Monthly Morning Prayer: Special October MMP with friends from Common Hymnal

Malcolm du Plessis describes himself as the Prince of Random, based on his zigzag history and his penchant for risk taking. He has straddled the worlds of religion and showbiz for over forty years: from songwriter to song publisher; from human rights activist to church planter; from artist manager to record company exec; from mentor to undeveloped talent to consultant to record labels, publishing companies and movements; from aggregator of a musical movement that fused praise and protest in the apartheid era of his native South Africa to instigating a similar endeavor in his new South Africa, the US, several decades later. He has had a footprint in the ‘mainstream’ but identifies primarily as an underground activist with a passion to dismantle colonial hierarchies in all of their various shapes and forms. Common Hymnal, his most recent undertaking, centers life, justice and underground spirituality, and mirrors his eclectic DNA.

A virtual hymnbook stocked with forward-facing content from the spiritual underground, Common Hymnal is an online platform that was established five years ago as an outlet for creatives on the outermost margins of the Christian faith. One of the consequences of the dramatic shifts in culture in recent years is the displacement of a generation of gifted artists and thinkers who are writing songs and telling stories that do not fit the religious industrial complex. In making a home for these people, Common Hymnal has been able to curate an intriguing catalog of music that centers life, justice and underground spirituality, covering a wide range of subject matter in a broad range of styles. As such, Common Hymnal has recorded and released a fresh collection of songs each year since its inception. All the while, the clamor for this music to be brought into live spaces has been on the increase. The ecosystem is full of dynamic performers, and different combos of artists are traveling out to do shows on a regular basis. Because of the intentionality of the lyrics, the project has gained significant traction in the justice movement. The aspiration is to become more and more a part of the zeitgeist of the culture at large.

Monthly Morning Prayer follows the liturgy from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals and is open to all.