We're headed over to Metuchen, New Jersey, today, for a visit with the amazingly talented Efrat. Efrat showed her musical gifts from a tender age, with the Oak Ridge Symphony at age 10, than with the Knoxville Youth Orchestra at 11, along the way with her dad in a Mexican Jewish band, and on and on. Though she shines powerfully in classical and jazz music, and she's top notch in klezmer, blues, & swing, she found a special place in folk & pop music. She has all kinds of bands of people she has brought together for the sub-variants of musical genres she plays. Health challenges have limited some of her output till recently, which is why we're finally able to have Efrat join us today.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Jewish, Buddhist, Baha'i

John Wilmerding's life as a traveling minstrel was cut short by a drunk driver, but it lead him into a vocation in peace, starting from his work with restorative justice. One of the fruits of his path and devotion has been the Theory of Active Peace, learned and lived in a wide variety of settings, like in prisons with AVP (alternative to violence project), around the Middle East, and through the John Woolman College of Active Peace. John Wilmerding joins us from his Vermont home.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Presbyterian, UU – Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Quaker

Featured music:

After a couple years hiatus, we welcome back Patricia Stansbury (AKA Sunny Gardener) as guest-host for today's Spirit In Action, sharing programming from her What Wakes Me Up shows on WRIR - Richmond Independent Radio. She speaks with 2 different military veterans, one who served in Vietnam, one who served in the Middle East, about their experiences, some while in the military, and some from after their time in the military, things like PTSD, community, veteran benefits, and much more. There's deep sharing, including the dedication to country, and the challenges of military service. This show is edited from the original WRIR broadcast, including the omission of some fine music shared in the original. See and hear more about her programs at WRIR.org.

This is the third visit of Anne Hills to Northern Spirit Radio, and she brings together for us stirring visions of our past, present, and future, often glimpsed from on the wing. Anne has a rich history of writing and performing folk music, on her own, and with the likes of folk greats like Tom Paxton, Michael Smith, David Roth, and others. Today she peers down on us from above, a wide lens capable of seeing our highest aspirations and our most painful paths. Anne lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

All featured music is written & performed by Anne Hills, unless otherwise noted:

Claire Dacey is a wonderful gift of music, too-little known. Her arrival on the folk music scene was delayed, in part, by her studies in Biology, Botany, Field Naturalist, and finally, Ph.D. studies at Harvard in Physiological Plant Ecology. Twas near the end of these studies when she realized her passion for music could be her chosen path, alongside her work of introducing folks to the more-than-human world and neighbors. Combining her talents with violin, viola, & guitar with the magical & enchanting powers of her voice & lyrics, Claire transports listeners to a heart-rending, heart-opening connection to the world. Sometimes the magic is enhanced by the instrumental powers of John Genyo Sprague, performing together as The Enchantivists.

Few people have quite such wide roots across the globe, both the motivation & outgrowth of a life of compassionate work in many countries. Jens Braun grew up in Ecuador, the son of parents who had worked as missionaries and with the Peace Corps. After college in the US, his curious nose took him for a term to Ramallah Friends School, in the Palestinian West Bank, and his connection with Spee Beer there, eventually Spee Braun, led them to work in a number of countries, including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Sudan, Gaza, Iraq, Kenya, Zambia, and with organizations like Save the Children, and in other positions, close to the people & the realities of many nations.

Don Neufeld's decades of service in social work, in child welfare, and in private practice has deeply equipped him for insights into a wide variety of men's (and society's) issues, like violence, fathering, and masculinity - and more. He's authored a number of books, including A New Hope and Living That Matters. Today we discuss with Don a book he co-edited with Steve Thomas, called Peaceful at Heart: Anabaptist Reflections on Healthy Masculinity. A lifelong Mennonite, the work of peace and justice has always been at his core, and his upcoming publication will be An Inquiry into a Theology of Men and Power. He has been active for years with Mennonite Men, including as their Canadian coordinator.

We're headed out to Pennsylvania today, with hopes that we'll see today's guest in Wisconsin within a couple months. His name is Dann Pell (music on bandcamp), and he came to my attention from an email offer he sent to my local Quaker meeting of a tour he is planning for March. I was intrigued by his offer of Songs to ground and uplift, then stirred by the twang and slide of his guitar, and then, finally, the deal was sealed with his sometimes Bob Dylan-esque singing, and wide-ranging lyrics. Dann's exploration via the form of Shape Note Singing & the Sacred Harp makes him a soul aflame to sit with.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: UCC – United Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Quaker

We're headed to Whitefish, Montana, for a deep-end encounter with Jamie Wyman. Jamie was headed toward work as a lawyer, in the role of either a criminal prosecutor or a healthcare attorney, but, as she says, her Saturn Return radically altered her trajectory, and music became her pathway and vehicle to world betterment. She spent some time with the Sunraven Band, but most of her years creating & performing music has been as leader of the Jamie Wyman Band. Thanks to Andrew Janssen for production assistance on this show. Now, it's off to Whitefish, Montana to visit with Jamie Wyman.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Agnostic, Tarot, Non-affiliated

Cliff Eberhardt has performed with oodles of well-known performers I've loved, like Lucy Kaplansky, Dave Van Ronk, Richie Havens, and Odetta, generally of the folk-rock-Americana-acoustic varieties, and I'm so excited to have him here today. Cliff launched to prominence in 1990, though he had been performing and touring for many years, starting well before he reached adulthood, and he was an expert guitarist way back before many youth can even read beyond Dick-Jane-Spot levels. Cliff Eberhardt joins us from Northampton, MA.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Baptist, Earth-centered, Non-affiliated