Folk Music

James Schattauer has been writing and performing songs since 1979 or even before, and since 1987 has used the moniker Mister Jim for his performances for children and families.

Carol Johnson has been producing music for adults and children for decades and her music has even been featured on Sesame Street and in national hymnals and curricula. Among the powerful, moving and insightful spiritual music she has created is the theme song for our Spirit In Action programs, "I Have No Hands But Yours." She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, performing and touring extensively.

Walter Craft has been performing music for well over 40 years now, and he proudly shares his motto on his web site - ServeTheSong.com. Born in the southern USA into an extended family and community with strong - and varying - religious views, he found the need to step back, gather information, and come up with his own views. He is passionate about music that reaches for the heart - and center - of things

Back on April 22nd, also known as Earth Day 2007, the Eau Claire Friends Meeting organized, Unity Christ Center of Eau Claire hosted and the Sierra Club and the Shalom Mennonite Church co-sponsored an Earth Banquet Potluck and Community Earth Singalong. About 40 hearty voices showed up and lifted up song of their souls for the Earth. It was all done without practice and with low-tech recording methods, but with immense joy.

Chester McCoy grew up Catholic in a working class neighborhood of St Louis when segregation was still the rule. His way out of the limitations and oppression of racism was through education, social work and his his rich connections with people, including college at St John's in Collegeville, Minnesota. Chester has been writing songs for about 30 years now, and is a Quaker, a member of Minneapolis Friends Meeting.

Cyndi Bradbury has a passion for music that she lives out each weekday in her profession of music therapist, and each weekend as the music director for Plymouth Congregational UCC. Cindy loves animals and the outdoors, being a bit silly and conveying caring through her music.

A number of folks in Eau Claire started Advent with a Peace Sing-along. The event was organized by Eau Claire Friends Meeting (Quakers), hosted by Unity Christ Center, and co-sponsored by Eau Claire's Unitarian Universalist Congregation, the Network of Spiritual Progressives and Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, each providing 15 minutes of peace-related songs for all to sing. Although the recording quality was low, the Spirit of the gathering was high!