After treating my body to its first Thai massage across town yesterday, I meandered home in the sunshine, passing an organic/local-vore bakery, road-side piles of garbage and old furniture left by hordes of exiting undergrads, a couple of left-over students tanning themselves in their front yard while giving their dog beer, and, just as I crested our hill, something I'd never seen before: hummingbird roadkill (!)
This rich and zany diversity often marks a typical day in Athens, Ohio. As a writer, most of the time I am incredibly grateful to live in a place that continually surprises me--even if it happens to also be home to this year's "#1 party school."
I had a tough quarter of teaching undergrads this spring. And I mean tough. Mostly blank, angry stares and deliberately mediocre work. I began to doubt this town, the power of words, the point of a college education. And while I hope at least a few of my English students will take something with them from their required composition course, I know that others were quite happy to get their C+ and just move on.
Here's what saved my sanity this spring, not to mention a belief that there are people out there--even undergrads, perhaps especially undergrads--who can change the world for the better: an Arts for Ohio grant project called "Feeding Community" that I co-wrote/directed with my amazing artist neighbor, Danielle.
Our project paired student papermaking artists with literary artists and had one goal in mind: tell the local food movement story through collaboration.
Over 135 hours of student work later, here's some proof of the end results: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peaspoet/sets/72157629970013072/
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Singing for Peace: An Interview with Wendy Chappell-Dick
Wendy Chappell-Dick |
When I first met Wendy Chappell-Dick, I was an elementary school camper with a
blonde bowl haircut and coke-bottle glasses at Michigan’s Camp Friedenswald. Wendy was often
on staff, and I found myself drawn to her luminous and
confident spirit. As both my parents will attest, I was in awe of Wendy because
she treated me as a creative equal—and because she sang with more emotion than
anyone I’d ever met.
I reconnected with Wendy at a 2002 Mennofolk music festival she helped to coordinate at Friedenswald. In my early twenties then, I felt distanced from my faith community. But the experience of that Mennofolk affirmed that artists and musicians have a place at the Mennonite table.
This year’s Mennofolk Bluffton, slated for July 6-8, will donate proceeds to The Iraqi Student Project, The Wounded Warrior Fund, Military Counseling by the German Mennonite Peace Committee, and military recruitment counseling here at home in the hopes of helping to heal the wounds of war. I wanted to know more about this annual event, so I turned to Wendy Chappell-Dick. She graciously answered a few questions in the midst of planning and publicizing for Mennofolk Bluffton.
I reconnected with Wendy at a 2002 Mennofolk music festival she helped to coordinate at Friedenswald. In my early twenties then, I felt distanced from my faith community. But the experience of that Mennofolk affirmed that artists and musicians have a place at the Mennonite table.
This year’s Mennofolk Bluffton, slated for July 6-8, will donate proceeds to The Iraqi Student Project, The Wounded Warrior Fund, Military Counseling by the German Mennonite Peace Committee, and military recruitment counseling here at home in the hopes of helping to heal the wounds of war. I wanted to know more about this annual event, so I turned to Wendy Chappell-Dick. She graciously answered a few questions in the midst of planning and publicizing for Mennofolk Bluffton.
Sour Cherry Pie |
Becca: How has music helped to
shape your faith and to live that faith out in the world?
Wendy: When I was a little girl my
mother always told me that I never needed to be afraid to sing in church. She
told me to look out into the congregation and to remember that everyone there
is loving me, so I didn’t have to feel shy or embarrassed. That was extremely
influential and allowed me to develop a deep love of sharing singing and
playing as a form of worship. It also shaped my faith in that I learned to see
church as a loving place, a place where a community of people is there to
accept and embrace you rather than to judge or reject. I think this is a very
Anabaptist way of seeing music—not one person up there as an individual singing
about their individual faith, but it is an act that happens within the
congregation as part of the whole body of Christ.
Becca: Today, there are several different Mennofolk festivals and concert series in Canada and the U.S., all organized by separate groups of people. How did Mennofolk originally start?
Becca: Today, there are several different Mennofolk festivals and concert series in Canada and the U.S., all organized by separate groups of people. How did Mennofolk originally start?
Wendy: In Southern Ontario in the
late 1980s, there was a lot of talk about community among young Mennonites, and
lots of music and art happening. But those ideals and activities weren’t
happening within churches. Many young people didn’t choose to be involved with
a congregation at all. A young adult pastor named Fred Martin envisioned a
weekend gathering of Mennonite and ex-Mennonite young adults and their friends
in a festival setting where their ideals could be expressed through music and
art with no stipulations. I was a college student at Conrad Grebel at that time,
and I attended the first festival Fred organized. It was a beautiful weekend of
camping and sharing ourselves as we really were— with no mandated theology or
religious expectations. The odd and magical thing about it was how spiritual it
ended up being. When people were invited to share what was within them,
Mennonite values and echoes of their spiritual Anabaptist roots were
undeniable. Now, almost 25 years later, many of those early Menno-folkers are
involved with Mennonite churches and institutions. However, at that time,
Mennofolk was the only space within the church where we felt we belonged.
Becca: Mennofolk is taking place in Bluffton, Ohio this July. I’ve noticed that the information describing this event immediately reminds us that Mennofolk is not just for Mennonites. Can you expand on this idea?
Becca: Mennofolk is taking place in Bluffton, Ohio this July. I’ve noticed that the information describing this event immediately reminds us that Mennofolk is not just for Mennonites. Can you expand on this idea?
Heather Kropf Photo by Kristi Jan Hoover |
Wendy: Although Fred Martin thought
of Mennofolk as a space to reach out to disenfranchised Mennonite youth, it has
really grown beyond that as a form of outreach. As much as we as Mennonites
want to be friendly and welcoming, our theology and history of being “separate
from the world,” and our tendency to cling to our ethnic traditions and focus
on intellectual development can be off-putting to regular folks looking for a
church home. One of the most effective ways to break down barriers is music. And
one of the most special and marvelous gifts Mennonites offer as a faith
community is their music. Even though Mennofolk transcends music written only
for church, the musicians that come from the cradle of the Mennonite church are
usually steeped in a unique harmonic sensibility and a value of group singing
over individual glory. Whether our musicians are playing bluegrass, folk, or
rock and roll, the same thing happens at Mennofolk today as did at the very
beginning: a sense of spirituality, a love of peace, and the warmth of
community dominates the festival. Anyone can be part of that experience, even
those who would have no interest in going into a church service or looking into
Mennonite history or theology. And the fact is, though they rarely are full
time professionals, Mennofolk musicians are incredibly good at what they do.
The music is fantastic, and the public responds to that. On the last day of the
festival attendees will be invited to hear more from their favorite performers
by joining several local church services structured around the hymn “When in
Our Music God is Glorified.”
Becca: In your opinion, what can
the arts (and music especially) offer the larger Mennonite church?
Nayla |
Wendy: I think music has already
enhanced and helped create the Mennonite church, from the early hymns of the
martyrs to the four-part singing and chorals that were adopted later and
embraced as central vessels that help our spirits soar. However, I do think it
is interesting that most of the musicians who are involved with Mennofolk do
not have a space to share their music in church. They are playing in
coffeehouses, farmers markets, recording on their computers, but they are not
being utilized in worship settings. We have so many excellent songwriters, yet
very few Mennonite composers and writers are represented in our hymnals and
Mennonite camp songs.
Becca: What have been the most rewarding parts of being involved in Mennofolk?
Becca: What have been the most rewarding parts of being involved in Mennofolk?
Wendy: I have been part of
organizing seven Mennofolk festivals over the years. And I have hundreds of
stories of grace and love that have manifested themselves through the events
and music of Mennofolk. I remember the young Shawnee woman who saw the
publicity about Mennofolk and contacted me to try to learn about her mysterious
Mennonite ancestor and ended up doing a concert with her Native American flute.
Or the young man I met playing in a bar whose music I loved… I said to him “too
bad you’re not Mennonite, because I’d love to book you for a festival!” He
shyly told me that he had recently started attending a Mennonite church, was
feeling many changes in his life, and was desperately trying to find venues to
play his music that were alcohol-free and songs that were not focused on
objectification of women. He went on to play at several Mennofolks and found a
network of other musicians through the experience. I’ve seen great bands such
as The Steel Wheels and Over the Rhine that have gone on to
commercial success, and I’ve enjoyed some of the best music I’ve ever heard
from people who only sing in their living rooms.
Readers can find out more information about Mennofolk Bluffton, including performers and registration, at http://www.mennofolk.org/bluffton/.
Readers can find out more information about Mennofolk Bluffton, including performers and registration, at http://www.mennofolk.org/bluffton/.
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