RockOm

“We have Jewish people. We've had Hindus. We welcome people of all spiritual traditions. We incorporate their traditions to some extent,” Hall said. “We invent our own rituals. We invent our own way of expressing our spirituality. So we're very freewheeling.” RockOm is excited to share with you a story about a Pennsylvania church that has not only grown into a multi-faith site, committed to cross-tradition unity - but also has a strong and unique musical legacy.

Doug Katsaros was only 13 years old when the Rev. Gordon Dragt asked him to play the piano at Pebble Hill Church in Doylestown Township.

“We're atheist,” Katsaros told Dragt then.

“It doesn't matter,” Dragt replied. “It's just all going to be about the music.”

So Katsaros thought of the “churchiest” song he could — “Lady Madonna” by The Beatles — and played it at Pebble Hill Church that Sunday. He stayed and played nearly every Sunday for five years.

Katsaros eventually moved to New York City, where he wrote jingles (“By Mennen” ring any bells?), worked on records and orchestrated and conducted Broadway musicals (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Altar Boyz”). And Dragt eventually moved on to another church.

But Pebble Hill Church remained, and the congregation maintained its love of music and the arts.

And this week, for the church's 40th anniversary, Dragt and Katsaros and the Pebble Hill congregation joined together to dance and sing and celebrate.

“It's wonderful to know that it's still going,” Dragt said. “I'm quite excited about that, and very excited about going back.”

Dragt was 27 years old when the Reformed Church of America bought the property at 320 Edison-Furlong Road and asked him to start a church there.

“I thought to myself, "Well, so what does it mean to begin a new church?' Normally, the process would be you would buy some property, build a building and go about inviting people to come. But I thought that was kind of establishing a new church in an old way,” he said.

“So I thought, "What would it be like to establish a new church?' So that's what we set out to do.”

Dragt and the early members of the congregation built a yellow barn on an existing barn foundation in 1967 and started having church services there in January 1968.

Dragt wanted the Sunday worship service to be a celebration.

With the then 13-year-old Katsaros as musical director, the church had pop music, dance and theater on Sundays.

“I'd play the piano. My brother started playing a little bass. Ed Dannon started playing a little drums. Johnny Phelps started playing a little guitar. We had a violin, a saxophone and a flute. We had a little orchestra. And we would all sort of make stuff up during the service,” Katsaros said.

They wrote, choreographed and sang their own version of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and took the performance to other area churches.

“The church was developed from the beginning to be what we called a public church — a church that was very much involved in the community,” Dragt said.

So the church also had musical performances on Friday nights for the local junior high kids, coffee houses for the local teenagers and concerts throughout Central Bucks.

Then Dragt started bringing Arthur Hall and the Afro-American Dance Ensemble from Philadelphia to Pebble Hill a few times a year to perform. And the Pebble Hill congregation would go to Philadelphia to celebrate Kwanzaa with the group.

“It was just an eruption of color and energy on this Central Bucks scene,” said Pebble Hill pastor and celebration coordinator Larry Hall, who was the Central Bucks reporter for The Intelligencer at the time.

The church got involved in protesting the Vietnam War.

And later, in 1974, Dragt performed his first gay commitment ceremony at Pebble Hill.

“That was before people even had that on their minds, especially people in Central Bucks. That kind of became an issue,” Dragt said.

“But Pebble Hill during that time became very much a welcoming place, not only in multi-racial, but in multi-sexual orientation, as well. People were very welcome to be open and so that ended out to be part of our ministry that was unintentional.”

Dragt said he thinks the church filled a needed niche at the time.

He left in 1979 because he felt the church needed to grow on its own and he needed to grow on his own.

Pebble Hill Church severed its ties with the Reformed Church 11 years after Dragt left and swung in a New Age direction. But it kept the traditions Dragt had started — and added to them.

“We have Jewish people. We've had Hindus. We welcome people of all spiritual traditions. We incorporate their traditions to some extent,” Hall said. “We invent our own rituals. We invent our own way of expressing our spirituality. So we're very freewheeling.”

That's one of the things Gail Rocke, of Coopersburg, loves about the church.

“We celebrate all of the faiths. You don't know if you're going to show up and it's going to be a Celtic ritual or a Native American presentation or a Hindi ritual,” she said.

“We are all children of God,” Hall said. “And we want to help one another to fully realize who we were put here to be in a loving context.”

Asked what he thought of the church's current direction, Dragt said, “That's not exactly the direction that I would be in. But we need a variety of religious experiences and I think they fulfill that.”

[By Christina Kristofic. Article originally posted to The Intellegencer and PhillyBurbs.com]

One of the best known composers of music for prayer and worship, Dan Schutte counts “Here I Am, Lord,” “City of God” and “Sing a New Song” among his celebrated works from years of collaboration with the St. Louis Jesuits. Now liturgists, musicians and communities seeking a renewal of faith through music and prayer are discovering the inspiring power of a concert or workshop with Schutte.

“While my evening events are often advertised as a concert, they are quite different from most concerts,” says Schutte. “At the conclusion of these evenings, people often comment that they feel like they’ve been on retreat. I’m glad when that’s what they experience. These ‘concerts’ are a combination of music, stories and reflections on our common journey of faith.”

Schutte’s music continues to be part of the standard repertoire for Christian worship worldwide. He is one of the best-known, most prolific and influential composers of Catholic music for the liturgy. Table of Plenty, an anthology of favorite Schutte songs published from 1985 to 2000, is slated for release in the fall.

“A Dan Schutte concert unites generations in song,” says Ken Canedo, youth ministry advisor for Holy Trinity Church in Beaverton, Ore. “Today’s teens are still singing ‘Here I Am, Lord’ and ‘City of God,’ just like their parents did. Dan’s spirituality and musicianship ground the event, but he also knows when to step back and let his audience carry the singing.”

“We attach graced memories to Dan Schutte’s songs: First Communion, Confirmation, youth ministry, weddings, RCIA,” continues Canedo. “An audience walks home from his concerts with new memories as the People of God united in song.”

These events are rare opportunities to tap into the experience of an award-winning liturgical music legend. Worship communities interested in booking Schutte for a concert or workshop should contact OCP Events at 1-800-548-8749 or events@ocp.org.

About OCP
OCP (www.OCP.org), a not-for-profit publisher of liturgical music and worship resources based in Portland, Oregon, has been in operation for more than 80 years. Worship programs produced by OCP are used in two-thirds of Catholic churches in the United States and are distributed worldwide.

We've got some great new content to bring to you this week!

First off, this week's Featured Track of the week is from an outstanding Chicago-based band called Funkadesi. See the bottom right corner of the homepage to listen to their track "Makhana" and to groove to one of the "danciest" tracks you've heard all day.

Secondly, check out the audio from RockOm's August Featured Interview with Trevor Hall on our Podcast page. Perhaps you have taken time to read the article - now listen in on the actual audio, straight from the mouth of Trevor.

Lastly, we've got some great articles ready to share with you this week. Check back in over the next few days for some exciting and cool blog posts that you're really going to want to check out.

Enjoy!

"Makhana"

Funkadesi

www.funkadesi.com
www.myspace.com/funkadesimusic

Funkadesi proudly hails from Chicago, representing the diverse multi-ethnic communities within the city. What distinguishes Funkadesi as a group is each band member's unique and uncompromised cultural/musical contribution merging to create one unifying sound and vision. Funkadesi's one-world sound, roots-watering vision, and positive vibe makes for a unique and compelling musical force.

About Makhana: "This is an invitational lovesong where 'makhana' means 'like butter,' and is a very affectionate word for one's lover. The song is basically saying: 'My butterball, my beautiful, my beloved -- come with me!' The inspiration was to celebrate love in an invitational, flirtatious way!" (Rahul, Funkadesi)

Click to Play!

Native American drums are arguably the most used American Indian instruments among Native Americans and non American Indian people alike. Drums for many generations have always been at the center of Indian lifestyle, forming what has become the platform of religion and spirituality as well as special days where a pow wow drum is center stage.

Indian people in North America history have all used drums in various ways to interact with a higher power known to most as the Great Spirit. To Native people, Indian drums are much more than just decorations or nice musical instruments. American Indian drums are believed to speak to the drummer. Native drums being made in a circle represent the earth and life. The most recognizable being hoop drums and shaman drums which are Indian hand drums used in many personal healing and religious ceremonies as well as public ceremonies such as a Native American powwow.

The skin of the animal that is placed over the ring brings with it unique characteristics of the spirit of the animal and brings a sense of life to the drum when played. Many people think of pounding a drum to make a sound, but to Indian drummers and those involved in modern drumming groups and drum circles, the desire is to draw out the sound. The beating drum is compared to the beating of a human heart and is said to represent the heart beat of the earth which is a belief that is classic Native American. Drums in this way become the platform to connect one's spirit with that of the earth and the Great Spirit through out the history of American Indians.

Native American Indian drums have a beautiful culture and because they are so important they are used in not only music but art and dance as well. Adding decoration to a drum becomes a very personal job to the owner. The Indian drummer becomes an artist and communicates impressions of his inner feelings and beliefs in his Indian art. Some American Indian tribes use images of animals to personalize their drums and others use geometric patterns and everything in between. In some tribal Indian cultures the drummer will place something of personal value inside the drum to permanently join himself with his hand drum.

The different Native American icons that the artwork on the drums depict is often painted with natural earth colors taken from nature. Some are dull and others are bright coming from flowers, roots, berries, bark or herbs that are boiled to release their unique earth tones. Other Native American drums are adorned with iron oxide which is a naturally occurring red rock that can be easily crushed. When mixed with water, it produces a rich orange red dye that is much like paint and is indicative if the surrounding hillsides and rock formations like those of the beautiful Arizona red rock canyons. The region of Sedona is thought to be a special place with spiritual power like the energy created by American Indian drums.

The goal of Native American Education except for those Indian boarding schools that have tried to stamp out Native culture has always involved the sharing of beliefs through music, songs, stories and legends. It is in harmony with these forms of learning that the communication and cultural importance has been found in the use of drums. If you are interested in the spiritual aspects of life as pertain to Indian beliefs, you would enjoy using and playing Native American drums.

[By Craig Chambers. Craig is the director of Mission Del Rey and offers free information online about buying Native American drums for Native ceremonies and drumming groups. For more information visit http://www.missiondelrey.com]

When you think of Native American music, do you only think of the old Westerns that depicted drums and dancers around a campfire? Not only is that extremely stereotypical, it is just wrong.

Native American music today is still rooted in the music of the flute, and yes, the drums, but it is so much more than that! It is given through emotions. Native American music still showcases these as the key instruments that carry the tune; however, often you will find that many other instruments are also giving the piece more depth and power.

There are many more traditional recording artists still working on the songs of their and their forefathers youth, gently evolving them with time. There are also many new groups that have taken the traditional music and built upon it to create new, equally as beautiful and meaningful pieces of music that are a delight to hear.

Native American flute music has stayed extremely popular over the years, defying the trend to move toward a more worldly style. It is often accompanied by vocals but generally little else as the flute creates music that is transcendent all by itself.

Drums and other percussion instruments are still as important today as they ever were. They carry the tempo with their varying beats.

The most important part of Native American music, though, is the vocals. With its elastic nature you will find yourself following the complexities that create some of the most emotional music you will ever hear. It will take you on a journey through your own soul to find who you are. When paired with the flute, it creates timeless peace and tranquility. As the forefront of a group or band, it is the vocals that catch and hold your attention, whether it is in a Native tongue or not.

Powwow music seems to be the most popular second to the flute. It surrounds itself with the beating of the drum and the voices chanting in rhythm. It is the base music for dancing, often accompanied by the beat of the bells or jingles on the dancers garments.

Voted the Best Native American Music Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards was an album by Johnny Whitehorse called Totemic Flute Chants. This album gives you a way to work with your animal guides with twelve songs such as Bear, Wolf, Earth Mother and nine more.

Robert Mirabal is another popular Native American artist producing many stunning works in both the traditional sound with his native tongues, Tiwa, and also in English. He is an accomplished flutist, vocalist, and percussionist who is showcase in his works.

Dave Wolfs Robe is not only extremely talented, but he is also well known for many of his projects aimed to bring flute history and share the culture with many people. He is bringing the issues of the Native American people to the forefront such as the environment and how it is affecting indigenous peoples. He has produced three CDs and is bringing the fourth to culmination. He has had his music included in the Devil's Tower National Park CD and is hoping to broaden knowledge and peace, compassion and healing through the music of his flute.

Mary Youngblood has been playing music for more than twenty-five years and was the first Native American woman to record an album of music from the sacred flute. She has won numerous awards including a Grammy in 2003 for Beneath the Raven Moon. Mary has been classically trained on several instruments but is well known as the Premiere Native American female Flutist.

This is a short collection of the more traditional compositions in Native American music today with a few of the more prominent artists. Please keep in mind there are ever so many more and the list is rapidly growing daily in every genre from traditional to heavy metal and rap. Professional Native American musicians have had years since traditional music has been the only form they've played and enjoyed.
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By Linda Silvas, Juaneno Band Of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation
Owner/Manager - American Indian Tours, LLC., dba Pacific Northwest American Indian Tours
http://stores.ebay.com/littletreesgallery
http://www.mamabearbabybear.com
(888-224-7039)

I don't quite know what it is about the Trance genre of electronica music but it always brings me into a beautiful state of meditation. It is relaxing yet energized at the same time, a synchronicity of sensations without one overpowering any other.

Music is an ever-patient and present teacher that guides me in my many forms of meditation. It pulls me up out of my ego into a place of beautiful nothingness where everything is possible. All channels are open to my heart and I flow effortlessly in the present moment as if I was being softly cradled on my back in the vast, endless clear blue ocean. Then the present moment shifts as the music lifts me softly but methodically up into the vastness of space where I find myself again floating - however, this time in a field of purple effervescent light that wraps me in warmth as my thinking is suspended and I just exist or do not exist. It does not really matter as thoughts can not describe this moment or any moment for that matter. I'm not even sure how I'm writing this post right now to tell you the truth.

All "things" and descriptions fall apart to reveal the "real reality" - where the beautiful, silent yet powerful lotus of Nirvana pushes through the confusing layers of mud that is the ego to bloom in the clear light of Oneness. In this present moment where the union of body, space and mind are realized I find true freedom.

Music is a great teacher that penetrates the crust around our heart that is formed by our delusions, to reveal our inner Buddha-nature - but only if we allow it to work its healing energy. It is like a gentle but constant breeze that refreshes our true Self if we only open the windows to our very being and let it fill our lungs and bring us home to where we always were--the present moment. With new eyes we realize that the present moment and Nirvana are not separate.

Will you open the doors of your heart and let it in or let it pass you by again as you waste away in chasing the winds of delusion? I know for myself that I am tired of chasing after the vapor trails of an illusion.

~Peace to all beings~

[By James Ure. James is a Western Zen Buddhist who writes at "The Buddhist Blog" - thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com ]

One of this morning's front page headlines reads "Hip-hop artist Nas protests Fox coverage of Obama." Whether you consider Nas as right or wrong, speaking truth or propagating prejudice, making a positive impact or simply promoting his new album, it is an example of a musical artist being an agent of change in the world - as many are wont to do.

Though, as a country, the United States tries to be very deliberate about the separation of "church and state," the line between spirituality and politics is blurred at best, and often completely overlapping. After all is justice a spiritual issue or a political issue? How about race relations or equality issues? Consider the Jewish prophets and their call for justice or the Tao Te Ching's instructions for governing the people. Especially considering musicians' causes and benefits, spirituality and politics are bound to intersect.

Politics are almost always divisive - but then again religion can be the same way. Since RockOm is about bridging the gap between religious and spiritual backgrounds, can the same not also happen with politics?

So today, let's use artist Nas' headline as a launching pad to discuss RockOm's coverage of politics.

RESPOND: How much do you feel a site about "music and spirituality" should dabble in political issues? Where is the line in your opinion? Or respond to other questions posed in the post above.

A new podcast is now available featuring an interview with Shahram Shiva - Rumi translator, performer and author. Take a listen as the performer behind this week's RockOm Featured Track of the Week shares about his album Rumi: Lovedrunk. Click here to listen to or subscribe to the Podcast.

If you are a fan of old time folk or the music of John Mellencamp, his new album Life, Death, Love, and Freedom is a must. Mellencamp unapologetically combines religion and politics with a grit that rhymes with the [Bible's] gospels.

In his song "Troubled Land," he makes allusions to Paul's thorn in the side [2 Cor. 12:7-10] and the road to Emmaus story [Luke 2413-35]. Over and over again he repeats, "Bring peace to this troubled land."

Many of the songs are wisdom literature: telling us how life is, brooding over death and life, hope and despair. Some are apocalyptic and eschatological. In the song, "Without a Shot" he talks about the house that may very well fall without a shot. Here are some of the lyrics:

So we think that forgiveness
Is a God given right
And equality for all
Is just a waste of our time
With our nickel-plated Jesus
Chained around our necks
Handing out verses of scripture
Like we wrote it down ourselves

Respect that we once had
Went up the water spout
Tried to keep it secret
But the secret was found out
Got to thinking high and mighty
Like everything was a lock
Some now say this house
Can be taken without a shot

So the hole gets dug deeper
With every wedding bell
And we sell each other down the road
‘Til there’s nothing left to sell
And slowly but surely
We disappear without a trace
We point our fingers at each other
Say what the hell happened to this place

Without a shot

Whether the house is the House of Windsor, Tudor, Bush, Clinton, or even Obama, I think Mellencamp points to the symptoms of living in Empire. Empire is not sustainable. I believe the arc of God (Jefferson said "moral universe", Dr. King said "history") is long, but it bends toward justice. When the universe is created, sustained, and inspired by justice, Empire is not sustainable. And Mellencamp, as any good prophet, puts before us the signs of the times.

The final song on the CD is one that moves from despair to hope: "A Brand New Song." In this transitional time for me and for my family, I hope the meaning of that song becomes real. In that song he sounds almost as if he is trying to impersonate Bob Dylan, and just maybe, he is very close.

[By Rev. Mike Mulberry - a Spiritual Director and ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ who blogs at flatandfertile.blogspot.com . If you are interested in Rev. Mike's Spiritual Direction services, click here .]