Ann on Sabbatical

Ann on Sabbatical

At the end of April, CCS program staff member Ann Naylor went on sabbatical.  She will be taking time for reflection and research — particularly into the relationship between image, music, and theology — until mid-July (followed by a couple weeks of holiday). During her absence, Ted and Maylanne will take over responsibility for students that Ann had a primary relationship with.

Here’s what Ann says about her sabbatical plans…Reflect. Act. Be Transformed.

Sabbatical is a time for reflection, a time to refrain from routine activities, a time to be renewed and transformed, a time to step back, to engage the world from a vantage point not accessible in the “ordinary times”, to explore ideas that will expand and enhance ministry, to pay attention to the overlooked, the hidden.

During this time of sabbatical leave, I want to take seriously the mandate to rest and the mandate to explore, to be transformed. I want to pay particular attention to music and images and their power to transform.

Music and image offer vision, energy, hope. They name truth, tell a story, make visible that which words alone cannot do. They evoke and provoke. They reveal good news.

Pete SeegerTransformation requires turning. Turning hearts, changing minds, spirits open to gentle breezes and gusts of wind that clear vision, inviting us to see new perspectives not previously considered.

I want to deepen my understanding of the role of image and music in transformation, personal leading to social. In order to accomplish this, I plan to explore and reflect on the work of visual and musical artists whose work is focused on/contributes to transformation.

I also want to explore some of the literature related to:

  • the contribution of music and image to social change; and
  • how music and image can be used more effectively in (theological) education.

 

artwork - crossed matches

Chaz Maviyane-Davies is a Zimbabwean graphic artist