Abstract
This thesis develops a philosophy of musicking that intersects with missional ecclesiology and expands the role of music-making beyond the church walls. The central hypothesis assumes that predominantly white congregations in the Free Church tradition located in the southern United States incorporate ways of singing that reinforce, albeit inadvertently, attitudes toward others that buttress white ethnocentricity. Musical practices arising from a Western European heritage can promote cultural exclusivity as well as a perceived—yet false— sense of superiority. Is there an implicit theology of singing in white churches that engenders a culture of complicity and apathy in matters of racial injustice, or are there alternative ways of understanding singing that can encourage white Christians to join the journey for racial justice?
The author employs an interdisciplinary methodology and identifies ways music-making as social activity builds community and reframes relationships across the color line in Jacksonville, Florida. Detailing an ongoing partnership with Ulysses Owens Jr., and Don’t Miss A Beat, Inc., the author offers a first-hand account of exploratory steps in missional musicking and augmenting the music program at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church. The author prescribes a pneumatology of singing that connects missional musicking to the life-giving breath of the Spirit and the responsibility to form more equitable communities reflective of the earliest Christian community as recorded in Acts 2. After discussing his own missteps, challenges, and increasing awareness, the author shares his thoughts on “white work,” anti-racism, and cross-cultural musicking, particularly how musicians in white churches can join the journey for racial justice.
Degree Date
Spring 5-28-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
D.P.M.
Department
Pastoral Music
Advisor
C. Michael Hawn
Second Advisor
Marcell Steuernagal
Third Advisor
Ulysses Owens, Jr.
Subject Area
Humanities, Music, Theology/Religious Education
Number of Pages
150
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Shapard, Thomas, ""I Can't Breathe": Toward a Pneumatology of Singing and Missional Musicking for Racial Justice in Jacksonville, Florida" (2021). Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses. 4.
https://scholar.smu.edu/theology_music_etds/4
Included in
Christianity Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Ethnomusicology Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Music Performance Commons, Other Music Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Social Justice Commons
Notes
Keywords: church music, community music, musick, missional, musicking, racial justice, music, social justice, hospitality, ethics, singing, pneumatology, Holy Spirit, Black, white work, congregation, inclusive singing, James Weldon Johnson, Jacksonville, Lift Every Voice and Sing, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Don't Miss A Beat, Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church, LaVilla, Pine Forest, Micah 6:6-8, George Floyd, COVID