Soon and very soon i hope to give you all a full update on the latest...for there is a whole lot.  Today, however, i want to tell you about just one of the major things we are up to.  We have always hoped for psalters to be a holisitic approach to worship...and for it to help carve out bases for the development of true warrior poets in the Church.  A psalter should ever be a deadly siren wailing the curved note of our Lord's ancient Song....a well, torn from the heart and fired from the lung, pouring Truth adorned in the dress of woven passion.
Such a warrior needs some training...we certainly do...and our tattered Church could use a seminar or two aswell.  To that end we have reached the doorstep of a long hoped for reality:  to open a training center that provides a place for the development of psalters.  In about a month we will open the doors to the "Croatan Studio".  We have already been teaching several classes and also teaching local youth in philly schools about west african rhythms.
Count Tabu has taken the lead on all of this, and it has been primarily his project.  Below is his initial draft describing his ideas for the space to our friends at our home church, "circle of hope".  It is a good window into what we are planning.  More info and a website will be posted soon.  I would add to the description below that we hope to work a great deal with the local refugee population here in Philly....particularly the recent swell of Iraqi refugees being relocated in our area.  Our hope is for Croatan to be a place for them to teach about their culture and music....and hopefully earn some income, awareness, and friends in the process.
-cap.nap








The Name:

       We were taught in elementary school about the first English

settlement in the "new world"---what became  known as the "lost

colony." Many blamed this on attacks by the natives or a lack of

ability to survive in the new surroundings.  But the colonists had

supplies and provisions and had started to build a fort. A few years

later, Sir Walter Raleigh returns from England and finds it abandoned.

Not destroyed or everyone killed, just left behind.

       The first settlements in Roanoke failed; the colonists disappeared,

leaving behind them only the cryptic message "Gone To Croatan." Later

reports of "grey-eyed Indians" were dismissed as legend. What really

happened, the textbook implied, was that the Indians massacred the

defenseless settlers. However, "Croatan" was not some Eldorado; it was

the name of a neighboring tribe of friendly Indians. Apparently the

people simply moved back from the coast into the Great Dismal Swamp

and absorbed into the tribe.

       So--the very first colony in the New World chose to renounce its

contract with (Dee/Raleigh/Empire) and go over to the Wild Men with

Caliban. They dropped out. They became "Indians," "went native," opted

for chaos and the traditional lifeways of relationship and

sustainability over the appalling miseries of serfing for the

plutocrats and intellectuals of London.

As America came into being where once there had been "Turtle Island,"

Croatan remained embedded in its collective psyche. Out beyond the

frontier, the state of Nature (i.e. no State) still prevailed--and

within the consciousness of the settlers the option of wildness always

lurked, the temptation to give up on slave work for the rulers, fort

building, taxes-- all the burdens of civilization--and "go to Croatan"

in some way or another.

       So, we hope to call on this namesake--to develop a space in the midst

of the city that can retrain our thoughts and actions towards how we

create and how we listen and learn. To hear the wisdom of the

traditional ways, especially when they resonate with the same call

Christ gives us in the Gospel--to birth new artists skilled and

trained to prophetically lead us toward justice and peace.





What's the big idea?

       There are lots of ideas and ways we hope for this space to be

utilized. The following is a rough outline of what we hope to go on

through the use of the space. Being connected to Circle of Hope in a

real way through the realtionships of the people involved and in a

structural way--by having the space in the same building has so many

opportunities and benefits for many skilled, passionate people who

want to share what they know and for those wanting to learn both in

the church body and the neighborhoods.





1.Traditional music and dance Classes



These will be primarily group based learning times. We hope to have a

variety of teachers from different traditions and ethnicities

partnering with us eventually from the surrounding community, but we

already have many talented artists who can teach among us. I have been

in communication with some of my teachers and other local ethnic

drummers and most have shown high interest in being involved. On the

drawing board already is:



--West African drumming class---



--Kids drumming--



--Arabic drumming class--



--Brazilian samba drumming---



--Afro-Cuban drumming--



--Ghanaian drumming--



--Balafon/gyil/west african xylophone--



--Indian tabla--



--West African Dance--



--belly dance--



--urban dance--







2. Private Lessons



For one on one teacher student development.  Right now we have teachers for private instruction offered on a variety of

instruments including:

-djembe, doumbek, congas,-



--guitar/bass guitar--



--drum set--



hopefully others!!





3.Education



We desire for the studio space to be just that ---a studio--where we study.

There is going to be a library of resources available at the space

with a focus on theological issues of justice and reconciliation seen

through the primary role of the prophetic artist.



We are building a library of books with categories such as:

--psalm study

--the role of the artist/musician in society and in the life of the church

--biblical justice, resistance and peacemaking

--indigenous theology

--liberation theology

--refugee struggles

--indigenous struggles

--urban poor struggles

--cross-cultural music and art

--sociology

--folklore and mythology

--music theory from any tradition

--instructional and reference books on traditional skills and arts and crafts.

--critique of civilization and empire



Also a cd and dvd library for film showings and listening.



--(donations towards this library in any category are appreciated)



We are planning on doing different series of classes through this

library in conjunction with underground seminary and other topics that

have formed through the cells.  Some of these will be lecture series

taught by one teacher while others will be group discussions or group

book studies.



We also hope for the studio to sponsor classes and bring in teachers

from elsewhere for a weekend of learning.


4. Workshops



We hope to sponsor a series of workshops that may run from a day to a

full weekend or even on a weekly or monthly schedule in many different

arts and crafts.



On the drawing board are ideas such as:



Loom weaving

Song writing

Mask Making

Story telling

Poetry

Drum building and other instrument making concepts

i.e.--Urban Junk recycled to prophetic instruments





5. Kids Stuff



We all know how important it is to be training our children in the

right ways --so we are trying to come up with events and classes that

will get them thinking creatively as well as engaging them with

crosscultural concepts. Hopefully this will be a big meeting point for

families in the neighborhood.



Some ideas:



-kids drumming.



-parent/child drumming



-after school or Saturday kids arts collaborative--using

multi-media--drawing/painting/..music/dance/story-telling towards

respecting diversity and developing the artist.--(led by Meg Lemieur)



6. Recording Studio and Rehearsal Space



While we don't have the gear or the space to be a full fledged

recording studio--we do have hopes to be able to do some in house,

good quality, and way cheaper recordings for the great artists already

involved with our community , as well as using the gear for

instructional cds and dvds or worship team uses.



And of course it will be a great rehearsal space for psalters and some

other projects hopefully as well.





7. Special Events



We hope that through the contacts and the promotion that the studio

will have, we will be able to sponsor some great events in conjunction

with Circle's mission teams and Philadelphia area cultural

organizations.



Some concepts that are already in the works:



--Once a month "communion celebration"--extended worship time similar

to Even Song--(led by Aimee Wilson)



--"Solidarity Hours"--in conjunction with the Refugee team.  Special

events highlighting local refugees stories or music or arts. Awareness

raisers or small fund-raisers.



--"Master classes"--the studio would sponsor and host world renowned

artists and theologians for weekend super sessions.



--Seasonal "Bardic Circles"---four times a year--a circle gathering

where everyone in the circle shares songs, poetry or readings.



--performances/recitals/..gallery showings--etc. that the studio would

sponsor in conjunction with Circle of Hope--in the big space.



--The studio hopes to organize short term cross-cultural trips

overseas to engage in social justice work or music education.





8. Outsourcing and Service to the community



--through the teachers and eventual student base generated at the

studio we hope to be able to give back to the surrounding community in

many ways and raise awareness through the arts to social problems in

various ways such as:



--after school arts programs for schools who have lost their arts funding

--cultural education assemblies in schools, libraries, and community centers

--lending musical support to protests and rallies for peace and justice issues