Music
No staid pipe organs here.  Sunday morning celebration begins with a half-hour jam, led by Conrad DeFiebre and Dianne O’Donnell.  Others include: Kent Eklund, piano; Wayne Bailey, guitar; Tom Judge, Mary Parker and Doug Rosenquist on percussions, Tony Wentersdorf, harmonica, piccalo and autoharp; Jim Kellerman, flute and sax; Jim McCreary, various wind instruments; Steve Sandberg, trombone, Don Browne, guitar or mandolin, David West, ukulele; Ruth Gigereich, guitar; Marcia Sanoden, mandolin and guitar; Jim Feldman, bass; and Laila Hollenbeck, flute.  Sometimes there are more people playing music than singing in the pews!

Music is big at Walker.  Many members are musicians and songwriters. Many of the songs in the Walker Song Book (used during the celebrations) were written by Walkerites. Below are some of our musicians and musical friends, as well as some groups in which they play.  To see where they are performing, see the Walker Community Arts Calendar by clicking here.

Here are some of the performers and groups:

The Walker Singers, under the direction of Jim McMcreary, represents Walker at many functions throughout the Twin Cities in addition to often performing at Sunday Celebrations. For additional information visit The Walkers Singers Home Page.

Alice & Don Browne are singer/songwriters, musicians and music therapists, playing guitar, fiddle and mandolin. They perform in coffeehouses around town, including the Haha Club, Patricks Cabaret, Fireroast Coffeehouse... and they regularly appear on the Walker stage. Their songs have been played on MPR and NPR. They have a CD, "Amazing Grace" for sale for $10. To order, please e-mail them.

Laila Hollenbeck is a talented young flautist currently away from the community for an extended visit to France. She has a CD available: “Soaring Spirit - a Tai Ji Serenade.”

Howard Kranz is a talented song writer and guitar player with several contributions to the Walker Song Book. He plays coffee houses and his schedule can be found in the Walker Arts Calendar.

David West sings and plays one of the few baritone ukuleles in town, a skill he learned from his Dad.  He's a retired actor and storyteller but has been known to weave a tale or two in church or at Southwest High School where he teaches English to anybody who cares.  He will also occasionally ham it up with the Fireroast Mountain Boys of which he is a loud and proud member.  He has written such songs as Cry Me a Tear and The Denial Tango.  With his young son Skyler he performed a very unique version of Away in the Manger on the Walker stage. 

The Fireroast Mountain Boys (FMB) is an eclectic band of titanic talent sinking ever faster into the sea of delight.  Featuring an ocean going combination of Don Browne on mandolin, guitar, and vocals, David West on baritone ukulele and vocals, Steve Sandberg on trombone and tuba, Tom Judge on percussion and the ubiquitous Tim (Gus) Gustafson on lead guitar, bass, harmonica, and vocals, FMB appears one Friday a month at the Fireroast Mountain Cafe and anywhere else that'll have 'em.  Their unique blend of original songs, as well as folk, jazz, blues and rock non standards is sure to appeal to

Judge Bennett with John Bennett on guitar, Jim Feldman on bass and flute and Tom Judge on drums, plays acoustic blues, folk and jazz at coffee houses around town. John and Jim each write songs in a variety of styles. One Walker favorite is Jim's arrangement of Lao Tzu #11, Every Somethin' Needs Some Nothin' FFI www.judgebennett.com

James Kellerman plays flute, saxophone, piano, and a number of other instruments. He teaches music, as well as performs. Jim has a CD available: “A Christmas Prayer”. It is a great gift! To order A Christmas Prayer CD 1, call (800) 543-9646. FFI www.jameskellermanmusic.com

Karen Lyu & Global Jazz play, you guessed it, jazz. But Karen does a bit of everything: opera, folk songs in many languages, Latin... she's amazing. Karen teaches voice lessons at the West Bank School of Music. Watch the calendar for listings of Karen's gigs.

Visual & Performing Arts
Probably about half the Walker congregation is made up of artists of one type or another.  A first impression for the visitor is the beautiful Circle of Life Mural inside the front entry.  It was painted by Laura Burlis and Munir Kahar, with help from Margo McCreary and Peter Foster.  The banners inside the sanctuary, representing the Genesis story of creation was created by the Sunday School, under direction of Sandy Spieler and Will Hommeyer.  Earlier on, Sandy founded the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater, which incubated in the basement of Walker. In late 2004, a gallery was opened in the lounge in which Walker artists can display their works.

Tara Inmon, a painter and poet, says "I have done paintings and sculptures inspired from visual changes and dreams." She has exhibited in galleries and museums nationally, all over the country, through Art of the Eye I and II. She has had solo shows at Bloomington Art Center, Coffee Gallery, Faribault Art Center, and Paul Whitney Larson Galley.

The interactive Peace Altar in the back of the Sanctuary was installed by Leslie MacKenzie. The altar is meant to provide a place where people can light a candle, pray for peace and ask for prayers. Through our prayers we share our hearts. Paper and pencils are provided. Please write your prayer and pin it to the fabric behind the table. Matchbooks hang from the top of the fabric. Additional candles can be found in the container under the table, as well as a sitting pillow and drum. On the back wall is a bulletin board. On the right side, we encourage you to write steps we can take to encourage peace. On the left, please post information about war and peace issues, or post notices to engage people in discussion.

Written and Spoken Word
We have several professional writers, poets (and editors) among our membership. Here's what they may be doing.

Tara Inmon writes poetry and memoir. She has performed at Patrick's Cabaret, The MayDay Cafe and Amazon Bookstore. She has been published in "Verb," "In Solid Ground" and "Sisters Today."

James B. Livingston is a lyricist, poet, playwright, essayist, writer of short stories, and editor of a literary journal. He has performed his poetry at the MayDay Cafe, Gus Lucky's, Anodyne Coffeehouse, Ginkos coffeehouse and Walker Open Stage. He has two CDs for sale "Memorial Day," $10 and "Lyrics by Livingston" $10. Visit his website through http://www.mnartists.org. Click here to read his poetry presented as a special performance on Sunday, February 27th

Jesse Watkins and Peter Doughty have a publishing company, LifePath Histories . They write and produce memoirs, family histories and corporate histories. Ralph is a head/heart writer with 50 years experience. "I've been published mostly in agricultural magazines and a newspaper column. As a playwright, I have no Broadway plays... yet." LifePath books has created a history of Walker Church from the 1970s to today. "Building the Beloved Community" was published in late 2003. Copies are available for purchase from the office. (A previous church history since its beginning in the late 1800s was written by Conrad DeFiebre.)

Other artists include:

Margo McCreary, painter, beadwork, puppetry

Marg Rozycki, painter, puppetry

Peter Doughty, photography

Henry Schultz, beadwork

Alice Browne, painting

Laura Burlis, painting

Douglas Rosenquist, poet

Rick Carlson, poet

Kent Ecklund, piano, songwriter