week of March
6. Under the directorship of
Rev. N. M. Bates, officers were
chosen and committee assign
ments made. This year’s Chair
man is Michael Purify who
last year served as Co-chair
man. Co-chairman for this year
is Deborah Houston. Cynthia
Smith was chosen to serve as
Secretary, assisted by Sandra
Reese.
Win. Glenesk Brings World
“Way—In” For Spelman
'The arts of man are the ways in which he can express the image of God in himself"
How to Celebrate God
With the Arts of Man
“I don’t think that Christianity should become a habit.
And it can become a habit forming drug—safe in the arms
of Jesus and that kind jazz!
“I think that Christianity is a search for God in the midst
of life. Man, Jesus says, must ask and seek and knock if he
wants to know, to find and to enter the kingdom of God.
“The church should be a place where people can experi
ment and create and approach the mystery of God in many
ways.”
These are the words of the Reverend William Glenesk, of
Spencer Memorial Church on Clinton Street in Brooklyn
Heights, who will be our Religious Emphasis Week Speaker.
On March 8-10 Mr. Glenesk will present three seminars on
theatre, art, and music. In these seminars he will discuss with
various faculty members, using several students to demon
strate, some of the ways in which we may approach the mystery
of God through theatre, art, and music. Despair, tragedy,
doubt, protest, and faith will be shown by Mr. Glenesk to be
embodied in each of the subject areas which he will discuss.
In the field of drama he will discuss outstanding plays pre
sented in our times which have religious significance and
also which point several aspects of our contemporary world.
In the area of art he will relate classical and contemporary
paintings in terms of their religious themes.
Mr. Glenesk’s background includes the study of acting
technique on a professional level with Eva LeGallienne, Uta
Hugen, Herbert Bergnof and Irene Dailey. In addition he has
done serious work in the fields of vocal music and dance.
M. Purify
Members of the Worship
Committee are Barbara Pyatt,
(Chairman), Linda Hammet,
Barbara Anderson, Pamela
Jones, Maxine Hayes, Cheryll
Summers, Jennelle Studgeon,
and Natalja Harris.
Serving on the Seminar
Committee are Alice Hines,
Janice Friend, Carolyn Odom,
Sylvia Cordy, Jane Sampson,
Michon Kyle, Cheryl McCoy,
Cheryl Birchette, Debra Hous-
(Continued on Page 2)
Religious Emphasis Week at Spelman will truly take on
new dimensions this year. The student who is usually apathetic
about such activities as this will be aroused to new levels of
excitement. For the Reverend Mr. William Glenesk, who is
Spelman’s keynote speaker this year, has the reputation of
being able to alleviate any pos
sible apathy toward Christian
ity. Whether it’s by his new
ideas or by his unusual demon
stration of these ideas that he
is able to arouse this interest
is left to the individual to
judge; but one thing upon
which all will agree is that his
new and interesting approach
to Christianity is also a re
freshing one.
The theme which Rev. Glen
esk has chosen to speak on for
the week is “The Way-In
World.” Supporting this theme,
he will demonstrate how re
ligion relates to those things
of our present-day world which
are frequently considered to
be “way-out,” particularly in
the area of the theatre, music,
poetry, dance, and art. Hence,
in his chapel lectures Rev.
Glesneck will treat the con
temporary poets, beat and folk,
including Bob Dylan, the Bea
tles, Ferlinghetti, Pete Seeger,
Woodie Guthrie, Langston
Hughes, and Leroi Jones. Then
he will conduct three evening
seminars to demonstrate the
relevance of religion to each
of the four arts, dance, drama,
painting, and music.
The minister’s preparations
and qualifications for ap
proaching Christianity from
these four areas are quite im
pressive. His theatrical train
ing includes the study with Eva
Le Gallienne, Uta Hagen,
Herbert Berghot and Irene
Dailey. Making an analogy of
man’s predicament to an act
or “. . . like an actor when he
forgets his lines or doesn’t
really know what the play
wright means, but like the act
or, you are still ‘aware’ that
there is a play . . . and a play
wright.”
“In the course of studying
acting, I discovered that I did
not want to go into the theatre.
But, no preacher is worth his
salt if he doesn’t study acting.
There is no excuse for Christi
anity being dull. It has so many
levels and dimensions.”
Having studied dance, Rev.
Glenesk joined Alvin Ailey in
dancing “the Hermit Songs” in
a vesper service in 1964. His
talents extend to nearly all the
arts—he has taken voice les
sons and also plays the piano.
He even paints.
(Continued on Page 2)