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auction block, and the hush arbors during American slavery.”30 Clark draws upon the work of Barbara Holmes, who explains that “contemplation” is more than engaging in silence or solitude. “Instead, contemplative practices can be identified in public prayers, meditative dance movements, and musical cues that move the entire congregation toward a communal listening and entry into communion with a living God.”31 Thus, it can be reasoned that the arts help to fuel worshipful contemplation that grows our capacity for courage as an act of discipleship. A final example comes from another great pastor and theologian of the Black Church tradition, Howard Thurman, who was a noted seeker of creativity and truth in a religion of dogma and certitude relentlessly attempting to silence voices such as his own. The arts were a critical aspect of both his personal practices of contemplation and his public leadership of worship, as is evidenced by (among many other things) his work as a poet. Thurman’s 1940 poem, “God I Need Thee,” which was later set to music as a communal hymn, is a striking example of the power of art-making as a tool for growing one’s own capacity for courage in leadership that shapes the imaginations of the worshiping community. A spiritual practice of contemplation was stoked through Thurman’s poetic practice, leading to these words that form a personal prayer of dedication that eventually is given voice by an entire worshiping community, thereby stimulating their own imaginative engagement with God and God’s purposes. O God I need Thee When morning crowds the night away And the tasks of waking seize my mind— I Need Thy Poise. O God I need Thee When clashes come with those Who walk the way with me I need Thy Smile O God I need thee When love is hard to see Amid the ugliness and slime I need Thy Eyes O God I need Thee When the path to take before me lies I see it—courage flees I need Thy faith. O God I need Thee When the day’s work is done Tired, discouraged—wasted I need Thy Rest.32
