The Great Lakes Spirituality Project, along with the Perennial Waters Project, recently hosted award-winning musician Wade Fernandez for an evening of music and conversation called: "Honoring Grandmother Earth and Protecting the Waters of the Great Lakes."
Wade is a member of the Menominee Nation, so he started the evening by introducing himself in the Menominee language, including sharing his Menominee name, "Walks with the Black Wolf." From there, Wade sang, and shared music on his flutes as well as on acoustic and electric guitar.
We are all connected through music
"In our ways, our relatives are all of this life here... all these things throughout the universe. These are all our relatives." - Wade Fernandez
Interspersed between the songs we had a wonderful conversation on how all of us can connect with Grandmother Earth and all creation:
"There's the Grandmother Earth. There's all these things, the trees, and then there's also that breadth of life coming through it, just like the wind blowing through the trees. And if you think about music, it was here well before human beings. We didn't create music. It was here, and the animals were rocking out, jamming out, singing beautiful songs. Well before the humans were here, the birds were doing it. The dinosaurs were probably doing some kind of dance or something. You know, the fish sink, they swim together, just like a dance.
And so all these these rhythms and all these things in life were before us, the water, you know, the rhythm of the water moving and the rhythm of the wind blowing, all these things were here well before us...
Humans came later into the picture, but we were blessed with this life, to come in and share it with all these other beings that were here. And the music, we were able to join in and share... I'm thinking about all this life and how we are such a beautiful part of this dance. You know, the more connected we are are with all these life forms, the more connected we are to our creation, to all this life, all this beauty, no matter what faith you have or religion you have." - Wade Fernandez
The highlight of the evening came with the last musical piece, when Wade composed a song on the spot, weaving together the thoughts, emotions, and reactions of the audience as they were posting in the chat box. It was a special way to wrap up the concert, so I hope you'll take a moment to enjoy the video of Wade's performance.
Many Hands Made the Evening Possible
Along with the main sponsors of the evening - and the work of John Hartig and Win Kurlfink - a number of organizations helped support and promote the concert, so thanks to all of them:
The Colina Foundation; Grosse Ile, MI (financial supporter)
The Center for Climate Justice and Faith; Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary; Berkeley, CA
Grosse Ile Interfaith Council; Grosse Ile, MI
Riverview Park Christian Church; St. Joseph, MI
St. Philip Lutheran Church; Trenton, MI
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church; Wyandotte, MI
Southeast Michigan Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Unity Lutheran Church; Southgate, MI
We hope to host future performances that tie together the arts and care for the Great Lakes. If you have ideas for events, please let us know by emailing dan@glspirit.com.
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