Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Looking Closer

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
W. David O. Taylor and Phaedra Taylor Present a Christmas Playlist

W. David O. Taylor and Phaedra Taylor Present a Christmas Playlist

Last updated on: December 23, 2014 at 10:36 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

W. David O. Taylor and Phaedra Taylor Present a Christmas Playlist 2014-12-23T22:36:41-07:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“David Taylor is one of the leading pastors in the church’s effort to reach out to artists.”

Thus sayeth the visionary painter Makoto Fujimura in his high praise for the anthology of essays about art and faith called For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts.

I first met W. David O. Taylor and Phaedra Taylor at Laity Lodge several years ago, and we only scratched the surface of our first conversation about art and faith. It was enough for me to discern that they were kindred spirits. Since then, alas, our conversations have been brief, fragmentary, fleeting — partly because we’ve been separated by distance and busyness. But I followed his progress at Diary of an Arts Pastor. And I’ve watched and admired the way David and Phaedra have followed the call upon them — moving from place to place and applying themselves in different capacities in order to inspire artists, cultivate art, and instill wisdom in churches about the forgotten purposes and powers of the arts.

They’re quite a couple — David and Phaedra.

He was born and raised in Guatemala City. She was born in Scotland, and moved to Dallas at age 13.

David studied at the University of Texas, Georgetown University, the University of Würzburg, and Regent College in Canada. He has degrees in theology and biblical studies, and earned his ThD at Duke Divinity School, mentored by Jeremy Begbie and Lester Ruth. Phaedra earned a “Most Outstanding Student in the Visual Arts” award as she completed her BFA in sculpture at the University of North Texas.

For 12 years David served as a pastor at Hope Chapel in Austin, Texas. Phaedra interned at the Chinati Foundation, in Marfa, Texas.

In 2010, David edited For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts (Baker Books), featuring contributions by Eugene Peterson, Andy Crouch, Lauren Winner, Jeremy Begbie, and more. I’ve seen his work in Books & Culture, Christianity Today, and Comment … and that’s only a few of the prominent journals that have published his work. Currently, he serves as Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, and he is the director of Brehm Texas, an initiative in worship, theology and the arts. He is ordained as the transitional diaconate in the Anglican Communion of North America.

Phaedra has explored encaustic painting, printmaking, watercolor and assemblage, and her work has been exhibited around the globe. You can check out her work at etsy.com/shop/pjeanartmachine, etsy.com/shop/ambrosium, etsy.com/shop/bonnyblythevintage, and pinterest.com/phaedrajean.

They live in Houston with they are raising an altogether different work of art: a young daughter.

And guess what: They have some favorite Christmas music.

Tomorrow night is Christmas eve, and Looking Closer’s Christmas playlist parade is almost over. It seems right that David and Phaedra, whose live their lives in a fusion of art and faith, would take us a few steps closer to blessed event.

•

DAVID AND PHAEDRA TAYLOR:

Pete Seeger: “The Nativity,” by Sholem Asch

Phaedra and I were sitting at the breakfast table last Saturday. We each had our cups of Ahmad black tea. Blythe and I were eating the gluten-free pancakes we had just made, while listening to Sesame Street music through our Spotify account. Phaedra suggested we change things up and listen to an album by Pete Seeger. We pushed play and waited for the music to play, presumably from his “Traditional Christmas Carols” album. Instead we heard his voice. At first we thought this was simply an introductory commentary to the album.

As it turned out, Seeger kept speaking and the story he told quickly captured our attention, so much so that we stayed at the table for another forty minutes, listening, drinking down the pot of tea, giving each other looks that said, “This is amazing.” We eventually learned that the story he recounted had been written by Sholem Asch. A prominent Yiddish author, in 1939 Asch wrote a long novel in Yiddish, The Nazarene, about the life of Jesus. As the Smithsonian Folkways web page puts it:

“A few years later, at Moe’s urging [Sholem’s son and Folkways founder], Asch wrote a shorter work on the Nativity in English that would be of appropriate length for a phonograph record. The story remained unpublished and unrecorded until this Folkways release in 1963. Moe Asch was of the belief that the story should be recorded by ‘someone with an affinity for art and the folk idiom, and with a deep sense of social understanding as well.’ He decided on Pete Seeger (1919–2014), the legendary folksinger and activist. The recording also includes Seeger singing six Christmas songs. The liner notes provide background about the recording and Sholem Asch, and the text of the story.”

It is a remarkable re-telling of the Nativity story. Historical fiction in the spirit of Frederick Buechner, Walter Wangerin, Jr, Anne Rice and David Maine, Asch’s narrative finds its perfect match in Seeger’s voice. If you have a moment, or an hour and six minutes to be more exact, hear the story of Jesus, Joseph and Mary for the first time again. (You can buy it here on ITunes or here or here or on your own Spotify account.)

Yes, it’s not a song. It’s a reading. But when Pete Seeger reads it, the musical quality of his voice makes it sound like a song.

The Brilliance: Advent: Volume 1: “A Light”

The whole album is gorgeous, and it seemed impossible to choose just one song. This haunting song is pure loveliness. It helps me (Phaedra) imagine what it must have felt like to look up in the sky and to see a light like you’ve never seen, and then in one all-too quick moment for it to be gone. What stomach-churning longing would you have been left with? Knowing that it was perhaps the most beautiful and confusing moment you had ever had, and that you would most likely never see it again. Without any video footage to capture the image, you would have to rely on your own memory and the shared memory of your friends to keep the moment alive in your heart.

BiFrost Arts: Salvation is Created: “Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella”

This sixteenth-century French carol has long been a favorite of mine (Phaedra). The line “Christ is born to the folk of the village” makes me think of how Jesus continues to come, quietly, largely imperceptibly, into unremarkable villages all over the earth. He comes to us: to village folk, to simple folk whose sense of need is persistent and acute. I love the picture of children carrying torches to announce the birth of Jesus, and these dual voices so perfectly fill my ears with a sweet, delightful song.

Pete Seeger: Traditional Christmas Carols “Glory to the New Born King”

I (Phaedra) love the minor key in this song and how its simplicity conjures up images of campfire singing or fireside family music. The consumer Christmas culture inundates me with worry and over-stimulating noises. This simple combination of voice and guitar provides a sharp antidote. It also helps me to do what often feels impossible: to stay content when everything around me is telling me that I should feel dissatisfied with what I already have.

Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas: “Sister Winter”

This beautiful song, tinged with sadness, is a balm to those with hearts that ache feelings of severe disappointment and devastating loss. While starting slow and quiet, the lament builds into a victorious wishing of a Happy Christmas despite all the hurts we bring into this season. We especially love that the word “friends” is used in this song. So many people do not have families (like Phaedra’s family of origin) with whom they are able to enter into the full celebration of Christmas. It’s nice to hear a song that embraces a Christmas with friends as a full and beautiful thing.

http://music.sufjan.com/track/sister-winter

(This is a live recording so you’ll have to bear with the audience out-of-tune, singalongy quality.)

Previous Post

December 23, 2014

Andy Whitman Presents a Christmas Playlist

Next Post

December 24, 2014 Nurse Claire Nieman Presents a Christmas Playlist

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Old Testament law was summarized as "love your neighbor as yourself"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

First five commandments Book of Leviticus only The whole law Only 10th commandment