“...But then the sun breaks through. Hope survives. My husband Scott makes me laugh when I get too stressed. Nathaniel, my thirteen year-old, tell me he loves me. Life is good.”
December 15, 2003
And the Light's Still Shinin'
"And the Light's Still Shinin', Mary, Mary, can you see?
And the child you carried carries on the Mystery
God's great promise in a young girl's body
Glory, Glory, Blessed be, blessed be"
“Mary, Mary" from Lay It Down: Images of the Sacred
Dear Friends,
The sun just came out -- a break in our weary, grey weather. It's always amazing to me to see how the light can break through when we least expect it. And we are in need of light in these dark days, when the world seems to be moving towards chaos and destruction.
In this season, I long to keep my heart and mind on a birth. I'd like to ignore the part of the old story about the Slaughter of the Innocents. Yet this week we've learned of the deaths of fifteen Afghan children. There was word that a leader who might threaten power was in their village. Many innocents died.
We usually are not allowed to know their number. Collateral damage. And our young men, broken in body and heart, are shipped home...some of them in "Transport Tubes"-- the military name for coffins. We are not allowed to see their brokenness. Our collective shadow looms large in this season of light.
But then the sun breaks through. Hope survives. My husband Scott makes me laugh when I get too stressed. Nathaniel, my thirteen year-old, tell me he loves me. Life is good.
I'd like to share some other good news.
UCS GRADUATION & EEWC CONFERENCE
First, I've finished my classes, and have submitted my dissertation to my committee, so I'm hopeful that I'll be graduating in June from the University of Creation Spirituality. The dissertation was titled The Bridge Between Earth and Sky: The Spirituality of Voice. The project involved working with at-risk women in a variety of settings with workshops designed to help them recover their creative and physical voices.
I learned a great deal. It's been a long journey, and I'll be forever grateful for the amazing teachers I studied with. That week in June I'll also be at the EEWC Conference which will feature Phyllis Trible, Rosemary Radford Reuther, Carolyn McDade and many other progressive Feminist Christian folks. Here's a link to that conference: http://www.eewc.com
THE GREAT TURNING ROAD SHOW One of my most important mentors these days is Joanna Macy, who was my teacher in August.
The class focused on The Great Turning: The change we are making from an Industrial Growth society to a life-sustaining culture. The class was a road map for hope and empowerment in hard times. During this class, Joanna became familiar with my music and invited me to come along this summer to be a part of The Great Turning Road Show.
And so it shall be!
I'll be on the road for the entire month of May. The Road Show will present workshops, talks and performances for three days in each town. If you'd like the Road Show to come to your area, please check out their site and learn more about it. This adventure will be costly, so I'll be having a fund-raising benefit in April, here in Bellingham, to try to raise money for air fare and other expenses for a month on the road. If you'd be interested in helping to support this effort, please contact me. Here's the link with more information on The Road Show: contact dmosel@igc.org http://www.joannamacy.net/html/great.html
JEN AND KRISTIN My lovely and talented daughters are, at last, releasing their first CD Here's a link to their web site. Check in for date of release and ordering info. http://www.bima.com/jenandkristin.com/ Kristin has just released a new 4-song CD, with a full CD project in the works. You can reach her for more information on her projects at 360-676-1395.
LOCAL 1000, THE TRAVELING MUSICIAN'S UNION I've been elected West Coast Representative to the Executive Board of Local 1000, and I'm looking forward to working with some fine, deeply committed unionists. For those in my musical community who would like to support the union, and who would like to know the ways the union can help you in your work, please give me a call and we'll talk. Here's a link: http://www.local1000.com/
OTHER WORK http://www.lindasongs.com/pages/itinerary.htm. Please visit my itinerary for local and national concerts and workshops. My travels will be taking me to New York, North Carolina, Los Angeles and San Diego, so far. Please let me know if you'd like to sponsor a concert in your area.
NEWSLETTERS My old newsletters are now on line at my web site: www.lindasongs.com Recipes, thoughts, songs, and quotes...enjoy!
FLASH!! Joe Jencks is coming to Bellingham. He'll be giving a house concert at the home of Marie Eaton on Friday, January 9th at 7:30. Marie and I will each offer some songs as well. Joe is a wonderful young singer/songwriter with a well-developed social consciousness that flows through his music. He's the recent winner of theTumbleweeds Festival song contest, and also a new board member of Local 1000. Please call Marie at 671-6371 to reserve a place and for more information.
RECIPES Recently, a columnist from Cecil County, Maryland, Cheri McSpadden, published quite a delightful article about music and food, and ended it with my song, "Sally's Quiche." In it she mentioned another recipe song by Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze. Whoopee! One more song for the collection!
So the Recipe project moves a notch up on my priority list. Please do let me know if you know of songs that contain a full recipe. Also, if you'd like to read the article I'll forward it on to you. My friend Marcia McLaughlin just sent this poem in her Christmas newsletter. I send it with my blessing and my thanks for all you do to bring about The Great Turning.
Love,
Linda
Christmas Is Forever
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace to all,
To make music in the heart.
---Howard Thurman
PS: If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please hit REPLY with the message REMOVE and we'll take care of it. Apologies if you are on this list in error.
Linda Allen