Jazz has been called the purest form of democracy in America.
For Metropolitan United Methodist Church in the heart of Detroit it is has been the purest form of creativity weaving together with community the past two-and-a-half years.
There are gatherings at the old Woodward Ave. church every Tuesday evening, but the closest thing to a sermon is Rev. Tonya Arneson’s “Watchword of the Week,” which lasts a grand total of about eight minutes. The other 60-70 minutes are focused on a few snacks shared among friends while taking in some free jazz music from some of the most talented artists in the city.
Started in 2008, 5 O’Clock Rush has grown from somewhat of a curiosity attended by only church members to a weekly gathering that attracts 70-90 people from all over Detroit.
Arneson and Metropolitan Music Minister Andrew Galuska kicked around the idea of starting a free concert series, but they wanted it to be more than just music, something closer to an invitation to engage in relationships that might eventually lead to conversations about faith.
Through a partnership with a local radio station, fliers and word-of-mouth, the gatherings have started to speak for themselves.
Arneson said they are intentional about utilizing performers from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and people are up dancing, clapping, and singing for the 30-35 minutes the performer is on stage each week.
“The artists themselves started talking about it,” Arnerson said. “Young artists in particular began to request the opportunity to do an opening act, figuring that during the half an hour of community time when people are just sitting there, it’s an opportunity to get discovered.”
It helps the churches’ cause that Metropolitan has its own auditorium and a fund that is specifically reserved for local missions. But it has taken plenty of thought and improvising along the way.
“The 5 O’Clock Rush was intended to build upon the idea of the rush hour and we could be kind of a respite for commuters to step out of the traffic for an hour, and then get back into it when things calmed back down around 6 o’clock,” Arneson said. “So it was designed for an hour long so people could be on their way home.”
“It hasn’t been commuters primarily who come though— really it’s more of the jazz aficionados and jazz artists, (including) retired jazz artists, budding jazz artists and a lot of their families.”
Any newcomers are a welcome sight for a church that lost nearly 800 members from 2002-2004, and Arneson said thinking outside the box and being willing to look at different ways of creating “organic faith communities” has been a Godsend.
“This is a downtown church that is experiencing some new vitality by reaching out to the neighborhood, but more importantly by celebrating what’s happening in Detroit and celebrating what it means to be part of this city instead of bashing it,” she said. “As the people of the Good News we’ve just committed ourselves to raise up those qualities in our city, to encourage a sense of community. We’ve really begun some great friendships with each other.”
She said it has been special to see the church support “non-traditional” thinking because they are committed to the message of Jesus, not time-honored conventions.
Arneson does offer her “food for the soul” each week, trying to illustrate a connection between life and faith at the end of each concert.
“A couple weeks ago, I talked about the ‘power of one.’ I reminded them that Niagara Falls is made up on one drop of water. . . plus one drop of water. . . plus one drop of water…” she said. “And when many drops of water move in the same direction powerful things can happen. I acknowledged that none of us can change our city by ourselves — but together we can really make a positive difference.”
5 O’Clock Rush then created a “hunger jar” where people put their spare change each week to make the power of one count for the local food bank.
Arneson said she hopes the faithful conversations and connections will continue to progress, but the music has already made a major statement.
Every 3-4 months the church holds a jazz showcase, with 5-7 artists and groups performing for more than two hours.
There is everything from bassists to piano specialists to some of the best men and women of jazz around. The cost is just $5-7 and between 250-300 people have been showing up to these events.
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