Share the Well

My favorite musical artist has been Rich Mullins since I was about 17. Yes I've enjoyed my share of Hip-Hop and Rock over time but Rich Mullins to me was someone who challenged my faith through his music. He wasn't trying to appeal to my youthful desire for passing trends. He wrote songs that stand the test of time. Not only that but his music is a reflection of a deep and abiding relationship with Christ. The lyrics in many was were Theology courses. I was saddened when he past away in a car accident several years ago.

Lately I've begun to find the same train of thought with Caedmon's Call. They are a band out of Houston, TX that is known pretty well in most Christian circles. I recently purchased their newest project called "Share the Well". It's a beautiful ablbum. I whole-heartedly encourage you to purchase this album.

From the Caedmon's Call site:

In early 2003, Young met leaders from Dalit Freedom Network, a ministry to the severely demoralized Indian population called Dalits (meaning "oppressed"). Through their conversation, he discovered staggering facts about the Dalit people that he shared with the rest of the band. Victims of the caste system, Dalits are deemed the lowest class in India, referred to as the "untouchables," by their lack of worthiness. Stripped of their most basic human rights, they are forced into extreme poverty, treated as animals---tortured, beaten, and removed of their dignity, with no real hope of ever rising beyond their circumstances. Staggeringly, the 250 million Dalits in India exceeds the entire US population.

Soon after that meeting, Caedmon's Call began planning for a recording that infuses multi-cultural sounds and stories. With the help of Compassion and Dalit Freedom Network, they scheduled trips to meet the Dalits and others whose plights inspired them. The band also decided to title their project Share the Well when they learned that Dalits (many whom they met while traveling through rural India,) are not permitted to drink from wells unless an upper caste person draws the water for them. Many Dalits wait all day and are never given a drink. For Caedmon's Call, this reality came as a metaphor to those thirsting for hope and a savior. The title track's lyrics echo the group's resulting vision for the album:

Share the Well, share with your brother
Share the Well my friend
It takes a deeper well to love one another
Share the well my friend.