In the House of Rising Sounds: A Boisterous Music Bar, a Faith in Transition, and the Thin Space They Inhabited
Ebook
Ancient Celts saw "thin places" where heaven and earth came strangely close to touching. Stephen Copeland experienced something similar when his mentor took him to the Double Door Inn, an historic hole-in-the-wall blues venue in Charlotte, North Carolina. This unassuming place invited Copeland further into a spiritual journey that calls out to each of us: to open our senses and "tune our ears" to thin places all around; to become aware of sacred spaces in everyday places. When Copeland learned the half-century-old Double Door Inn would be tragically closing, he made the old white house of sound his home during its final year. What do thin places teach us about ourselves? What do they teach us about reality itself? And what do we do when they're gone? Copeland's soul-searching journey--with the Double Door as his guide--will help readers become more present and attentive to the thinness of reality as we walk "with our feet on the ground and our soul in the stars."
“If you love music, or the sound of rain on a tin roof, or the crash of a waterfall, or the sweet and innocent laughter of a child, this book is for you. Stephen Copeland has/is a gift that invites the heart to listen and see, to be astonished while the mind plays catch-up. Read the book and be surprised!”
—Paul Young, author of The Shack
“Aristotle once wrote that the ultimate purpose of humanity was not to be found in work—which links us with all other animals—but rather in contemplation. With In the House of Rising Sounds, Stephen Copeland invites the reader into that place of creative non-action. That place where we might be stirred by the sound of something otherwise than being. By expertly weaving together his own personal story with the timeless insights of the mystical tradition, Copeland helps orient us to the hum of that which resists any name.”
—Peter Rollins, author of How (Not) to Speak of God
“The fascinating journey of a disheveled writer with a broken faith who finds inspiration in the blues/funk/soul/R&B sounds of the Monday Night Allstars and other legendary characters of the Double Door Inn, Stephen Copeland’s moving work soars with the nightly jams and wrestles with life after last call.”
—Gary Schwab, former senior editor, The Charlotte Observer
“Full of stories of interesting people, this young man’s memoir is written with vivid imagination, supported by depth of thought and insight about life on a deeper level.”
—Paul Quenon, OCSO, author of In Praise of the Useless Life
“At once personal, universal, creative, engaging, and inspiring, Stephen Copeland’s In the House of Rising Sounds invites readers into a space of introspection and spiritual discernment. Copeland is a gifted writer who brings stories of faith, creativity, and connection to life by interweaving spiritual classics with contemporary experience.”
—Daniel P. Horan, OFM, professor of philosophy, religious studies, and theology, Saint Mary’s College
- Title: In the House of Rising Sounds: A Boisterous Music Bar, a Faith in Transition, and the Thin Space They Inhabited
- Author: Stephen Copeland
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666752427, 9781666752410, 166675241X, 9781666752403, 1666752401, 1666752428
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666752427
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-05-23T22:35:50Z
Stephen Copeland is a writer and storyteller who writes regularly for Franciscan Media and the St. Anthony Messenger. He is the author of Where the Colors Blend and collaborator on Franciscan Lectio.