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Turbulent

FS

2026

Move through scripture and Lent by reading the words of these songs and listening to the voices that bring them to life. These recordings were made by the artists so that you may feel and know their words.

In the midst of our own turbulent times, we turn again to the Civil Rights Movement to learn from those who walked ahead of us. Martin King said, Freedom Songs were “the soul of the movement.” Many of these songs come to us from the underground railroad and the struggle to survive and end slavery. Many come from the struggle to survive and end Jim Crowe. Yet, these songs have never gone quiet. Somewhere someone has kept on singing, and now more voices take up these songs on the streets of New Orleans, Minneapolis, Springfield, and all across the country.


In truth, each of these 40 Freedom Songs traces its roots far further back than the founding of the United States to times of turbulence recounted to us by those who lived scripture. These songs are Biblical. 

As you listen to the music, read the short verses, so that the Holy Spirit may focus your soul.

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Certainly Lord
This Little Light of Mine
Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace (Official Audio)
FS2
The Freedom Singers perform "We Shall Not Be Moved" at the March on Washington
Michael Row The Boat Ashore
Woke Up This Morning
FS3
Go Down, Moses
Paul And Silas Bound In Jail
The First Recording of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
FS4
Steal Away-Mahalia Jackson & Nat King Cole from Emeless
St. James Missionary Baptist Church of Canton: Wade In the Water (1978)
Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (Remastered)
FS5
Sister Rosetta Tharpe • Down By The Riverside • 1964 [Reelin' In The Years Archive]
Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit arr. William L. Dawson
Oh Freedom
FS6
Bessie Griffin - Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees
Eyes On The Prize ("Hold On") (Voice)
FS7
Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round
Mary, Don't You Weep
Go Tell It on the Mountain
FS8
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head I Hear Music In the Air - Gospel
Billy Eckstine (Nat King Cole) "If I Can Help Somebody" 1957
We Shall Overcome
FS9
Come by Here
I'm Going to Sit At The Welcome Table
De Gospel Train
You've Got To Love Everybody
Paul Robeson - "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?" [Official Audio]
Roll, Jordan, Roll
FS10

About the Curator

Dan (he/him) is a Deacon of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as well as an author, artist, film-maker, game designer, teacher, and part-time shepherd. Dan has served in children, youth, and campus ministries. Dan first heard the call to ministry through Black Liberation Theology as an undergrad at Wittenberg University and discovered his gifts for sharing that theology creatively while in seminary at Yale Divinity School. His greatest passions are serving kids and advocating for justice in fulfilling God's promised kingdom. These days, you're likely to find Dan knee deep in excited kids, building bricks, or pages of new poetry and children's lit. You might also find him outside tending to his small duck, sheep, and alpaca farm.

Dan is a proud member of the neurodivergent community. He lives with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. It's both a disability and a gift. Reach out to Dan if you'd like to learn more about his experience.

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Land Acknowledgement

The Banner Blue studio and office are located on the original and ancestral homelands of the Myaamia Nation, Shawnee Nation, Kaskaskia Nation, Hopewell Culture, and Adena Culture. We understand the importance and necessity of acknowledging the land and its original, Indigenous peoples, and doing so consistently. Also, we understand that this statement is just a first step and that we must learn more, do more and realize healing and justice for Indigenous peoples whose lands we now occupy. Created with the help of the ELCA Land Acknowledgement Guide

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