Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on May 28, 2011
Some folks have been after me for a long time, saying I should have more of a “video presence” on YouTube and so on. The world of video, at this point, is rather beyond my comfort zone, and has not been a priority for me… But some friends from Fraser Lake Camp contacted me a while ago, wanting to make a short video… so here it is. These folks (John Wideman, of Ode Productions, and Scott Eyre and Eric Musselman) really know what they’re doing and, much to my surprise, made it fun. Who knows, maybe after dipping this toe in the water of video, I’ll decide to “take the plunge” someday and do some more with this medium… This particular segment was “cut” to keep it brief, and directly related to camp and how I (and my music ministry) have been impacted by my camp experience. There is the possibility of putting together a different “cut” of the interview, with more on songwriting, and so on… we’ll see (maybe)… Anyway, you can have a look and see what you...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on May 18, 2011
This past weekend’s adult Sunday School class in Wadsworth, Ohio was a new experience for me. The congregation is in the midst of a visioning and discernment process, seeking to have open eyes, ears and hearts for “God’s good plans for us” (Jeremiah 29:11). The pastor and I had put together a plan for the class, where there would be an invitation for people to share their experiences and reflections on what God is doing in their midst, and I would respond periodically with some comments and songs, reflecting on whatever was shared. We started with a brand new song – “Detectives of Divinity” (possibly the title track for the new CD that I’m recording): “We are detectives of divinity, we’re looking all around For signs of God’s activity wherever they are found God is up to something, of that you can be sure So start the investigation, the clues are everywhere…” I had no idea what would happen, or how it would go. But I found it to be a deeply moving time, as people shared about realities in their town, in their congregation, in their own physical bodies… searching and sharing and celebrating together the “signs of God’s activity wherever they are found”… and finding ways to sing those experiences and realities, expressing our openness and desire to see, to hear, to follow. Choosing the right song… A couple of weeks earlier, I had a similar-but-totally different experience. I had been asked to help to plan and lead worship at an international, ecumenical conference on mining, hosted by KAIROS. Preparing for this event was a rich experience in itself – working closely together with two colleagues – one Mennonite, one Catholic – crafting worship experiences for this event. The conference happened on Sunday to Tuesday, May 1-3… and the Canadian federal election took place on Monday, smack dab in the middle. Needless to say, given the KAIROS funding situation that has been unfolding over the past couple of years, there was deep concern at the conference about the implications of a Conservative majority government… In our planning for the rhythm and flow of the worship times over the course of the conference, one of the songs we had chosen for Tuesday morning was this one – “Inspired by Love and Anger.” . This choice was made well in advance of the election and the election results, but it seemed to “hit home” at that time and place in ways that we could not have imagined. Choosing the right song… Since September I’ve been participating in a once-per-month class on the book of Job… taught by this exceptionally excellent prof (who happens to be my brother)… and one of the things that has struck me has been the degree to which the conversation (debate/argument/knock-down-full-out-no-holds-barred-verbal-bout) between Job and the three friends has to do with “choosing the right song.”...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Apr 8, 2011
(The following has been reconstructed from top secret files and the memory of several key agents. Well, one in particular. We have reason to believe it is a reasonably accurate depiction of the sequence of events, if not an exact transcription of actual conversations and timelines. The phone lines and vehicles were not bugged at the time in question.) ——- It all started with a surreptitious call from an elderly secret agent in Donnellson, Iowa. “Hi. Our pastor really likes your music, and we’d like to get her three of your CDs as a baby shower present. We want it to be a surprise. Can you get them out here by the weekend?” Transaction completed. Parcel delivered. Surprise sustained. Mission accomplished. Until… “Hello. I’m a pastor in Donnellson, Iowa. I really like your music. If you’re ever coming through this area, please let us know – we’d love to have you come and do an event with our community.” Operation phase 2, approximately 10 months later… Morning assignment completed. Gathering with local chapter of agents in Iowa City… instructions deciphered from scripture, allegiances reaffirmed, all sent forth to continue the mission… Sustenance attained (compressed energy via stacked noodles in lasagna formation, stimulating conversation, uproarious laughter, new connections and allies in the cause), rolling down the highway en route to rendezvous in Mount Pleasant McDonalds parking lot… anticipating transference of asset to agent in green Buick… Positive identification on green Buick… approach initiated… transfer completed… next rendezvous: Donnellson. Asset hustled into building… more compressed energy via stacked noodles… more conferring and connecting with co-conspirators… equipment checked, materials (digital discs, printed transcriptions) laid out in plain view… operation smalltallsongs awaiting signal, ready for launch… …communication delivered and engaged… multiple agents deputized, equipped, mobilized, dispersed… … subsequent multi-location operations initiated… awaiting further...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Apr 7, 2011
I’ll admit, I was getting nervous before the show in Pueblo, Colorado. A sequence of very large men in cowboy boots and hats had come up to me, saying things like “So you’re the PROFESSIONAL musician! Looking forward to hearing the way the PROS do it…” And so on. Yikes. The place was packed – people were arriving an hour ahead of time to get good seats – and this was thanks to the fact that it was a joint concert with Fireweed, a local bluegrass group (with a sizable and dedicated local following) playing first. They did a fabulous set, which I (and, clearly, the whole audience) enjoyed very much. After a short intermission it was my turn. Just me and my guitar and these simple, simple songs. Gulp. My set went well as well. I was certainly enjoying myself, and I think the audience did too. But I found myself huffing and puffing and struggling to catch my breath between songs. Phrases where I know exactly what my voice can do, but I was running out of air… Partway through the concert I had to apologize to the crowd and say I didn’t know what was going on… I didn’t think I was that out of shape… maybe it was that “slopper” we’d had for lunch at the Sunset Inn (watch this for an introduction to this unmatched Pueblo delicacy that makes poutine look like health food). The audience just smiled knowingly, and someone hollered out “Don’t worry – it’s the elevation!” Ahhh… yes… I hadn’t thought of that… Pueblo is at 4 and a half thousand feet elevation. Now at least I had an excuse. It takes practice, you know, to learn to perform while “high”… For the next three days – with performances in Colorado Springs (6 thousand feet), Lakewood (Denver – the “mile high city”) and Boulder (5 and a half thousand feet) I got used to it… took my hosts’ good advice and drank lots of water (even during performances – not something I normally do)… and though I still got breathless sometimes, it felt really good to sing my songs, for the first time, in the Colorado air… Rocky Mountain High...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Mar 18, 2011
Little did I know, when this tour began with the “Sustainable Food and Farming” conference 3 weeks ago, that the very geography of the tour would serve as a kind of “commentary” on the themes we explored there. I led worship times at this year’s “Sustainable Food and Farming” conference in Laurelville, Pennsylvania. During our worship sessions we spent some time reflecting on God’s “alternative economics,” including a different kind of food and land-use policy being implemented (manna and quails – Exodus 16) and legislated (sabbath, sabbatical, jubilee – Leviticus 25 and 26, a text that vividly links obedience to God’s laws regarding land use to the health and productivity of the land…) As we wrestled with these issues, we explored the stories of Joseph and Daniel, both dreamers and dream-interpreters (visionaries and policy analysts) in the context of empire, embodying different approaches to pursuing “wisdom” in terms of food and food policy. Joseph, who becomes the architect and administrator of the “food policy” of Pharaoh’s Egypt, which we typically consider to be a wise and prudent policy of “food security” that provided food in the midst of famine and saved Joseph’s family… but reading the devastating details of this “food policy” in Genesis chapter 47 prompts a lot of other reflections and questions and analysis (and some remarkable resonance with contemporary realities, including the control of seed). And Daniel who, with his friends, is the subject of the strategy of another empire (Babylon) to co-opt and retrain Israel’s elite, including, significantly, by seeking to change their traditional diet. But Daniel and his friends resist the diet of empire (which, it turns out, is not as healthy as their traditional dietary practices). Again, some remarkable resonances with current realities. From Laurelville I spent a week and a half in southern Manitoba and western Saskatchewan, and then I flew to San Francisco where I spent time in the Bay Area and in Davis… heartland of the “local food” movement for the past 40 years (Alice Waters, et al). These travels (and conversations) provided an interesting geographical counterpoint to Joseph’s granaries and Daniel’s dietary resistance. And then, on Sunday night, I was visiting the Church of the Sojourners, a “live-together church community” in San Francisco, and the topic of reflection that night was… you guessed it… food and food policy, scarcity and enough, Joseph and Daniel, manna and quails… (the person who led the reflection drew on some of the same materials that I had for the sustainability conference – eg: Walter Brueggemann, “The Truth of Abuncance: Relearning Dayenu” – and introduced me to a new one – Daniel Erlander, “Manna and Mercy”). In the midst of my journeys – which have included uncountable potlucks and shared meals with such wonderful people everywhere – the meal and worship time with the Church of the Sojourners seemed to put an exclamation point...
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Posted by Bryan Moyer Suderman on Feb 2, 2011
“Amidst the glut of new worship music, Bryan Moyer Suderman offers a much-needed gift to the church: songs that all ages can sing together that ground us in the Person and Mission of God, and that are infectious in their simplicity. Here is the rare musician who writes songs that young and old (small and tall) will not get tired of singing, whether in the sanctuary, in the car or in the woods. Here are songs for the soundtrack of the Kingdom of God.” Sean Gladding, author of The Story of God, the Story of Us (from Sean’s introduction to the “God’s Love is for Everybody” CD, which went into its 5th pressing this...
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