Welcome to the Good Friday Project

I chose this song because like Good Friday, it’s about sacrifice, love, and betrayal.

My poem, “Mere Boldness,” was written some years ago and I recently ran across it again as we unpacked after moving back from the St. Stephen’s campus to our log cabin in the country near Webberville. It’s one of my periodic reminders to myself to not only think about how to live but to ACT on my convictions. As such, its main connection for me to Good Friday and Jesus’ crucifixion is the sense that good trouble will result from living with integrity, but that’s the only way to truly live.

Facebook: Nonviolent Austin

“Later Than We Think” is a song about my father’s last words, to seize the day and to love yourself. For the Good Friday Project, Parker Woodland singer/songwriter Erin Walter invites listeners to consider what the message of Jesus means to them, especially during pandemic life, as well as any lasting message from loved ones or ancestors.

Website: parkerwoodland.com Twitter: @parkerwoodland Instagram and FB: @parkerwoodlandband

“As they were going out, they found Simon, a man from Cyrene. They forced him to carry his cross.” Matthew 27:2 I offer this piece as a reflection to all who are forced to carry crosses that do not belong to them. How can we free ourselves from the weight of these burdens, even after they’ve physically left our bodies? How do we move forward when we still possess the baggage of another?

This past year, amid all the isolated chaos that is now our normal, I have found it so much harder to be grounded and to truly rest…linger…be still…to pray. The river, a mystical personification of our Creator themself, is one place that has found a way to cut through the chatter and online noise to guide me to grounding, rest, prayer and life. The river was life for the slaves who sang this song as they were escaping their prison, the wading waters embracing them until freedom. Water is life, so the indigenous matriarchs led the world to chant at Standing Rock. And yet, their chant was betrayed. Much like Jesus – years of teaching, action, singing, protesting the status quo moved to tangible progress – and then betrayed. And their chants at Line 3 are unheard, their cries ignored, them forsaken. It’s hard to quantify the ways I have felt betrayed and forsaken this past year, but this is one. And I sing this song specifically in matriarchal language to give space to linger in the emotions of such a betrayal, to honor the leaders of this past years movements, to pay tribute to our own last church founder, and to remember the women in Jesus’ story that did not abandon him or betray.

I chose these poems because they make me think more deeply than the surface appreciation of the Resurrection. The first one may start whimsically, but reminds us to see God in others. The second propels me to see God in myself.

This has been a year of waiting for so many things – the pandemic to be over, the power to come back on in the city/state, stimulus check to arrive – but Black people and other people of color have waiting life times for justice in this country. I often wonder if Christ did not also look down at the people surrounding the cross and wonder How long will people allow injustice to reign in this land? We wait and wait in hope and faith that there will be a great getting up morning for justice in this land.

Sweet Honey and the Rock own the copyright to this song. The song is used as part of a commentary on the perpetual state of deferred justice.

Very simply, both offerings are about pressing on through dark, disheartening, discouraging times — hanging on to hope, glimpsing the proverbial “flicker of light at the end of a dark tunnel”. They both seem quite appropriate for the micro and macro challenges we currently face, and in particular for Holy Week.

by Byrd and Street, Performed with an amendment by Bruce Christman

Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I sit and quietly play through hymns I learned at St. James. I can’t usually sing along. My playing is not polished and not even very good at best, and I fumble my way through the challenging bits, but while I do this, I listen for the voices of the people who taught me how to sing these songs.

This Lenten season, I have been returning and returning to the piano. It is the only thing in the solitude of pandemic music-making that comes close to the experience of being with and singing with others– breathing in and out and moving in and around the notes in an attempt to move and lift and tug on the unsure and tired bits of myself and hope them into something like strength, and relief.

As I reflect on Good Friday and prepare for Easter on my own in Michigan, I’m returning to my dinky borrowed school keyboard in the sunny side of apartment, and bringing you into my practicing. This is what is alive for me today. Amidst grief and changes, challenges, and unknowns, it is helping me to keep practicing something like faith. It is messy and imperfect, and I will not abandon it.

On Good Friday we traditionally reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus. These naturally leads to a consideration of the suffereing and death of all humans. During our year of pandemic — one marked by an increased awareness of racial disparity and injustice — this reality has registered all the more. Personally such reflection generated an entire book of poetry, entitled “Tea Towels into the Breach”. I’ve selected three poems from this collection for our 2021 Good Friday Project.

He suffered and died on the cross for you and for me. “He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word” narrates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They Crucified my Lord; They nailed Him to a tree, they pierced Him in His side, He hung His head and died. After each statement “he never said a mumbalin’ word is sung. It allows one to see the suffering of Christ while Christ does not utter one word of complaint.

The reading is Mary, Mother of Jesus’ heartfelt response of her pain and her grief after Jesus was crucified, reflecting on her internal conflict with her regret and acceptance of her son’s purpose in his life. After the resurrection she realizes the greatness of his presence and the glory of it all. As a mother I can understand the relationship between a mother and her son. 

“So God created humans in his own image, in the image of God he created them…” (Genesis 1:27)

The Negro Spiritual “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord” was originally performed during the first Good Friday Project in 1992, and often continues to find its way into the Project year after year. Several years ago, its lyrics and melody were weaved throughout a piece I wrote and performed during a GFP titled, “Relevant,” borrowing the phrase from a Letter to the Editor of an Episcopal magazine, where the letter writer stated that “the issue of race is not a black one, nor is it relevant at this time.” This year, I thought about that piece–it is still relevant, recognizing that if we are the image of God, then we bear witness to his execution again, and again, and again. God, Jesus, Sandra, George, Breonna, Trayvon, Philando, Michael, Atatiana, Tamir… the names for God are endless.

“What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin’ to make his way home?”
(Joan Osbourne)

The Good Friday Project is a time for contemplation. Every year, since 1992, artists from the St James’ Episcopal Church community and artists from communities in Central Texas are invited to reflect on the themes found in the crucifixion experience, such as unconditional love, forgiveness, reconciliation, betrayal, abandonment, hope, and more. This sacred and somber event is a collection of their artistic responses. Silence is kept during the project, with no talking or applause. Each artist and each audience member gets to experience their own thoughts and reactions to the performance offerings and the experience, in solitude, in quiet, and in their own time.

Traditionally, The Project is a live, improvised experience. In response to the current pandemic crisis, performance offerings were pre-recorded at each artist’s home or the location of their choosing. The Good Friday Project has been video recorded and shared online only twice in its thirty year history.

Rosey Armstrong is a tenor saxophonist for two wild bands, Los Kurados and Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, touring frequently with one and playing local shows with both. To feed herself and pay the bills though, she also works gig construction and construction management jobs, primarily through Inhabitation Inc. She grew up near the Zuni / A:shiwi and Navajo / Dinè people in New Mexico so she has a special place in her heart for those peoples as well as many indigenous groups around the world. In her spare time she loves to garden, sing, and be the coolest aunt she can to her 7 nieces/nephews.

Simone Monique Barnes is an interdisciplinary artist whose work often is interspersed with music song lyrics, images, and text from the news and everyday life. Born and raised in New York City, Simone has been a part of the St James’ community for over nine years. More recently, she serves on the staff of St James’ and its non-profit Welcome Table, Inc., as both youth minister and as Director of Parent Engagement for CDF Freedom Schools® Austin.

Lucy Bergin is an artist and teacher now living on the eastside of Detroit. She wandered into St. James in the fall of 2015, shortly after moving to Austin. She thanks God for that pretty much every day.

Bruce Christman is a retired educator with a deep appreciation of the arts. He has always sung and has acted in a few live theatre productions over the decades. Bruce has been writing original poetry and songs for a few years, listening for those rare and wonderful times when the muse hovers and trying to respond. Little in life brings him more joy than making good music, especially doing beautiful harmonies with other folks. When Covid hit, he began periodically recording and posting some of what he has created on FB and other sites. That has been a technical challenge but, it’s been fun, and the feedback has been gratifying.

Jim Crosby retired last summer after 27 years of teaching Theology and serving as Lay Chaplain at his high school alma mater, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Austin. He and his wife Tara have three biological children, two foster sons from El Salvador, and a growing and delightful passel of grandkids. The newest member of the family is a three-year-old black and tan coonhound named Bella.

Terry Dawson is a long time member of St. James’ Episcopal Church (since 2004). He happened to be a Presbyterian minister but now spends his time writing. His poetry, essays and creative non-fiction have appeared over the years in a number of literary and religious journals and periodicals.

Jennifer Graf is a loving mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She is also a kindergarten teacher and a grateful member of the St. James’ family since 1997.

LaMonica Lewis is a native of Austin. She began a musical journey at a very early age. She later received a scholarship to study voice at the University of Texas at Austin. This led to a career of teaching music for 32 years in the Austin Independent School District and performing throughout Austin and surrounding communities. Throughout her musical career, LaMonica has been blessed to perform and/or record with various musicians of Austin and the surrounding areas, such as James Polk, Kyle Turner, Geneva Rawlins, Pamela Hart and the Women of Jazz, just to name a few. LaMonica Lewis is currently the Director of Music at Wesley United Methodist church under the pastoral care of Sylvester E. Chase, Jr.

Joe Morales is a studio musician and has performed on over 300 records including one Grammy performance (Grammy Plaque recipient). He is a composer, arranger, producer, jazz clinician and educator. As jazz clinician he does online clinics worldwide. Joe is the resident Jazz Consultant for EANES ISD and AISD Fine Arts School of Music (McAllum HS). Joe’s current projects include a Maynarg Ferguson Tribute with LA Trumpeters Keith Fiala and the world renowed Arturo Sandoval. On May 4th, Joe will be live streaming from Monk’s Jazz with The Brew sponsored by the Austin Jazz Society on Facebook and Youtube Live.

Ari L. Monts is an independent scholar, artist, and queer liturgist based in Austin, TX. Ari grew up in Connecticut, got a B.A. in Music, Theatre, and Women’s and Gender Studies from University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and just finished coursework towards a PhD at the University of Texas at Austin. Their research and artistic practice looks at the role of participatory performance rituals and their roles in community formation.

Jason Myers is Executive Director of EcoTheo Collective, a nonprofit cultivating wonder through conversations and commitments around ecology, spirituality, and art. A National Poetry Series finalist, his writing has appeared in The Believer, Image, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. He is a candidate for holy orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, and has been an active member at St. James’ along with his spouse Allison Grace since 2014.

Trina Reed Robertson has attended St. James since the mid-80s. In that time she has been involved with several ministries including Jazz at St. James, Welcome Table, St. James Episcopal School, several church galas, and Sunday ushering. Trina danced for community events in the 80s and 90s individually and with the music and dance company Pape y Pade. She has been married to Dale for 29 years. They share four amazing children that have become amazing adults.

Parker Woodland is an indie rock band from Austin, TX that was born both by chance and by calling. What began as neighbors jamming at The Hill campus of Good Shepherd Episcopal in Southwest Austin soon evolved into a powerful, sweat-soaked live experience in packed rock clubs. At the center is songwriter/vocalist/bassist Erin Walter, a Unitarian Universalist minister, activist from the Girls Rock Camp scene, & unabashedly expressive frontwoman for whom Parker Woodland represents the realization of a lifelong dream. Parker Woodland’s debut EP, The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall In Love), includes the song you’ll hear in the Good Friday Project and is available everywhere you buy or stream music.