Resources from Mar 29 Good Friday Public Grief Ritual

Friends,

If you're reading this, you might have attended the Good Friday Public Grief Ritual, a Christian-led, all welcome action to call for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, March 29 in St. Paul. It started at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill and then moved over to the State Capitol steps.  

We invited folks to sing and mourn in public together and engage in Good Friday themes of grief and repentance. The action was open to anyone, with a particular invitation to secular and practicing Christians to attend and face the role that Christians have played in supporting the violence we are witnessing in Palestine/Israel. We practiced public repentance for our complicity in Christian Zionism, Islamophobia, and for the history of Christian-led antisemitic violence during Holy Week. We grieved together and turned toward ongoing liberatory action. 

The script of the liturgy is here for those who want to read and continue to be moved by it.

Here is a list of the songs we sang with links to online recordings:

• One Body (Ahlay Blakely)
• Ceasefire (andrienne maree brown) and Rise Choir Collective's version
• Ceasefire Now (Sol Weiss)
• Kyrie Eleison, Bridget setting (John Bell of Iona Community) 
• Grief and Love (Sarina Partridge)
• Wailing Song* (Liz Digitale Anderson)
• Summons (text based on poem of same name by Aurora Levins Morale; music by Ahlay Blakely)
• Over/Under (Lyndsey Scott)

* This is not yet available online.  If you captured it at the ritual please let us know.  Send it to goodtrouble@pointsoflightmusic.net or tag @goodtroublesings on Instagram.

We introduced the Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, which replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA.

Thank you for coming out to repent for the sins of Chrisitanity and to grieve, bearing witness to the senseless deaths in Gaza right now.  Let's stay connected and continue to work together for liberation for all.  We are especially grateful for our collaborators in the Twin Cities Ceasefire Chorus, Mennonite Action MN, and other Christian leaders in pulling this ritual together.  

With you in love, grief, and justice, 

Conie and Liz, Good Trouble

Mar 29: Good Friday Public Grief Ritual

On Good Friday - 3/29 @ 5pm - join us for a public grief ritual calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

We will begin our ritual outside of Christ on Capitol Hill Lutheran Church at 105 University Ave W, St Paul. We will then walk 0.2 miles to the State Capitol.

This is a Christian-led action organized by the Twin Cities Ceasefire Choir, GOOD TROUBLE songleaders Liz Digitale Anderson and Conie Borchardt, Mennonite Action MN, and other Christian leaders. We will sing and mourn in public together and engage in Good Friday themes of grief and repentance.

This action is open to anyone, and we especially invite secular and practicing Christians to attend and to engage with the role that Christians have played in supporting Zionism and the violence we are witnessing in Palestine/Israel. We will engage in public repentance for our complicity in Christian Zionism, Islamophobia, and for the history of Christian-led antisemitic violence during Holy Week. We will grieve together and turn toward ongoing liberatory action. We hope to see you there!

RSVP via this form: bit.ly/GoodFridayRitual

Setlist for Mar 22 Songs for Tending Our Hearts

Friends,

Here are the songs we sang at Songs for Tending Our Hearts at Yess Yoga on Friday night, March 22, 2024:

1. Holding Song (Ian Carrick)
2. Do You Feel? Do You Heal? (Lu Aya Nephew, The Peace Poets + Deirdre Shabaaz)
3. The grief for what you’ve lost (Barbara McAfee)
4. Loosen, Loosen (Aly Halpert)
5. Comfort* (Heather Wilson)
6. We shall be known (Karisha Longaker/MaMuse) - teaching tracks from The Bird Sings website
7. We Rise/In Hope, In Prayer (Batya Levine)
8. Over/Under (Lyndsey Scott)

* An online audio or video recording has not been found.  Let us know if you find one in the comments!  

Some of you asked about the Resources we shared. Here's a short list...

• About the Card Decks: Having a tangible tool to sit with and reflect our feelings back to us helps us slow down, process, and make space for emotional work and intentions we otherwise tend to ignore. In March we spread out the Artist Grief Deck (https://griefdeck.com/) which was created by hospice workers during the pandemic
• Instruments we use: CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off!
• Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA
• Where else to sing in the Twin Cities? There's three places you can check! 
• Twin Cities Singing Circles (Facebook group)
  
• Perfection-Free Community Singing (Facebook group)
• AND this Google Doc of regular circles that Liz DA put together.

We are grateful to you if sang with us and to Yess Yoga for hosting.

Bimonthly dates for this grief song circle at Yess Yoga have been scheduled for 2024. Pencil these dates into your calendar:

• May 24
• July 26
• Sept 20
• Nov 22

If you'd like reminders, sign up for the In-person Sings/Good Trouble mailing list here to get an email beforehand. Or just check the Yess Yoga's website.

Keep singing and stay warm, graceful, and creative!

Love, Liz and Conie, a.k.a. GOOD TROUBLE

Setlist from Mar 16 Grow Your Voice Workshop

Here are the songs we sang during the Grow Your Voice workshop at New City/Walker Church on Saturday morning, March 16, 2024 with links to online recordings for your at-home remembering pleasure.

• Forget Your Perfect Offering (words: Leonard Cohen/music: unknown)
• Let my soul dance in the rain* (unknown; learned from Scott Skoog)
• I will believe the truth about myself (Macrina Wiederkehr/Velma Frye)
• Open Sentences (Ahlay Blakely)
• The Way Knows the Way (Lyndsey Scott)
• When Times Are Hard/We Lead in Love (Liz Digitale Anderson)

* no online recording available. If you discover one, please let us know in the comments!

Thank you to the crew who bravely entered into the brave waters of exploring their voices with us! If you were there, check your email for more details on support resources!  The right people were there, tenderness, grit, and support were shared. Community was tended. 

Special thanks to the Grapevine Collective who steward the space use at New City/Walker Church in South Mpls.  Your spaces are a sanctuary and a beacon of light.  May your fire never die.

We heard some attendees say they would do it again and others said they would do a longer day-long or 4-6 week series.  If you weren't able to attend and would be interested in future offerings, please let us know!  Send us a note on the Contact Us page or subscribe to "Full Voice" segment of the Newsletter.

Keep singing and stay warm,

Setlist from Mar 8 Songs In Your Body On This Land @ Studio 240, NKB

Here are the songs we sang at the BIPOC+Mixed Race sing Songs In Our Bodies On This Land at Studio 240 (Rosy Simas Danse) in the Northrup-King Building on Friday night, March 8, 2024 with links to online recordings for your at-home remembering pleasure.

• Earth My Body (unknown) - Liz's adapted lyrics: Liberation / Solidarity / Justice coming / Ground in love!
• I did not come here alone (The Peace Poets)
• Carry This All (Ahlay Blakely)
• I decline (Ahlay Blakely)
• Sweet Surrender (text: Saint Symeon/music: Sophia)
• Comfort* (Heather Wilson)
• Honor the Dark (Lea Morris)
• Loosen, Loosen (Aly Halpert)
• One by One (Michael Stillwater)
• Let it go (Words: Michael Leunig/Music: Suzann Frisk)
• Go Lay Down (Naje)
• Not a Lone Wolf (Steph Drouin, Aimee Ringle)
• Don’t go putting the world on your shoulders (Will Lawrence, Erin Bridges) - from Sunrise Movement songbook
• The Way Knows the Way (Lyndsey Scott)
• Healing is Possible (Orion Johnstone) 

* no online recording available.  If you discover one, please let us know in the comments!

Thank you to the crew who sang with us! The right people were there, tenderness, grit, and support were shared. Community was tended. This is part of the dream Liz and Conie are working towards!

Special thanks to Rosy Simas Danse for creating space for BIPOC artists. Deep gratitude to Rebekah, the studio manager.

Mar 3: Dances of Universal Peace/Sufi Dancing

Sufi Dancing
(AKA Dances of Universal Peace)

When:  Sunday March 3rd, 6:30 to 8:45 pm (fb event)
at the Twin Cities Friends Meeting House
1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul (map)
https://tcfm.org/
-Donations accepted, but not required-

Come and weave a circle of sacred presence and harmony with shared movement and song. All spiritual traditions of the world are honored in a circle of universal prayer.

No former experience is necessary (And... seasoned dancers and dance leaders are more than welcome to bring their wisdom, dances, and shared leadership:)

We'll take a break in the middle of this event for some meet and greet with snacks (bring something to share if you like)

All beings are welcome in this circle

Send Adam Wolter (AKA Saleem) a line if you have any questions about this event: (612)237-6690


For more info on the dances: