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Wade in the Water

The Wisdom of the Spirituals

In Person
Tues., March 25 – May 13,
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.,
Community Center, $190

Access Your Class Materials

To access the class workbook and class recordings, click on the button below.

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ABOUT THE CLASS

This class is led by retired professor and scholar, Dr. Arthur Jones, and focuses on his book, Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals.

Wade in the Water celebrates the spirituals—a type of religious folksong associated with the enslavement of African people in the American South—as an art form and unique, powerful cultural expression.

Exploring the African roots of the spirituals, Dr. Jones explores the way the songs conceal a language of freedom and resistance and the way their spiritual consolation reinforces community solidarity. Dr. Jones offers a fresh perspective and an invitation to deeper understanding, spiritual transformation, and social renewal.

Students will be asked to read consecutive chapters of the book in preparation for each week. Dr. Jones will be expanding on the book’s content through brief lectures, extended discussion, communal singing (Carrying a tune is not required!), and recorded music samples.

Wade in the Water is available for purchase in our Works of Heart bookstore.

INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Arthur C. Jones
Arthur Jones is Professor Emeritus of Music, Culture, and Psychology at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, where he has dedicated his career to preserving and revitalizing the sacred folk songs of the Spirituals, created by enslaved Africans in America. Since 1991, his work, which blends psychology, scholarship, and performance, has included lecture-concerts and workshops, leading to the founding of the award-winning Spirituals Project in 1998. The project became an official University of Denver program in 2016, and Jones authored the 2023 revised edition of Wade in the Water: The Wisdom of the Spirituals. Though retired from full-time teaching in 2020, he remains active in lecturing, singing with The Spirituals Project Choir, and advising the ongoing work of the Project.

THINGS TO KNOW

In Person
Seven-Week Class
Tues., March 25, April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6 & 13,
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.,
Community Center, $190

Prerequisite:
None.


There will be a break on April 1.

Please contact our registrar, Lisa Berquist, at 
lberquist@milehichurch.org or 720-974-2246 if you need guidance in your spiritual studies or have questions about our classes.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Wade in the Water
The Wisdom of the Spirituals
Revised edition 2023

by Arthur C. Jones

LOCATION


Community Center

9079 W. Alameda Avenue
Lakewood, CO 80226 United States