Retreat Center for Art + Faith

The mission of the Grünewald Guild is to awaken the creative spirit through art, faith, and community.

The Guild community gathers and connects people from around the country and the globe, from the hopeful to the accomplished, artists and theologians in everyday clothes who delight in unique talents and a common mission to share their creative spirit with a world seeking nourishment.

The Guild Community embodies a special sense of hospitality. People are in dialogue with one another and the environment, constantly open to surprise in a place where the sacramental pervades every corner. Through every aspect of our days, we reveal our authentic selves within the context of this community.

For more on the Grünewald Guild in Washington state visit: artfaith.com

CIVA Thoughts

Christians in the Visual Arts, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, is heir to a long and rich tradition. Though the vocation of the artist within the Church has been questioned in recent history, the artist was highly valued in earlier centuries. Christian artists may have been marginalized in the art world by many cultural critics, but they are impacting both the Church and the culture as they live out both their faith and their vision. Where there once existed a gulf of misunderstanding, a bridge of growing trust and mutuality is now emerging. Christian artists are on the threshold of unprecedented opportunities.

In a new millennium, with vastly different media at our fingertips, what exactly is the place of the Christian artist? Are artists salt and light in the secular culture? Are we an alternate voice of God’s revelation in the established Church? Do we live in a tension between the culture and the Church?

At the core of this celebration will be an evaluation of the current state of the arts with a focus on the ways that New Media and the Moving Image can speak to our contemporary culture in relevant and challenging ways.