Songs of Life: Music, Mission, and Medicine

by Megan Meyers

In this article, I want to take medical ethnomusicology a step beyond, addressing missiological issues that arise from diverse kingdom practices in Mozambique. I demonstrate how music and the creative arts can constructively engage society, supporting and nurturing a vital way of life and health that bears public witness to the reign of God.

Photos courtesy Megan Meyers

Queremos ver pessoas livre da malaria, Porque a malaria e uma doenca prejudicial
Acreditamos que juntos venceremos, sim venceremos!

We want to see people free of malaria, Because malaria is a harmful sickness
We believe that together we can win, yes, we can win!

These are the words of a song recently created by a group of young men at a ‘Songs of Life’ workshop in Maforga, Mozambique. The goal of the workshop was two-fold: (1) to create songs based on health topics that could be used in ongoing heath teaching and educational campaigns in the surrounding community, and (2) to develop composers who could continue to use the songwriting method to create songs that edify and grow the local church.

Such a workshop could be categorized as an outgrowth of the newly-emerging discipline of medical ethnomusicology, a field of integrative research and collaborative discourse across diverse disciplines. Marina Roseman provides a simple definition of the field: “the study of music, medicine, and culture” (Roseman 2008).

Gregory Barz’ ethnography, Singing for Life (2006), describes the infusion of medical interventions specific to HIV/AIDS in musical performances in Uganda. He states:

The stories that follow underscore the immediate need for medical ethnomusicology to focus on disease, healing, as well as on the application of local herbs and traditional medicines by healers, herbalists and health-care practitioners in sub-Saharan Africa. The ability of expressive culture in (Uganda) to contribute to health care initiatives is deeply embedded within musical performance. Indigenous conceptualizations of music in (Uganda) often describe the ability of performances to both communicate information and affect social behavior…Music is both medicine and education. (Barz 2006, 3)

In this article, I want to take medical ethnomusicology a step beyond, addressing missiological issues that arise from diverse kingdom practices in Mozambique. I demonstrate how music and the creative arts can constructively engage society, supporting and nurturing a vital way of life and health that bears public witness to the reign of God.

Medical Condition of Mozambique

Today in Mozambique, there is only one Mozambican doctor per 44,000 people (as opposed to the 1:700 ratio in the United States). HIV/AIDS is at around 11.4% in the country in general. In Beira and the central corridor, the percentage is much higher; medical experts estimate that 1 in 4 people have HIV/AIDS (25%).

Aside from HIV/AIDS, other top fatal illnesses are tuberculosis, typhoid, and malaria—all of which are preventable and treatable diseases. The life expectancy is about 45 years of age.

Combine these disturbing statistics with the fact that about half of the population is illiterate and that Mozambique is among the poorest countries in the world, with an average monthly income of less than $100 per month. Government agencies are grid-locked in scandal and corruption, and the peace process that took twenty years to establish is disintegrating with weekly reports of political disturbances and violence between rival factions.

Given these facts, the outlook for the health and well-being of Mozambicans seems rather bleak. Yet it is to this very place and people that my husband and I (as a medical doctor and a musician) were called seven years ago. Occasionally, our ministry paths coincide. Below I will describe three ways that we have seen music and medicine working together to constructively engage Mozambican society with the gospel.

Roots Jams

Sounds of faith in God’s healing power begin to drift heavenward at Beira’s Central hospital. Faces change from looks of discouragement and fear to hope and faith. Although we are strangers, we are united in purpose to visit the sick. We join hands and fervently pray for healing. Visiting hours begin and the participants head to the wards, encouraged by our time together.

“Roots Jams” was a weekly music practice session, initially conceived as a means for performance ethnography with local Christian musicians. However, as the group grew, a missionary doctor challenged us to share the music we were creating with others at the hospital. Shortly thereafter, we began ‘performing’ under mango trees just outside the internal medicine ward where people gathered prior to visiting hours.

Our performances usually consist of a brief introduction, followed by a song or two in which we encourage participation, a short sermon, and additional songs and prayers. Sometimes, we are heckled by drunks, psychotics, or bereaved relatives who are wandering the grounds. Generally, however, we are welcomed and encouraged by passersby and the hospital staff who sometimes stop to join in or carry ambulatory patients closer so they can participate.

Although the results of this ministry are difficult to quantify, people have come to faith, asked for healing prayer, and joined or returned to church for ongoing discipleship. Allow me to share one participant’s story:

I went to the hospital to visit my sister earlier in the day. She was unable to eat, move, or even speak. The doctor told me that there was no hope for her, that he had done all he could for her. He glanced out the window and said, “Oh, the music group has arrived. Maybe you should go down there and talk to them. Perhaps their God can help you.” Sad and discouraged, I went downstairs and sat and listened as you sang and prayed and preached. I felt encouraged and started praying for my sister, hoping that God could heal her.

When visiting hours started, I went back to my sister’s bed. She was sitting up, and as soon as she saw me she said, “Sister, I’m hungry! Give me something to eat.” She continued to improve and within a few days she was released from the hospital.

This participant has since invited the group to visit her home and has shared about God’s healing power with her family and neighbors.

Another effect of Roots Jams has been the discipleship of group members. These Christian musicians are growing in their public musical abilities, and their perspective about evangelism and missions has expanded. They view Roots Jams as a ministry, and feel called to share God’s love, healing, and compassion with those who are hurting.

As one musician said, “I always knew I was supposed to evangelize, but I felt strange preaching, walking around with a Bible. Now I know that I can use the musical gifts God’s given me, and share my faith through song!”

Medical Student Conference

The power cuts out halfway through a song. Un-phased, the students keep singing, raising their voices in joyous celebration of who God is, and what he has done. Some turn on their cell phone lights, while others begin a spontaneous dance circle, including their entire being, in praising God together.

ABEMO, a sister organization of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, annually hosts a conference for medical students at the beginning of each academic year in Beira. This weekend-long event draws medical students from various schools in Mozambique, as well as from neighboring Zimbabwe and South Africa. It is a time of encouragement and challenge for the students, renewing their faith and their calling to be Christian physicians.

Aside from teaching sessions, small-group discussions, and games, a key aspect of each conference is the worship sets that open and conclude each session. These times of worship not only focus and unite the students, but also provide a time where they are directly connecting with the healing presence of the Holy Spirit.

Even though most of the students are not ‘musically inclined’ per se, they recognize that singing together is a necessary and important part of the transformational process. As one student said, “Although I like all the parts of the conference, it is in worship where I am most touched, when I know that the Spirit of God is at work in my heart and in the hearts of others.” Future physicians know that they experience spiritual health through music, which allows them to connect with God on a heart level.

Songs of Life Workshop

Their shining faces said it all. The young participants were proud of the song they had created, and were glad to be able to share it with the other participants. All their hard work in learning about diseases, some of which had killed friends and relatives, was now being transformed into songs that would be repeated—in schools, in homes, and on the road.

As mentioned previously, the “Songs of Life” songwriting workshop was the accumulation of a health education project, focused on teaching youth about diseases that can be prevented and treated with proper knowledge and care. I was invited to facilitate, to summarize the materials learned, and to transmit the principles in culturally-appropriate musical forms.

The participants ranged in age from 9-18, with little musical experience. Yet, after a brief introduction where I discussed the importance of creating new songs that bring life and draw people to Christ (based on Psalm 40:1-3 and John 10:10), we divided into three groups of four to six people and began working on health topics.

Our first challenge was to distill a lot of information down into one to two core sentences, which would form the chorus of each song. This was difficult for the participants as orally preferential learners; they were unfamiliar with the critical evaluative process necessary to summarize three to five pages of Powerpoint notes. Regardless, within a short time, each group came up with a melody line and a simple refrain that became their chorus.

The following day, after clarifying with the health educator about what other facts needed to be included in the songs, we started in on the verses, working to expand the songs to express all the necessary information.

After a few hours it was clear that the groups had reached the limits of their abilities. Each group had come up with a short, catchy song that spoke about the disease, symptoms, and treatment. Here are the lyrics from the “hygiene” group, who focused on hand-washing:

Antes de comer qualquer coisa, lava as maos, lava as maos, lava as maos
Antes de cosinhar comida, lava as maos, lava as maos, lava as maos
Depois de ter necesidades, lava as maos, lava as maos, lava as maos
Quando as maos estao sujas, lava as maos, lava as maos, lava as maos
Lava as maos com cinza, lava as maos, lava as maos
Lava as maos com sabao, lava as maos, lava as maos
Sim, lava sim (8x)

Before eating anything, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands
Before cooking food, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands
After using the toilet, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands
When your hands are dirty, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands
Wash your hands with ashes, wash your hands, wash your hands
Wash your hands with soap, wash your hands, wash your hands
Yes, wash, yes (8x)

The creative process is tricky to navigate, especially with first-time participants. Gratefully, the host was understanding of the limitations, and recognized that this was a first step in developing composers. Now that the song-writing process is understood, other songs can be added to the health education mix so that information can get out to the surrounding community, changing the way treatable illnesses are understood.

Having briefly illustrated three case studies at the crossroads of music, medicine, and mission, I now move to explore what it means to share in the creativity of God for public mission.

Creativity as Public Missiology

“The discipline of creation, be it to paint, compose, write, is an effort towards wholeness.”  —Madeleine L’Engle

Creativity is a popular word; however, in theological terms, creativity that does not reflect the very nature and purpose of the Creator falls short. Churches, therefore, must publically offer tangible ways for all people to share in the creativity of God for mission. Below, are some creative ways in which music, medicine, and mission have been used to advance the reign of God in the public arena.

Theology of Creativity in Mission

There are numerous recent scientific studies that support what has been common knowledge for centuries—namely that music is healing. Researchers are exploring how music therapy can improve health outcomes among a variety of patient populations, including premature infants and people with depression and Parkinson’s disease.

Music and the creative arts play an integral role in shaping emotions, constructing memories, and affecting patterns of thought and changes in behavior. As such, they have become the principle means for disseminating information, mobilizing resources, and raising social consciousness via the media. The question is: In what ways is the Church harnessing the power of the arts in transforming lives and bringing healing and hope for the kingdom?

Gregory Barz has said,

When cultural institutions fail in their efforts to affect social change, artists step in. When technologies and organizational systems disappoint, musicians sing and dance, thereby creating meaning out of chaotic lives. If one person can make a difference in the ongoing struggle…it will be a musician, a dancer, or an actor. (Barz 2006, 5)

I suggest that music and the arts can and must be applied to situations in which NGOs and governmental agencies have been challenged or unsuccessful.

Creativity and Culture

What does it mean to be creative within a certain cultural context? Furthermore, what happens when one attempts to bring healing within a certain society? In the case of health and well-being in Mozambique, this is particularly poignant.

Belief in feitiço (witchcraft or sorcery) is practically universal among Mozambicans (including Christians, and regardless of class). All types of misfortune are attributed to it. Practitioners of witchcraft or sorcery are commonly called feitiçeiros—hereditary hosts to the spirit of an ancestor endowed with special powers, or sorcerers who have procured malevolent power through purchasing powerful medicines. These are different from the traditional healers/diviners or herbalists, curandeiros, although there is often an overlap of roles, means, and methods.

Mozambican traditional religion is transmitted orally and communicated through the arts, primarily music and dance. In fact, the arts are the means by which the spirits are called. In her article about prophetic healers in Central Mozambique, Tracy Luedke articulates how music is the means to connection with the spirit world:

In preparation for a consultation with a patient, a healer calls her spirits through the singing of hymns. Whatever the circumstances of the consultation…healers made a point of involving multiple voices in the act of singing to call the spirits…there was something in the combining of singing voices that carried the power to call the spirit to its host’s body. (Luedke 2011, 171)

Rather than deny or avoid cultural realities, creative missiologists should look to critically contextualize local practices, particularly when seeking to bring about health and hope. “Epidemiology is greatly enhanced when deep cultural layers that contribute to diagnosis and care are acknowledged” (Barz 2006, 6).

In the case of the Roots Jam project at the hospital, it is likely that the underlying Mozambican sensibility about the connection between music and healing is what has contributed to the widespread acceptance of the project and the positive results. We don’t create or heal in a cultural vacuum.

Creativity and Discipling

How do creativity and discipleship intersect with health? As evidenced in the cases of the medical student conference and the Roots Jams, these principles are intertwined. Not only do the students and musicians experience the transformative power of worship firsthand, but they also learn how to use music to bring healing to others.

One way medical students are using healing music is through a ministry called Champions for Life with the vision of empowering those living with and being affected by HIV/AIDS. Aside from practical assistance, medical support, and positive social connections, the Champions ministry focuses on teaching participants that they are champions.

One major way these participants find their identity and hope in the unconditional love of Christ is through worship. As the worship leader at Celebrate Church states, “Music is the tip of the spear in our ministry efforts…when we worship we say, ‘God, we’re totally relying on you, there’s no other way we can survive unless we’re on our knees before you.”

It is clear that in the case of Champions and in Roots Jams, the 2 Timothy 2:2 principle is being put into practice: “Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others.” Medical students and musicians, both being transformed by music, are now bringing about life change and hope to others.

Conclusion: Music Is Life

“I try to prevent death, but (music) brings LIFE!” —Brian Meyers, MD
“Music is LIFE!” —Pastor João

Jesus states in John 10:10, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” This is good news. Christ’s death and resurrection not only assures us of eternal salvation, but offers us a means of experiencing a transformed life, full of the fruits of the Spirit. The gospel extends beyond heaven to life on earth; Missio Dei is about the here and now as well as the ever after.

What this implies is that our missional efforts should be holistic, going beyond preaching about eternal life to living abundant lives. There is a relationship between good works and evangelism. We pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. Public mission must engage societies, engendering a vital way of life that bears witness to the reign of God. Music, medicine, and missions can creatively work together, a transformative process for the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God in the public health arena.

References

Barz, Gregory. 2006. Singing for Life: HIV/AIDS and Music in Uganda. New York: Routledge.

Luedke, Tracy J. 2011. “Intimacy and Alerity: Prophetic Selves and Spirit Others in Central Mozambique.” Journal of Religion in Africa 41:154-179.

Roseman, Marina. 2008. “A Fourfold Framework for Cross-Cultural, Integrative Research on Music and Medicine.” In The Oxford Handbook of Medical Ethnomusicology. Ed. Benjamin Koen, 18-45. New York: Oxford University Press.

. . . .

Megan Meyers is an ethnodoxologist, serving with WorldVenture Mozambique since 2009, whose work focuses on the development of disciples, church ministry, and mission through the use of contextualized worship arts. She is a lecturer of worship arts, communication, and contextualization at the Bible Institute of Sofala and the Baptist Bible Institute in Beira, Mozambique.

EMQ, Vol. 53, No. 1. Copyright  © 2016 Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.  All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMQ editors.

 

Questions for Reflection 1. What are ways that you personally have experienced healing (physical, emotional, spiritual) through the arts?   2. Does your current ministry have outreach to the sick? How could that ministry be enhanced by including an artistic component? 3. What are ways that you can minister to those in the health profession? How are we healing healers?  4. The author states, “The church, therefore, must publically offer tangible ways for all peoples to share in the creativity of God for mission.” Do you agree with this statement?  How could your church embody this in its missional efforts?