12 minute read
From History to Hip Hop
Photo: Courtesy Walt Disney Pictures
Hamilton brings history to movie screens and living rooms.
by Jeanette Levellie
In a surprise move that delighted fans, Disney Studios released the movie version of Hamilton to Disney+ on July 3, 15 months ahead of its scheduled release date.
“In this very difficult time, this story of tenacity, hope and the power of people to unite against adversity is both relevant and inspiring,” Disney executive chairman Robert Iger said on Twitter.
Stealing the Brag Lin-Manuel Miranda, author of the original play and music score, told Variety.com, “You all have that friend that is like, ‘I saw it with the original cast.’ We’re stealing that brag because you’re all going to see it with the original cast.”
That cast includes Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Christopher Jackson as George Washington and Daveed Diggs in the dual role of the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. All the lead characters are played by people of colour, a purposeful decision by Miranda to focus on diversity and inclusion.
Making a Difference With very little dialogue, Hamilton takes viewers on a modern musical journey sharing the fascinating
story of one of the United States’ founding fathers. The soundtrack of catchy lyrics and energetic tunes became the bestselling cast album in Nielsen history. According to an interview in The New York Times, Miranda estimates the musical score as “one-third rapped to twothirds sung.”
“Hamilton was born a penniless orphan in Saint Croix, of illegitimate birth, became George Washington’s right-hand man and treasury secretary, and all on the strength of his writing. I think he embodies the word’s ability to make a difference,” Miranda told an audience at an evening of music at the White House in 2009, before Hamilton was completed.
No Exclusion Jessica Wong of CBC News tells the stories of how Hamilton changed the lives of two students at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont.
“Matthew Joseph had performed in school musicals, but his plan was to study math in university,” writes Wong. When a friend shared the cast recording of Hamilton, Matthew’s love for musical theatre was reborn. “At that point, I decided I had to pursue this,” says the thirdyear theatre student at Sheridan. During his first year at the college, he joined a group of two other students to form the singing trio CZN.
Germaine Konji, in her fourth year at Sheridan, also attributes her pursuit of a degree in theatre to Hamilton. Germaine applauds how Miranda took long-held ideas about musical theatre and created a melting-pot culture of hip hop, jazz, rap and R&B. Before seeing the show, Germaine says that as a person of colour, she might not have seen herself in a history textbook on the founding of the United States. But Hamilton changed her thinking. Now she “sees no reason to be excluded.”
Something to Sing About Since its creation in 1776, the United States has welcomed people of every race to its shores. It’s grown into a diverse family founded on the truth that all people are equally valuable and born with the same rights. Current race relations south of the border and here in Canada remind us that deep fissures still exist, but there are signs of hope.
When Jesus started His family— the church—anyone could join. The Apostle Paul said, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Inclusion is the heart of God’s family. He offers the same hope of overcoming sin and eternal life to every person. He doesn’t simply accept us as His children. He delights in our diversity.
And that’s something to sing about!
Photos: Sharm
One to One Chaplain Juliane Martin chats with a client at Bunton Lodge/WP Archibald Centre in Toronto, a Salvation Army facility for ex-offenders
A Chaplain on the Front Line
I AM USING COVID-19’S LENS TO SEE MY FAITH WITH FRESH EYES. by Juliane Martin
The reality of COVID-19 hit me on March 13 at 9:30 p.m. Armed with my coffee, I pulled into Walmart and rolled my eyes at the full parking lot. Great! I thought, a peaceful Friday-night shopping trip ruined. But when I saw the empty shelves, I stopped in my tracks. It was at that moment I realized things were serious.
Thankfully, the food shortage was short-lived, but the changes in my routine are something I continue to wrestle with.
Sense of Peace I am a chaplain with The Salvation Army at Bunton Lodge/WP Archibald Centre in Toronto, a halfway facility for ex-offenders. My job has been deemed an essential service, so work has continued on without the boredom many of my friends are lamenting. Nevertheless, we are constantly adjusting to new protocols and diligently striving to keep our residents and staff safe.
I have been incredibly fortunate to have a flexible schedule that has allowed me to balance my family obligations while still ministering to the men who reside at our facilities. Weekly Zoom meetings, program planning and letter writing to inmates can be done from home, but the moments that I have felt most useful have been on-site, providing a ministry of presence.
During these past weeks, I have been blessed with deep conversations with a number of residents and staff that I had not previously ventured into the spiritual realm with. If one good thing has come out of the chaos of this pandemic, it has been the softening of hearts and opening of eyes to the things that actually matter. People seem to have a new-found willingness to discuss things and, more than ever, I have been questioned about the sense of peace I seem to have as a Christian.
“Attending” Church
One conversation occurred with a co-worker about the restrictions on group gatherings. Eventually, the discussion came to churches closing their doors on Sundays. My colleague shared that she had stopped going to church years ago. She wanted to return but didn’t know where to go or what to do.
I shared that I have been “church hopping” via livestream and was enjoying the ability to check out a variety of churches around the world that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do otherwise. As a result of our discussion, I sent her some links to local Salvation Army
Talking It Over “People are feeling stressed and struggling to get through the days, but there are also tremendous acts of kindness happening,” says Juliane
churches and was delighted to hear that she had decided to “attend” church again!
While I am certain many people are viewing sermons from their living rooms who would not be attending brick-and-mortar services, it was a reminder to me that church is not just a place we go to. It’s really about the people who make up the church, and the relationships we have with one another and with God.
Answer to Prayer I remember in the early days of the pandemic feeling frustrated that I had to cancel some of the events I had planned for the days ahead. But I am thankful for the creativity God has gifted me with.
When doing things as they have always been done is no longer an option, each day is an opportunity to live out Isaiah 43:19: “I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” (New Living Translation). Now is the time to reach out in ways I had not considered before.
I work with a network that provides safe and welcoming places where ex-offenders and friends can experience Christian community, and members of our halfway house attend. Like many organizations, they have switched over to virtual meetings in response to COVID-19.
Video-conferencing can bring people together without cumbersome travel logistics. People who normally cannot attend events are able to “Zoom in” and feel connected to the other participants in ways that surpass a phone call.
I was blessed to witness a Zoom
meeting where a brother and sister were able to see each other for the first time in almost three years! All the way from Newfoundland and Labrador, a sister was finally able to see the people her brother had been talking about for years. This was an innovative answer to prayer.
Tired Feet, Worn Ears, Full Heart The way God has enabled me to share His love for people has had a profound impact on my own understanding of who He is. I’ve sent more than 100 letters with puzzles, trivia sheets and colouring pages to inmates and I am pleased to know they are bringing hope behind prison walls.
It is not lost on me that people are feeling stressed and struggling to get through the days, but there are also tremendous acts of kindness happening.
Picking up the phone, dropping off groceries, mailing a card, cooking a meal—these are just a few examples of things we can do to show our neighbours we care. My four children have been painting rocks with messages of hope to be scattered around the neighbourhood and they love looking for ones that other people have placed along the sidewalks.
Although it may be true that every family is experiencing this pandemic in unique ways, there is a common thread that binds us all: we are suddenly aware that how we treat each other matters.
I recently spoke to a dear friend of mine, a retired Salvation Army prison chaplain, about the hope we have that things will not go back to normal. If we fall back into our old way of doing things, we will have missed a monumental opportunity to grow closer to God.
It is said that to be a chaplain is to have tired feet and worn ears. This is certainly true, but I’d add that having a full heart makes it all worth it.
Packed to the Brim Sandy Blackwell with her car full of donations
Piece by Piece
LORRAINE BLUE KNEW THE SALVATION ARMY NEEDED HELP DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, SO SHE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT. by Ken Ramstead
This past spring, Lorraine Blue was watching a Salvation Army commercial appealing for help with COVID-19. Sitting there in her living room, she thought, In the middle of this crazy world, what can I do right now, as one person, to help?
It was simplicity itself to pick up her phone and make a donation, which she did. Team Effort But the next day, the thought persisted. Lorraine knew that there must be more she could do to help. But what?
That afternoon, as she was passing Bailey’s Home Hardware store in Toronto, it hit her: “I’m sure that the Army is feeding a lot more people now thanks to COVID-19. They must need more food.”
On a whim, she entered the store and found out that they had 400 packages of low-fat bran muffin mix (each package makes 24 muffins) plus 280 large cans of vanilla icing that were nearing their expiration dates in a month, though the manager assured her that they would keep for much longer. Lorraine promptly purchased the lot, and when the Home Hardware manager found out why she was buying them, he gave her a steep discount. Home Hardware staff even helped her place the boxes in her car.
Lorraine’s next step was to contact The Salvation Army’s divisional headquarters in Toronto to find out how she could donate all this food. The automated answering service frustrated her efforts, as she knew no one there, but after randomly pressing buttons in hopes of connecting to a “live” person, she managed to reach Vivienne So, a manager in employee relations.
“I was moved by her story,” Vivienne says, “and I wanted to see this donation put to good use.”
But she had only been on the job for six months and wasn’t sure what the protocol was.
“I didn’t feel right to just say ‘wrong number’ or pass her along,” Vivienne says, “so I decided to take care of this myself.”
After a number of inquiries, Vivienne was directed to the Army’s Railside distribution centre and passed on their contact information to a happy Lorraine.
She, in turn, loaded her car up and drove to the Railside facility with the purchased and donated supplies.
“The staff at The Salvation Army were so amazing,” says Lorraine. “Between Home Hardware and Railside, it was a team effort.”
Kindred Souls Lorraine’s vision grew. “I realized I was not just helping those who were out of work due to COVID-19,” she says. “I was assisting others that the Army was looking out for: the homeless, the seniors, the disabled.”
When she returned to purchase
Happy Work A Bailey’s Home Hardware worker helps unpack a donated skid
A friend of Sandy’s donated $200 from her own pocket to supply medical gloves, even though she had been recently laid off from her job.
more food, Bailey’s Home Hardware donated items free of charge, including masks and hand sanitizer. Soon, friends and acquaintances were dropping off purchases at Lorraine’s home, having heard of her efforts. Now Lorraine had more items than she could fit in her car, so her friend, Sandy Blackwell, drove over to help bring everything to Railside.
Lorraine’s project also received support from her local Costco, which donated a skid of bananas, and a local liquidation store contributed foodstuffs. A friend of Sandy’s, Tammy Wilkins, donated $200 from her own pocket to supply medical gloves, even though she had been
recently laid off from her job.
“She wanted to contribute to the cause in any way she could,” says Lorraine.
Other local companies have given skids of deodorant, cases of cookies, individual bags of caramel cashew mix and toothpaste, either for free or at drastically reduced rates.
“It’s a feeling that keeps spreading and growing larger and larger every day,” smiles Lorraine. “We have become a team of kindred souls, one generous act at a time.”
“A Better Place” “We often take for granted small acts of kindness, but God’s plan is so clear: He wants us to love others,” says Lisa Baker, Vivienne’s supervisor and head of employee relations at the Army’s divisional headquarters. “Lorraine’s efforts are so appreciated.”
“Piece by piece, if everyone did a little something, the world would be a better place,” Lorraine concludes.
Hopping to It Lorraine Blue (left) and Tammy Wilkins continue to receive donations
