After Jacob wrestled with God, he came away with a new identity and a new name - Israel. The practice of choosing a name to match your spirit and calling is mostly neglected in American mainstream society, yet it is another important opportunity for truth-telling. We think of choosing a name as the simple filling in of a legal document but the repercussions are far reaching. The family names we take and pass down are a remnant of the days when men owned their women and children and slaves - is it time to think more deliberately about the names we take and live with?

A "Faith Matters" prepared for the 8/1/2009 Eau Claire Leader-Telegram by Mark Helpsmeet on behalf of Eau Claire Friends Meeting.

Joyce Johnson Rouse has been Earth Mama for the past 15 years. With a degree in Earth Literacy, she teaches about care for the Earth through her songs, spreading peace and justice as part of the message.

Alivia Bright Maple Biko is a singer/songwriter with a ministerial component, raised in the Midwest but now a longtime Oregon resident. Part of her religious and spiritual journey was in the UCC and Lutheran churches, and she is now clerk and substitute pastor for Freedom Friends Church in Salem, Oregon.

Susan Werner is a Chicago-based singer/songwriter, preferring a big, big, city still close to her Iowa roots. Susan is an innovator, and among her musical creations is "The Gospel Truth", a no-holds-barred grappling with faith and doubt which raised hackles and admiration from the entire belief spectrum. But that project is just the tip of the iceberg, and there is so much more to hear and see.

Singer/songwriter Russ Downs has been making music of many sorts for a couple decades - pop, rock, rockabilly, Christian, and more. Arlington, VA, is home with some time in Nashville, and his religious travels have taken him from non-practicing Methodist to Unitaritarian Universalist. Russ has an independent and compassionate mind, and plenty of heart in his songs.