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Singer/songwriter/activist John McCutcheon,
whose faith is the foundation of his music and life, enthralled
the crowd at the annual Presbyterian Peacemaking Dinner. Photo
by David Young |
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RICHMOND, June 26
— “My mother raised her first-born to become a priest,”
John McCutcheon told a crowd of about 300 people at the Presbyterian
Peacemaking Dinner Saturday evening at Second Presbyterian Church
here. “Instead, I chose to become a choir director.”
McCutcheon, an affable philosopher/troubadour,
draws on his extensive knowledge of traditional music to craft
his modern folk music. Listeners enter McCutcheon’s his
works through personal stories from his life, and exit through
his subtle transitions into current world issues. All of this
is threaded together with a running commentary — often
humorous, sometimes sober — on his experiences and attitudes.
While he jokes about his Catholic family of
origin, his musical-social-worker mother was the genesis of
his penchants for both music and justice. He was raised during
the American Civil Rights era, cutting his teeth on Martin Luther
King Jr., Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.
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Early in his career, he focused
on capturing the dying traditional music of Appalachia. “I
learned how community and culture are interwoven in traditional
music,” he said after his hourlong concert.
Increasingly, as he wrote more of his own
music, he wedded traditional music forms with commentary on
current events.
Now an active Quaker, McCutcheon says his
faith and music don’t just intersect. “My faith
is the foundation of my music, just as it is the foundation
of my politics, how I raise my children, and where I live and
buy my groceries,” he said. “It informs me on every
imaginable level.” For McCutcheon, peace issues are the
common roots of world religions, and his work reflects it.
The spiritual undertones of McCutcheon’s
music weren’t lost on his listeners. He talked and sang
about the power of grass-roots movements to bring about change,
used an ant/giant metaphor to make a point about different perspectives,
and shared a story about growing children leaving home.
The Rev. Virginia Miner, of First Presbyterian
Church in Peckville, OH, said: “McCutcheon uses the power
of music and metaphor to subtly say to us those things that
we would more blatantly argue about. He speaks across generations
and views, and gives us new perspectives.”
Laura VanDale, of Lakewood, OH, felt encouraged
that “someone else shares my conviction for peacemaking.”
She said her children sing along to McCutcheon’s CDs.
“I’m not sure how much of the
subtleties they are picking up right now, but I’m pleased
that they love his music,” she said.
The Rev. Robert Elder, of Salem, OR, said
McCutcheon’s music “is a great reminder that justice
is not an option for civilized people.”
McCutcheon ended his performance with an invitation
for the audience to join him in singing John Newton’s
famous hymn, “Amazing Grace.”
“I’ve always wondered what
was this ‘amazing grace’ he wrote about,”
he said. “Newton’s personal story was about being
forgiven, and forgiveness is in short supply in our world today.
Perhaps this amazing grace is the small amount of mercy we can
offer to others.”
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