Annette Wasilik's love affair with the guitar & song began in her mid-teens, but has only come into the fullest sunshine & blossom over the past 10 years, releasing two full albums. She is all about healing, including the balm to the heart & soul that come through her voice, lyrics, & guitar, but she also is a healer through her energy & massage work. Annette works her musical magic from her base in Takoma Park, MD.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Native American, Earth-Based Spirituality, Eastern, Meditation

All featured music is written & performed by Annette Wasilik:

Chincoteague - from Love & Fire 2020

Highway - from Love & Fire 2020

Yata has been a decades-long feature of the music scene in the Chippewa Valley region of Wisconsin, and an inveterate collaborator with so very many musicians of the area, enhancing his own songwriting, guitar, and wonderful singing skills with all kinds of instruments and harmonies. You might well call Yata a folk-music-plus performer, because he can do it all, including the more offbeat jazz, blues, and other styles. Yata is a people enhancer, but he's also deeply linked to the land and the water and the other creatures of this Earth.

Caleb Horne grew up steeped in music, playing the piano, alto saxophone, guitar, mandolin, and more. Along the way he got severely bitten by the bluegrass bug. He has played solo and in numerous configurations, including as part of the Original Midwest Grass Band, Evergreen Grass Band, Thistledown, JFT Party Band, and The Woodland Spring.

I interviewed Geoffrey Gates back in 2017 about some of the notable experiences of his life, including his service with the International Voluntary Service in the war zone of Vietnam in 1971, and his service with the Peace Corps after his retirement from about 40 years as a doctor.

The religious soup we grow up in affects all of us. Sometimes the influences are helpful and favorable, but especially for those off the mainstream, they can be very painful and alienating. Even passages from holy books, initially innocent or positive, can by so badly misconstrued as to become life-threatening. K. Renato Lings tackles the texts of the Bible that have been particularly hurtful to LGBTQ folks, using serious scholarship and analysis to help repair connections and compassion in our world. His newest book is Holy Censorship or Mistranslation?

We welcome back Paulette Meier, last with us in 2009. She's put out 3 albums since then, one around her activism and work for the world, and the other related to the timeless Quaker wisdom she has delivered in chant or plainsong. Paulette combines her beautiful voice with deep spirit and care for the world to share heart-mending and nourishing music from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Community Christian, Quaker

Paul Klinkman has been creating the solution to climate change creatively for more than 50 years, exploring all kinds of innovative techniques, technologies, and methods to save the planet and its species from the ravages of catastrophic climate crisis. Inspired by a spiritual vision before anyone was talking about global warming, Paul has drawn deeply on his deep genius to find a hopeful way forward. We spoke with Paul Klinkman in person before a small audience at the annual Friends General Conference gathering held at the Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Congregational, Quaker