Song of the Soul

Sara Hickman is an artist with a passionate and activist soul. From the work that earned her an honorary degree as a music therapist to her work on behalf of Romanian orphans, whether performing in a church fund-raiser for a shelter or on the stage of Austin City Limits, Sara brings heart and deep listening to Spirit to her music.

Sara Thomsen lives amongst the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin, making music and leading a choir. She's released 3 solo albums plus one with the group called Three Altos. Raised ELCA Lutheran and an occasional UU attender now, her music is deeply spiritual with a lively concern for the world.

Carlton has spent the past 2 years at an ashram in California, finding his way forward in his spiritual life. He's produced a CD Love Is The Cure that shares music he's been given, freeing him to skip past the ego battles that were such a part of his work as a counselor.

Nora has tasted a lot of different churches in the course of her spiritual search, and an important part of her quest included coming to grips with the parts of her that felt unloved and unlovable, that doubted that any church could be trusted. She has found a spiritual home, at present, at Unity Christ Center of Eau Claire.

During nearly 30 years of driving trucks Annabella was pulled into deep spiritual introspection. One of the outcroppings of this was prolific songwriting on spiritual matters. With her partner at the time, Bobbie Bush, she formed the singing duo "Sweet Spirit". Annabella continues singing solo now delving into the challenge of balancing physical life with spiritual being.

Sara's spiritual journey might be seen as an upward spiral of sorts. She grew up in a couple different very conservative Lutheran churches which, as it developed, did not fit her well. Her exploration as a young adult took to Unity for some years, then to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and then back to St John's Lutheran Church, this time of the ELCA flavor. Among the other expessions of her spirit, Sara leads weekly Soul Dance in Eau Claire

Sally Rogers has been sharing her music with the world for at least 3 decades, has more than a dozen recordings, and some of her songs have been included in both the Unitarian and Quaker hymnals. She teaches music in Connecticut and is a singer/songwriter on weekends and in the summer.

Annie Patterson is a thorough music lover, maker and sharer, with many years experience performing music in coffeehouses, clubs and festivals and with a swing group called Big Nite Out and Girls From Mars. Annie was raised Methodist, but felt, even in her teens, a tug toward the Divine presence available in silence, an attraction that led her to Quakers as an adult.

Dana had a life-changing experience in 1991 when God gave her the first of her Christian songs, after years with secular bands. Since then she's been given more than 100 songs and will have a release concert for her first solo CD, Leap of Faith, on November 17th.

Mark is many things - a father, a storyteller, a sustainable living activist - and he's passionate about music. His junior high school choir even recorded 3 records! Probably best known for his work with the MREA, Mark does and teaches sustainable construction with his company, Bearpaw Design & Construction. Raised Lutheran, a stint with Unitarians, he leans toward Native American and Earth-based spirituality.