It’s been said that music is one of the world’s unifying factors, that it can bring together diverse groups of people. That’s the philosophy behind Fourth Fridays, a free arts series taking place monthly at Christ Lutheran Church in Pacific Beach. Presented by Music Serving the Word Ministries, each month a new show, ranging from spoken word to jazz, is presented.
“We made a connection with Music Serving the Word Ministries through a former pastor George Carlson, who was involved with Pacific Media Ministries making films for the Hallmark channel and so on,” said Pastor Richard Rollefson.
Today, the ministry houses its media relations offices at the church with its music operations out of Arizona. The series continues on Friday, March 28, with Drama Serving the Word, featuring actor Jay Hornbacher performing “Into the Darkness, Into the Light.”
Future shows include a Sacred Music Concert with baritone soloist Charles Johnson on April 25 and jazz combo Inner Journeys Trio on May 23. The latter, with acclaimed jazz pianist/keyboardist Bob Ravenscroft; bassist Dwight Kilian; and Rob Moore on drums promises to be particularly engaging, featuring multimedia accompaniment, including projections by Mario Barnabe and spoken word passages.
“What we really intend here is to be a place where there is a variety of artistic expressions and a variety of musical genres as well,” Rollefson said.
“The arts are really important to us here. We really think that creativity is closely linked to spirituality. By giving people opportunities to hear or see a variety of artistic expressions, particularly in a setting where you can interact with the artists, it’s our intent to bring people closer together,” he said.
According to Rollefson, the shows are geared to appeal to both secular and nonsecular audiences.
“It’s meant to be an all-ages arts showcase, with no cover to allow the most people to see and take part in the experience,” he said. “On the one hand there is a religious perspective to this, through the Serving the Word ministries, but on the other it’s good music and an entertaining show, especially the multi-media events.”
San Diego music fans will be happy to know that in addition to this series and sporadic other music events, plans are under way for even more to be on offer. The church’s courtyard area is to be renovated to be a better-utilized public space. Among the activities planned for the new area is a series of what Rollefson calls “house concerts.”
“These will be smaller intimate performances, of the folk or acoustic variety. We have a bookstore in that spot already and plans for an expanded cafeteria, so everything will complement the other activities in the area,” he said.
Rollefson said he feels that these changes will be a boon to the community.
“It’s our vision for the future, the exchange of ideas and conversation,” he said. “We’re hoping that the courtyard as a public space becomes a place where people can come and take part in that.”
For his part, Rollefson is thrilled with the idea of offering music programs to the masses.
“Our intention is really to open ourselves up to the community and have additional assets for everyone.”
He’s clear that despite the show’s settings, this is not necessarily a church event but rather merely being neighborly.
“It’s not so much that we hope that people might consider joining the church from things like this,” he said, “but rather that we would like to be a presence in the neighborhood, and be a place where good things happen.”
Fourth Fridays takes place on Friday, March 28, at Christ Lutheran Church, 4761 Cass St. Admission is free and open to all ages. For more information visit www.christpb.org.