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By Rachael Cummings
TWO gifted artists are offering Canadians a unique opportunity to support a good
cause.
They are finishing their cross-country Story & Song evenings this month in B.C. churches. The tour, sponsored by World Vision
(WV), combines the storytelling skills of Adrian Plass, a bestselling author
from Britain, with the musical talent of Glen Soderholm, an Ontario-based
singer-songwriter.
With more than 30 books published in the last 20 years, Plass’ literary repertoire consists of poetry, novels, biography, short stories and
satire. His performances are often both humorous and profound, centring on his
own experiences and inadequacies.
Soderholm is an ordained Presbyterian minister, and director of the Moveable
Feast worship ministry. He has recorded five albums, distributed by Signpost
Music.
The goal of Story & Song is to raise awareness for WV, Canada’s largest private relief and development agency – and to encourage people to consider child sponsorship, even in this tough
financial climate.
Their performances draw from their latest works: Soderholm’s This Bright Sadness (2008), and Plass’ Looking Good, Being Bad (2009).
Plass said he and his wife had been encouraged to visit the child they are
sponsoring, and to tour WV’s projects in Bangladesh, where the girl lives.
“We went . . . feeling very troubled and inadequate about why we were going – and, in fact, it was a wonderful experience.
“World Vision said to us: ‘Ask anything you like – no holds barred – and write whatever you want when you get back’ . . . We found that what they did was absolutely wonderful, and we’ve been very happy to support them, ever since.” As a result. the couple wrote a book called Colours of Survival.
Soderholm, too, was impressed by WV.
“I always think that when we have an event like this, what we’re doing is that we’re announcing the reign of God.”
WV, he said, “is an integral part of what God is up to in his kingdom. And so as long as we
are pointing to that in our own inadequate and human ways, I think the spirit
takes it and does things that completely surprise us and shock us.”
After focusing on worship in his previous two CDs, This Bright Sadness reflects the influence of Bob Dylan and Bruce Cockburn.
“I like the notion of writing from the point of view of being human, and maybe
from a Christian worldview, as opposed to writing gospel music,” Soderholm said, “But at the same time, I was creating worship music for the congregation that I
was ministering to, and so it seemed logical to release that stuff as well,
because I think it’s not bad. But I always had intended to go back to a more singer-songwriter
album.
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“I ended up having a year of quite a bit of loss – losing my mother, and some other people in my life – so [the album] really ended up becoming my Ecclesiastes, my lament CD.
“So I’m proud of it, because I think it’s very honest. It’s dark at times – but it’s truthful.”
Plass’ latest book is a satire. Looking Good, Being Bad presents the annual report of the fictional ‘College of Churchmanship.’ The report instructs Churchmen on the fine art of “begging lettermanship” (writing missionary support letters), and speaking in tongues (repeating the
names of the Sri Lankan cricket team from the early 1990s).
Satirizing the church can be tricky business, he said, requiring a lot of
discernment.
“It’s a perennial issue of the church. What is sacred, what is not; what can you
laugh at, what can’t you; what is genuinely important, and what is not. And I think every
generation of Christians wrestles with that, I’m afraid. It’s not something that we’re going to solve.
“It’s something that we have to keep tackling, and looking at, and working at all
the time. Because Christians are like children who’ve been left in charge of the house – they make up horrendous rules for each other because they’re nervous . . . I think it’s a big thing to follow Jesus . . .
“So we’ve got to work out what’s important, and what is not, and stop messing around with silly little trivial
things.”
Story & Song is in B.C. churches November 5 – 8, in this order: New Life Community Baptist, Duncan; Lambrick Park, Victoria;
Cedar Park, Delta; and Sutherland, North Vancouver.
Contact: storyandsong.ca.
November 2009
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