Wesley Brainard, director of CHARAKTER, Ministry of the Arts, was a featured presenter at the June 2003 Baptist Church Music Conference in Shreveport, Louisiana. Mr. Brainard, a classically trained mime, performed in several worship settings and presented his thoughts on worship arts in a special session.

Wesley graduated with honors from the Marcel Marceau School of Mime—a three year program of study designed and taught by Marcel Marceau in Paris, France. He holds a Masters Degree from the Oral Roberts University Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with thesis research in "The Performing Arts in the Christian Church." He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Youngstown State University.

Wesley has taught extensively for groups at Oral Roberts University, Impact Productions' cast of "The Masterpiece: A Toymaker's Dream," Life Church (formerly MetroChurch) in Edmond, Oklahoma (home of "The Bride").

Mr. Brainard's presentations at the Church Music Conference included mime, music interpretation, and a recitation and dramatic portrayal of the entire book of Luke, which he has also presented in France, having memorized the book in the French language, as well as English. He also has memorized and portrays the book of Acts.

Speaking to the conference, Brainard emphasized that the goal of his ministry is to bring the arts back into the church in a powerful way, both to augment and enhance worship services and to use as an outreach tool. Since young people are usually the most eager to be involved in such programs, he sees the opportunity to mentor and train as one of our greatest challenges and responsibilities. He encouraged us to take time to shape leadership and draw in participants so that they may find every possible avenue to serve God.

Wesley's style of mime presentation, as taught by Marceau, is very poetic, but very lyric. It tells a story, clearly revealing the thoughts and feelings of the characters and making a strong point as a result. More and more churches are using such presentations in worship, outreach, and missions, according to Brainard. Wordless presentations are an effective tool in international settings, since verbal communication may be limited. He sees a great increase in the blending of elements such as mime, video, music, and drama, and cautions leaders to plan and prepare well in order to reap positive results.

CHARAKTER, Ministry of the Arts, may be contacted at: PO Box 700202, Tulsa, OK 74170-0202; 918-447-0339 or toll Free at 877-868-3105;

www.charakter.org