Playing and praying: How sweet the sound in a musical church
(Reprinted from the Press of Atlantic City, May, 2000)
Twelve years ago, the Rev. Clancy Wilson got an idea. And the idea seemed simple and sane enough at the time, no matter where he was or how he was feeling when it came to him.
"I'm a runner," he explains. "One day, I'm out running on the Boardwalk -- and when you do that, you know that inspirational runner's high you can get? Well, this internal thought came to me: 'Why don't we do jazz vespers?' "
Wilson liked his idea, but he didn't want to get too ambitious with it, especially since he was brand-new at the Ventnor United Methodist Church back then.
Plus he only knew of one other church that ran a jazz-based evening service, and that was in New York City, which just happens to be the jazz capital of the world.
But the pastor thought his church could handle jazz one Sunday night a month, so the Jersey Shore Jazz Vespers started on the first Sunday in May 1988. Jazz stayed a once-a-month service for about eight years, until Wilson noticed two things kept happening to him.
First, people always asked what night was vespers night. Second, one of his bosses kept suggesting that the church should really do its jazz services once a week, not once a month.
So the Jersey Shore Jazz Vespers moved up to every Sunday night in 1996, but still maintained its proud tradition of featuring paid, professional musicians at every service.
And while one night of music a week would be plenty for some churches, it was just a start for this one.
A few months ago, with help and equipment from a former Margate coffeehouse owner named Joe Hill, the church opened the Starfish Coffeehouse in its attached hall on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
The Starfish may make Ventnor United Methodist the only church hall around that's home to an industrial-strength espresso and cappuccino machine. The Starfish also may be the only coffeehouse in history that takes its name from "the Star of David and the Christian symbol of the fish," as the pastor explains it.
And four nights a week may sound busy, but by summer, Wilson expects the Starfish to serve its regular menu of coffee, dessert and smoke-and-alcohol-free entertainment even more often.
But only seven nights a week, and no more.
'A fair and glorious gift of God'
So what's with all the music in this church?
Well, this minister always has believed in music. He joined every marching band and orchestra he could find starting in junior high. He's 58 years old now and he still loves playing his trumpet.
He's a member of the American Federation of Musicians and at least four local bands, although "I'm sort of the last one they call," he said, with a smile. He also plays regularly at the vespers.
"What I've found is that the music programs are a great way of bringing people together," Wilson says, sitting in the church hall on a quiet afternoon. "Because music is the universal language. ... We get Hispanic people, black people, Jewish people, people of every faith -- and people of no faith."
And everyone who shows up for jazz vespers gets a program that quotes Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, on this same subject:
"Music is a fair and glorious gift of God. ... Music makes people kinder, gentler, more staid and reasonable. I am strongly persuaded that after theology, there is no art that can be placed on a level with music."
That may be why Wilson says he's never gotten any argument from Ventnor United Methodist's membership about all these notes bouncing around their church. But he's been careful not to get too creative with Sunday morning services, which cater to "an older congregation that loves its traditional hymns."
"This church has been very supportive," he says. "They trusted my judgment and integrity and I wouldn't do anything to scare them off."
But he has tried to show them the benefits of hosting all this music. Wilson says it always has paid for itself through the audiences' voluntary contributions and a few "substantial donations" from fans of the church's musical mission.
"And the music has created some nontraditional ministries you wouldn't normally associate with the church," Wilson adds.
Take the Jersey Shore Arts and Music Center, which will offer all sorts of lessons to everyone from adults to children. The center is in the church's office building and in the past few years, the headquarters of the local musicians' union also has moved there.
That leads Wilson to "the hope, the goal, the dream" of matching the arts center's students with pros who can become their mentors in the music world.
There are many more ways music has helped this church grow, Wilson adds. Then again, it's fair to say that this church has returned the favor.
He doesn't swear by this, but the pastor has heard this said about the Jersey Shore Jazz Vespers and the musical movement they started:
"Some people say I saved the jazz scene in Atlantic City," Wilson says, smiling again, "without really knowing it."