I am so pleased to be able to be part of this very special event which also involves some of my kids and their youth group at the Kelowna Vineyard. It is always great to see young people getting involved in causes that make a difference around the world. This initiative will raise money to dig wells in parts of the world affected by famine. The youth will be giving up all food for 30hrs to raise money for water in third world countries.
The concert will include performances from people such as:
Graham Ord, Hayden Ward, Nathan Hare, Aaron Ord, Seth MacGregor, Jordan Bosch, and Charis Ord.
Desserts and coffee will be served.
Come show your support for the youth! Admission is by donation at the door. All donations $20 and over will receive a tax receipt.
Venue is The Mars Hill Building- 1370 KLO rd Kelowna, BC time 6.30pm
Over the past few years a number of people have asked if I would make this recording available again. It is a very simple collection of mainly devotional songs, I recorded in 1989 after being impacted (somewhat surprisingly) by faith.
I am really pleased to announce that my latest recording is now available. It is a song is called Two C Words which was written and recorded for my friend Jordan, a 14 year old young man courageously battling cancer. The song is downloadable with all profits going to assist Jordan and his family at this tough time. You can review the full song below and purchase it if you choose. Please could you help me spread the word by sharing this with your circle of friends too?
The story behind Two C Words
A song for Jordan and any others battling cancer.
My heart was like a rag in a dog’s jaws after hearing that young 14 year old Jordan Unrau was diagnosed with bone cancer. I had worked closely with his parents for 5 years before and I had seen Jordan grow from a boy into a sensitive young man. It was too much to think of him having to endure all this.
I was asked to perform at a benefit concert with a bunch of family friends to help with some financial pressures brought on by this sickness. A few days before the concert I was driving along and saying a prayer for Jordan’s healing, when the thought came to me, of how there are two C’s warring over Jordan. One is a small c, cancer who is a murderer and a thief, and the other is a big C, Christ Jesus who is a life giver and a healer. I personally use the c word to refer to cancer often because for me this disease doesn’t deserve the respect of a name. But there is also another C word over Jordan, the mighty name of Christ who is everything that cancer is not and who paid a price with his own blood for our healing. I just started singing about these two c words whilst driving along in the car, and the song just fell out of my heart. I stopped by the side of the road and wrote out the words in my note book. A couple of days later I performed the song at the benefit concert and played an extended guitar solo at the end of it which was my prayer for Jordan. The understanding came to me that words are essentially vibrations, expressive sounds made by air moving through vocal chords. Music is my prayer language, instead of vocal chords, guitar strings cause vibrations which move air making sounds driven by a heart longing to communicate. Every musician that evening must have said a million prayers for Jordan.
After the concert I asked some good friends to help me record the song and everyone jumped at the chance and donated their talents to the recording. Two of the guys are Jordan’s Uncles so this was extra special to have them involved. I have dedicated this to Jordan who I see as a young warrior whose faith in Christ is an inspiration to many. All proceeds from the song will go to his family until we hear that Jordan is well again.
UP-Date since writing this original post.
In November 2012 Jordan went to be with His Lord and Saviour. I am comforted by the knowledge that the BIG C has the best of Jordan and that the little ‘c’ could not and did not defeat him. Jordan is an inspiration to us all, a young man who demonstrated how to face the toughest trials with inspirational grace and poise. Rest in Peace young warrior.
Any funds generated by this song with now benefit Jordan’s Trust Fund.
A few years ago I was asked to perform at a conference centered around sustainability. I must admit that at the time I wasn’t really sure about what it was all about. I had visions of rainbow flags, V.W. camper vans and djembe thrashing dreadlock clad whale riders smelling of patchouli oil and making a stink about anything right of Baron Keynes of Tilton. A comfortable crowd to be with for me, but what difference would I make to the equasion? I was pleasantly surprised to find that yes there were some stereotypes there, but also there was a far wider representation of people from all walks of life and social groups, just everyday people who were active in the pursuit of making this world a better place to live in. That experience did a lot for me, it made me realise that it is often the media who love to focus on the fringe extremes of ecological and environmental activism while down playing the very real responsibility that we all have to be careful with the way we treat the earth. In the past I have been party to a theology that I now percieve as irresponsible and narrow, which states that the earth will one day all pass away and a new one be formed so who gives a rip about the environement because it’s all gonna be burned up anyway. I have since thought a lot about how I am actually called to be a good steward of someone else’s property, and in doing so, it will go to ensure that my kids and their children’s children will have a better place to live in than I do now.
The Arts are also crucial to sustainability of community life. Imagine a community with out colour, sculpture, music or dance. Our well-being as people is dependent on the arts in so many ways and it annoys me so much to see funding for the Arts continually stripped back in schools and in the wider community. Thousands of years of tradition of Artists having a central place in communities who saw them valuable enough to support is being eroded away and Artists who, let’s face it, often suck at business, are burning out under the pressure of needing to be promoters, Agents, salesmen, oh and creative artists and performers occasionally. Artists can be like prophets in our midst and as communities we need what they bring to the table. Lofty ideas from our places of learning are often communicated to the general populous through the Arts. The Arts are indeed crucial to sustainability.
On Wednesday I will be performing a musical piece at the Kelowna Building sustainable communities conference with a few of my kids. It will involve the various ages and will depict the fact that we will not achieve anything unless we involve all the generations working together. I am so excited about this for many reasons but mostly because I get to perform with my kids in something that will educate us in the process and also hopefully have an impact on the delagates at the event. We will perform at 12.45pm on Wednesday 29th February.
I was performing in Memphis at the Memphis Folk Alliance last year and one of the highlights for me was to witness something called a songwriter circle hosted by Blue Rock studios from Texas. It was really well hosted and it felt like such a natural way to hear new songs and get an introduction to some new artists. I was so happy when we returned to Canada to find that one of my friends at Tribehouse took the initiative to get a songwriter circle going in our town. It has been running for about 8 months now and each month we have four different artists sharing their stories and songs. Usually there is a mixture of more established artists and new comers too. Its a safe environment for everyone to try new songs out and gauge how an audience responds to the music.
Tonight I will be performing there again along with Gary Norris, Bethany Petch and Hayden Ward. It should be a blast. If you are in Kelowna please come out and support the event. 7pm streaming cafe, Kelowna BC
