Resources from Mar 29 Good Friday Public Grief Ritual

Friends,

If you're reading this, you might have attended the Good Friday Public Grief Ritual, a Christian-led, all welcome action to call for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, March 29 in St. Paul. It started at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill and then moved over to the State Capitol steps.  

We invited folks to sing and mourn in public together and engage in Good Friday themes of grief and repentance. The action was open to anyone, with a particular invitation to secular and practicing Christians to attend and face the role that Christians have played in supporting the violence we are witnessing in Palestine/Israel. We practiced public repentance for our complicity in Christian Zionism, Islamophobia, and for the history of Christian-led antisemitic violence during Holy Week. We grieved together and turned toward ongoing liberatory action. 

The script of the liturgy is here for those who want to read and continue to be moved by it.

Here is a list of the songs we sang with links to online recordings:

• One Body (Ahlay Blakely)
• Ceasefire (andrienne maree brown) and Rise Choir Collective's version
• Ceasefire Now (Sol Weiss)
• Kyrie Eleison, Bridget setting (John Bell of Iona Community) 
• Grief and Love (Sarina Partridge)
• Wailing Song* (Liz Digitale Anderson)
• Summons (text based on poem of same name by Aurora Levins Morale; music by Ahlay Blakely)
• Over/Under (Lyndsey Scott)

* This is not yet available online.  If you captured it at the ritual please let us know.  Send it to goodtrouble@pointsoflightmusic.net or tag @goodtroublesings on Instagram.

We introduced the Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, which replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA.

Thank you for coming out to repent for the sins of Chrisitanity and to grieve, bearing witness to the senseless deaths in Gaza right now.  Let's stay connected and continue to work together for liberation for all.  We are especially grateful for our collaborators in the Twin Cities Ceasefire Chorus, Mennonite Action MN, and other Christian leaders in pulling this ritual together.  

With you in love, grief, and justice, 

Conie and Liz, Good Trouble