La mer aurait d’ être belle
La soleil brille haut dans le ciel
Mais je suis comme èchouè
Tel une èpave toute rouillèe
Je peux á peine soulever les ailes
Toutes noircies! Mes plus si belles
Je me sens si emprisonnè
Enveloppé dans cette chappe
Should I worry about today? Are these things that I can change?
How much should I plan?
Should I stay?
No matter where I go
I feel something holding on
Where can I find the strength to
fly on?
Lorsque le Soleil s'est levé
Une main est venu me sauver
J’ai alors pu déployer mes ailes
Alors libéré, j’ai décollé
I won’t worry about today
These things I cannot change
And I don’t have to plan
And I know you’ll be holding on long after I’m done with this song
And you’ll always give me the strength to
fly on
-
English Version
The Oiled Seagull
The sea should have been beautiful
The sun shines high in the sky
But I am stranded like a rusty wreck
I can barely lift my wings
All black! My beautiful feathers
I feel so imprisoned
Wrapped in this oil screed
Should I worry about today? Are these things that I can change?
How much should I plan?
Should I stay?
No matter where I go
I feel something holding on
Where can I find the strength to
fly on?
But one morning when the sun rose
I saw the hand of the one who came to save me
He cleaned me, then my wings I could deploy
It was hard to believe- I was released
I won’t worry about today
These things I cannot change
And I don’t have to plan
And I know you’ll be holding on long after I’m done with this song
And you’ll always give me the strength to
fly on
Written on an OM arts trip to France, by Elise Ha and J
To read an article about the writing of this song, CLICK HERE
Written with Elise Ha (in italics)
Brittany, Morbihan. August 2019
Brittany is also this: the sea, the seagulls everywhere...
For every 60,000 people, one church. But in cafes and chapels Christ’s light will shine, as songs in the darkness;
in Lorient, Vannes, Concarneau and Cléguérec….
After praying the first day…we wrote a song about a Fisherman and the Samaritan.
24 people including 11 musicians, through OM, gathered this summer to write and perform songs; writing in the musical language of people’s hearts, learning the sounds and culture, praying for the themes…
The second day it was the seagull. We were out in the sun, and a real seagull was walking beside us….
Without many hours to write, they brought their fragility and nervousness to God’s power. And songs were written! One song was written by French singer Elise and Texan musician J.
The time was very very short to write it, just 2 hours!
There is no doubt that God was with us and protected us through everything. It is thanks to Him that we could compose our songs.... Glory to God!
The musicians were thinking about the chords, while Elise wrote the words. She found the melody thanks to guitar chords and violin notes for the verses. They wrote in French and English, singing one part each; because here, in France, people like those who speak in English. And that did not fail. The public liked to hear him sing!
So in His strength and not their own, this song was composed and sung to glorify God in concerts, showing His love and sharing the gospel.
People love this song even if they do not understand the meaning right away. They also like our attitude. We tried to adapt…to use a theme that speaks to them. We are always asked at the end where this idea comes from...
A man invited us into his home after (one) concert. I was really touched, especially because we had learnt earlier that the people in Brittany take a bit of time to open up to others. Ever since, it has been on my heart to pray for him and his son.
Here are the song lyrics:
This song speaks of salvation in Christ. Oil is sin. The Savior is Jesus who cleans us of our sins,
and we can fly free like this seagull…
Elise still sings this song today in her concerts in Paris with her band EsperanCiel: www.esperanciel.fr
To learn more about ways to serve in these type of art outreaches with OM arts, go to https://omarts.org
‘Who is He?’
'Who is He' is a series of two-plate etchings by Olga Coronovschi.
Taught silence, learning not to express herself, then this lady met Jesus. Now she was wondering- through what art might she speak about him, where expression may be so restricted?
-
Artists, pastors and worship leaders from seven ethnic groups in South Asia came together to learn more about praising God and sharing truth with art from their culture. They read scripture and created, from songs to dances, dances to drama
to painting
to textiles....
During the workshop, this lady wrote and sang her first recitation of scripture; and, she re-imagined mehndi, a beloved art allowed for women: a way to share the gospel without getting them in trouble.
Here is a picture of her women’s group’s hands the very next week - covered in Bible stories....
For more about this workshop by OM arts, read https://heartsoundsinternational.tumblr.com/post/185436943446/the-tree-of-lifeand-worship
To Mon people with a Buddhist worldview, local Mon churches in Myanmar are culturally foreign in nearly every aspect (heavily westernised). Therefore, the Gospel is viewed as ‘a foreign religion,’ and evangelical Christians are small in number as is church growth. Our host recognized that redeeming local arts expressions for God’s Kingdom would resonate with the heart of the people and largely eliminate or minimise existing barriers to the Gospel. For the local Church, this is a very radical concept. Many discounted traditional sounding biblically-based music as being ‘Buddhist’ without listening long enough to hear the lyrics!
“In this internet age, we have noticed that people also want to
see these songs, not just listen to them.” -M, our host
In January 2020, a small team went to Myanmar for twelve days to film footage to make music videos for eight Christian Mon songs – using traditional instruments and musical styles. Since 2012, this represented the fourth trip to this area to produce contextualized music and media for the Mon people. As in previous installments, collaboration with local artists was critical for success. While these artists were Buddhist, they seized the opportunity to uphold and celebrate their culture’s art forms, as did we. Dance would largely be the center piece for these music videos - beautiful, graceful, subtle, elegant and highly expressive.
While the immediate goal was to film dancers, musicians, singers and footage for the songs, God also infused this pursuit with many other wonderful outcomes. The dancers (from the same village) invited us to visit their village, which was a great honor. We spent the better part of a day meeting their families and neighbours, eating, hearing their stories and learning about their interests, culture, hopes and dreams. This was a very special time that built bridges of trust and friendship that local workers will follow up on.
This production required the team to be in an almost constant state of planning and adapting. The team also filmed a documentary about how the whole project has come together and why. A lot of ‘behind the scenes’ footage was filmed along with interviews. We clearly experienced God’s presence and work beyond the focus of the video production. As these music videos are shared, our expectation is that God’s Spirit will open the hearts of the Mon people to see and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for them.
Written and Photos by Dileep Ratnaike, East Asia Arts Catalyst
Dancing into Freedom: An Interview with Linda Wells
Written by Hollen Hostetler
"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness"
Psalm 30:11
Have you ever found yourself in a place of deep sadness, wondering when the storm will relent and the sun shine through? These seasons are marked by intense waiting, praying, and trusting but also by profound growth as we draw closer to the Lord. In this unpredictable and bleak time, many of you may find yourself in similar contemplative seasons of growth. It is with great joy that we can press into Jesus, the One who gives us reason to dance and promises to walk with us in our sorrow.
In the following video, artist Linda Wells, director of Compass Dance Academy and on staff at Inspiro Arts Alliance, shares her story of how the Lord used the artform of dance to bring healing and deepen her walk with Him. Check out Linda's story by clicking on the link below:
Some time ago, I attended a retreat with our Inspiro Arts team. We spent four days, working through different activities, exercises, spending free times and meals together — the kinds of things you would expect for a team-building retreat. One of the activities involved spending an extended time in individual prayer and listening, using our different artistic gifts to respond to whatever we sensed God bringing to our attention.
This piece is called “Hope in a Darkened World.” I made it while I was confined to my fifteen square meter room in Pisa, Italy during the lockdown. The longer the lockdown in Italy lasted and the more COVID-19 measures were taken, the more I felt anxiety and fear was growing globally. As a result, there was also a growing spirit of mistrust and doubt.
Feeling Restricted? From a Prayer to a Video to Ongoing Prayer
Written by Rachel OlneyHow are you feeling during these unusual times?
Restricted and constrained. That is how I was feeling when the COVID-19 measures were first introduced in Austria. During the prayer time of a YouTube service from my church in Vienna, I told the Lord this. Suddenly, I realised that He understands what I’m feeling! He willingly restricted Himself far more for us when He became a human and even let Himself be nailed to a cross – all out of love for us, to save our lives.
