You'd think by now we would have a dependable mission statement for Urban Hymnal but we don't. It became apparent as we wrote in the context of the death and resurrection of our Savior and found ourselves scrambling to justify some of our choices. "Don't go hiding" was the theme, and we took it to heart as we exercised freedom to express doubt, self-contempt, matters of sexuality, gender exclusive language and even country-twang vocals. I won't pretend that the resulting material is safe--it isn't. We are an artist group and not a church. And artists are curious, we dabble, we throw rocks from tall buildings and hammer at foundations. We also bring helmets and wet cement.

If I take a stab at some of our core values I can say we're about beauty, ecumenism, creating space, exploration, glory, blessing, rest. (Just a tad idealistic, eh.) Even these most lovely of ideas can lead to unsafe places. Exploration is dangerous. Love is dangerous. Glory is messy. And I am quite sure that we don't all experience rest and beauty in the same manner; some find beauty in unity, others diversity. These don't have to be exclusive ideas for the artist-in-community, but I find that in practice, catering to a large audience can result in rather anemic creativity. How much impact can I make if I am simply avoiding toes. I suppose we could do an hour of ambient instrumental music... ah but then we'd have to debate about the overuse of minor chords and the disrespectful attire of the musicians or other such froth. And so I find myself flinching: "Don't put us(God) in a box man!" Blech, the most fatuous of self-righteous clichés. Yes dogma is repellent and counter-diverse but so is irreverence.

Art was so much simpler when I had either the church to adorn or the club to entertain.

So should we get ourselves a trusty mission statement?

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Matt Whitney just sent me some of his sketches, which will be projected somewhere/somehow. His ideas on hiding are quite fascinating. I so enjoy these moments of collaborating.