Sunday Morning with Neil Young

If you're in the Portland, Oregon area on upcoming Sunday mornings, here's something you might find of interest from Joseph Rose:

Hello,

I'm a journalist and long-time Neil Young fan who will be teaching a three-week class at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon as part of an ongoing series on the places where God and popular culture intersect. Here's a description of the course scheduled for Nov. 1, 8 and 22 at 9 a.m. if you'd like to post something about it on Thrasher's Wheat (thank you for everything you do):

Heart of Gold: Finding God in the music of Neil Young

Neil Young has been called a lot of things over the span of his 40-year music career. Best-selling artist. Third most influential songwriter in pop music history (after the Beatles and Dylan). An enigma. The godfather of grunge. Washed up. A genius. A national treasure (in Canada and the U.S.). In this class, Trinity parishioner Joe Rose argues that Young should have a new title: Preacher. Although Young's songs are hardly considered “Christian music,” Rose shows how the songwriter's extensive catalog, from his days with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the 1960's to the pastoral “Prairie Wind,” explore themes at the heart of the Gospels.

Respecting Neil's beliefs and position, I'm not going to stretch the lyrics and music into something they're not. Rather, I want to talk about the spiritual concept of "the seeker," using Neil and his music -- from young man to aging man -- as an example of how we all are searching for meaning on a spiritual level. In some cases, I will talk about how Neil Young's music has calmed rough sees for me and enriched my faith when it comes to my outlook on life and humanity. At different phases of his career, Neil has been like Job, King David and St. Francis, to name a few, full of love but not afraid to shout at God and show the rest of us how we are sliding off grace's highway. It will be a multimedia presentation incorporating lyrics, video and audio -- and a lot of reflection on the words and music.

I hope Rusties in the Portland area can make it.

Best,
J

Sounds enlightening Joe. Let us know how it goes.

And here's what Neil thought "When God Made Me".