About Us

Think about the strings of a guitar.  What do they do?  Connect . . . vibrate . . .  resonate . . . all to create the ordered sounds we call music.  This space is about Noel Paul Stookey . . . his life, his music and his spiritual journey.

I’m your Strings host, Jeanne Torrence Finley and I’m privileged to be helping Noel write his autobiography, For the Love of It All:  Music, Justice, and Faith Beyond Labels.  Here you can read about our books’ beginnings, our process, adventures in doing the research, and stories and research that don’t appear in the book. Strings is the place where we’ll share video clips from our Zoom interviews and snippets from transcripts and emails.    And since we are still working on the first draft, we’ll be asking you questions that will help shape the ending and our coming revisions when we start working with editors.  

Like the strings of Noel’s guitar, this newsletter offers a place of connection, vibration, resonance, and creation. It will connect  with other musicians like those who are a part of Music to Life, the nonprofit co-founded by Noel and his daughter Liz to encourage and equip artists who are working for social change.  It is a place to discover resonance between Noel’s music and some leading voices in progressive Christianity today like Brian McLaren,  Norman Wirzba, Diana Butler Bass, and Richard Rohr.

Noel likes to quote his friend, folk singer Tom Paxton, who says,  “It’s okay  to look at the past as long as you don’t get caught staring at it.” Strings refers to the past but keeps a steady focus on the present and future social and political concerns. As the host and principal writer, I welcome you with an invitation to join us in the conversation.

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