Flynn The Cat
Maribeth Seagers
The guys loved the new NB-NS hoodies we gave out for Christmas...
Proud to know each of these men (including our beloved webslinger and New Beginnings-Next Step group facilitator Rotten Dan who's also sporting our official logo ballcap)
Hi Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
My annual holiday show to benefit Camp Dreamcatcher will take place on Saturday December 9th at the Kennett Flash in Kennett Square, PA. They tell me I've been doing these shows for something like 27 years now, so I guess this definitely qualifies as a tradition. I hope you'll come out and help support this very special therapeutic summer camp for kids dealing with AIDS/HIV. There's more information here: -flynns-annual-holiday-concert-to-benefit-camp-dreamcatcher/kennett-flash/kennett-square-pennsylvania/
On Thursday December 14th, I'll be performing a few songs at the screening of a very special documentary called "The Long Journey Home" that deals with the challenges combat veterans faced as they returned from Vietnam. The film will be shown at Jamey's House of Music in. Lansdowne, PA. You can find out more here:
There's a lot happening with New Beginnings-Next Step these days. There's been so much interest in the peer support groups we run for incarcerated and returning citizens that we've added a second weekly meeting at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution. We're also continuing in the Plummer Community Correctional Facility, and starting in January, we've been approved to begin weekly New Beginnings meetings at the Sussex County Correctional Institution down in Georgetown, Delaware.
These new groups will mean more guys to help with weekly bus passes and grocery store gift cards in the new year. I always try to do an annual fundraising concert for NBNS, but a variety of reasons made that impossible this year, so I will be performing a special "MY B.A.D." (Busk After Dusk) on Friday night, December 15th, at 7PM for NBNS. You can watch the show on Facebook ( ) or YouTube ( @singwriter272). And I hope you will consider making a tax-deductible donation to the work of our non-profit New Beginnings-Next Step Inc. through this Paypal link:
Hi Friends,
What kind of a world do we live in where folk singers are becoming are on your screens more than your local weather forecasters'
Just a quick note to remind you that I'll be doing another online show this Friday evening at 7PM (EDT). I've decided to call this little weekly concert series 'John Flynn's Busk At Dusk (B.A.D)' because that's kind of how I'm thinking of these shows. Just imagine that at the end of a long hard week you find me strumming some tunes out front of your abode, just camped out there on of your digital sidewalk, with some neighbors gathering round.
We had a great time last week. It turned out to be fun seeing all the comments stream in during the show, like a little party' reconnecting with old friends, singing old favorites and trying out some new stuff. I've received lots of song requests which I'm still going through. I'm planning to pick one or two for this week, and then put the rest in an old top hat. Each Friday I'll draw out a new request during the show (which will give me seven whole days to relearn it!) If you have anything you'd like to hear, just email it to me or send it as a comment during the show.
If you missed last week's inaugural B.A.D., you can find it here:
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Several people told me they don't much like using Facebook, so from now on I'll also be streaming all my shows simultaneously on YouTube. You can find the concerts at these links:
Facebook:
YouTube:
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Like I said last week, this show is free. Everyone's invited and there is no charge for viewing. But, like any good busker, I'll have my guitar case open on the sidewalk next to me to catch any spare pocket change or crumpled bills. So, if you'd like to stop by the 'digital tip jar' just google me at: Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to New Beginnings-Next Step.
In other doings, I'm attaching a link to a video of a new song that I plan to release as a single next week. 'How Many Bodies' was a completely unguarded response to what we've all been witnessing and (in my case) remaining silent about for far too long. My thanks to my musical partner Harvey for the amazing production and video:
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Finally, I've been asked to participate in an observance of this year's United Nations International Day of Peace. The program will be virtual ' starting at 3pm EDT on Sunday September 20. To reserve your free ticket, go to IDPBoston2020.Eventbrite.com or you can livestream it on the Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries Facebook page. Please visitwww.idpboston.org for more information.
Hope to see you soon. Stay safe.
Hi Folks,
Due to some persistent friends, fans' and, yes, persistent bills, I've decided to take the plunge into the new and exciting world of live streaming concerts. (You have no idea how big a step this is for a guy who can barely do more than send emails on a computer.) I'll be 'attempting' my first weekly foray into this arena this coming Friday night, September 11, at 7PM EDT. You can watch all the fun here:
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Friday night's show will feature songs of hope, including my old song, "I Will Not Fear" as we again mark this special date in our collective history. There will be no admission price asked or expected for streaming the show, however, donations will be gratefully accepted through PayPal (pay to jo...@johnflynn.net) or by mailed check (John Flynn, P.O. Box 8273, Wilmington, DE 19803).
Along with a few special songs I'll pick out for you each week, I will also plan to work up a request or two, so if you have something of mine ' or even someone else's- that you'd like to hear, send me an email and I'll see what I can do.
By the way, I really mean it when I say no admission price is needed. A friend wrote to me recently that she wouldn't be attending these shows because 'since the virus came along' things had become very difficult for her money-wise. I told her what I'll tell you all ' you're already on the guest list. Us 'singwriter' types have had to deal with the economic challenges of this period same as lots of other folks. Mostly, however, I just need to start singing to some friends again on a regular basis. So, if you're a little squeezed right now, don't feel lonesome. Tune in to the show Friday and we'll ride this out together for a little while.
I'll be donating a small portion of the proceeds from these Friday night shows each week to New Beginnings-Next Step. It won't be a lot, but your donations to NBNS at my concerts accounted for a hefty percentage of our fundraising, and I haven't been able to do any live shows for going on six months' so every little bit help can help.
Speaking of NBNS, the International Leadership Association recently asked me to write an article about the confluence of my music and my work with incarcerated and returning citizens. The article I submitted was called 'The Song I Didn't Play'. It's about a concert I did last year at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, and they liked it so much that the ILA is including it in their 2021 publication, A Grassroots Leadership & Arts for Social Change Primer for Educators, Organizers, Activists & Rabble-Rousers. If you're interested, you can read my article here:
-benefit-access/interface/grassroots-leadership/the-song-i-didnt-play-john-flynn929
I hope I'll see hope online Friday evening, and in person real soon!
Much love,
John
Hi Friends,
So quite a bit has happened since I last checked in. I pray you guys are all well and taking care of yourselves. As for me, life's going on pretty much the same with a few minor adjustments here and there. Of course, any shows I've written to you of have been postponed.
Our Next Step returning citizens support group meetings are on hiatus since we didn't want to risk either the health of our volunteers (who are even older than me), or that of our economically vulnerable members who can ill-afford any wage loss due to prolonged illness. We are reaching out to the guys by phone each week and making our weekly bus passes and grocery store gift cards available through the mail. As things evolve, we will certainly try to help when we can 'and as we can 'with the resources you've kindly made available to me through your donations at my concerts and PayPal offerings at NewBeginnings-NextStep.org. (Please don't see this as a solicitation right now. I know many have been adversely affected by the economic implications of the virus. Just know that I'm grateful for your support!) As far as the prisons, although they have been closed to all visitors in Delaware, they have remained open to New Beginnings, and I will continue to run groups for as long as I'm permitted inside.
Offenders are incredibly worried about Coivd-19; some because they're trapped in a problematic (in the best of times) healthcare situation, some because they're seriously immune-compromised, many because their loved ones are among the most vulnerable, and a few because they bear the weight of the nascent stages of spiritual awakening to the point that they fear being deprived of the chance to go home and try to make amends to those whose lives they have wounded. (This last fear seems to be the worst and was shared with tears last week by one of the toughest looking men I've ever seen.)
I know this social distancing stuff 'and what looks to me like an impending and inevitable national lockdown 'has a lot of folks freaked out, especially those who live alone. A long time ago the good sisters taught us about 'the mystical body of Christ' and what they called 'the communion of saints'. My Buddhist friends use different language but talk about the same kind of thing. Quantum physics now tells us this real and vital interrelationship of all things goes beyond mere space and time, beyond religious dogma, and certainly beyond temporary shelter-in-place policies. We are ALL connected. No one is alone. Not really. Feel me'
When I got home from prison the other day, I wrote to New Beginnings founder, Brother David Schlatter OFM, and asked him to point me to something in scripture I could take back into my guys. Brother David sent me a couple things which I'll copy below. People read the bible in different ways and at many levels. Some literal. Some symbolic. I don't wish to get into a hermeneutical discussion here. I simply offer these ancient and inspired words in the hope that taking them into the silence of your heart and mediating on them brings some comfort in these trying days:
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, 'My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.'
He will rescue you from the fowler's snare,
from the destroying plague,
He will shelter you with his pinions,
and under his wings you may take refuge;
his faithfulness is a protecting shield.
You shall not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
Nor the pestilence that roams in darkness,
nor the plague that ravages at noon.
Though a thousand fall at your side
ten thousand at your right hand,
near you it shall not come.
You need simply watch;
the punishment of the wicked you will see.
Because you have the LORD for your refuge
and have made the Most High your stronghold,
No evil shall befall you,
no affliction come near your tent.
For he commands his angels with regard to you,
to guard you wherever you go.
With their hands they shall support you,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You can tread upon the asp and the viper,
trample the lion and the dragon.
-Psalm 91
and...
But now, thus says the LORD,
who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are mine.
When you pass through waters, I will be with you;
through rivers, you shall not be swept away.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
nor will flames consume you.
For I, the LORD, am your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your savior...
- Isaiah 43:1-3.
I hope to see you soon.
Peace.
And much love,
John