Susan Werner shares her doubts and commitments
In the time leading up to the writing and recording of The Gospel Truth, Susan Werner’s powerful exploration of faith in America, the singer/songwriter went to 30 different churches for inspiration. In her research, she went to Mormon services, Greek Orthodox churches, Holy Apostolic meetings and Assembly of God gatherings. She even went to Rev. Al Green’s Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis.
“The Reverend himself was there, which was a thrill,” Werner says. “To hear him preach is exciting beyond all description. He’s a great performer and such an inspiring creature. I challenge any atheist out there to go hear the Rev. Al Green preach and tell me that you are not moved. You have to be dead as a rock to resist that.”
Werner assembled that inspiration and entered it into her muse collection box, which eventually found expression in the 2007 release, The Gospel Truth, a basket of soulful originals Werner describes as “hymns for the spiritually ambivalent.”
In explaining that further, Werner says, “It’s a gospel project from the perspective of a non-churchgoer, of even a non-believer, but one that isn’t setting up to blow-up the church,” she adds.
The critically acclaimed release arrived at a crossroads for Werner. After six albums, this is the only one without the support of a label since her first, the self-released Midwestern Saturday Night from 1992. But The Gospel Truth has hit a nerve and found its audience.
“That has to do with word-of-mouth,” she says, “of people telling their friends about this project that talks so frankly about the church in America. It seems like the timing couldn’t have been better for this project. It seems like a lot of people are seeking new ways with their spirituality and religious life.”
The project encompasses a variety of strange bedfellows that somehow fit under the welcoming umbrella of gospel music. Werner digs deep into the bluegrass heartland with “My Lord Will Trouble Me.” She finds Baptist relief with “Forgiveness.” In “Probably Not,” she offers soul-shaking liberation to agnostics. “Heaven So Small,” clearly fills the bill as Americana hit material. It also presents some pretty biting commentary.
The Gospel Truth delivers much of Werner’s strongest and most challenging writing to date. Without blinking, she fearlessly dives into the wreck of divisiveness in America’s religious culture. Werner grew up as a Catholic farm girl in Iowa before heading east to further her music studies at Temple University in Philadelphia.
“The position of women in the Catholic Church is very troubling to most women and to not a few men,” she says. “The edicts against birth control and abortion and the position on gays and lesbians is just puzzling. It strikes many of us as cruel.”
While well aware of risking the alienation of some fans with this project, at the same time Werner suspected that there were others who could relate to her search. “That’s turned out to be true,” she says. “The e-mails and letters and MySpace comments just continue from people all over the place who have found a parallel between these songs and their own experience.”
For the most part, the album has created healthy dialogue. It has also evoked strong reaction. “There have been plenty of walk-outs,” Werner says. “They’ll just get up and walk straight out the door. They don’t want to discuss it. It’s really something to see how people don’t want any gray area around this. They prefer their faith in black and white.”
Werner says The Gospel Truth is anything but that. “In fact the aim of this project was to put songs of faith and doubt right next to each other.”
Mission accomplished, and that’s the gospel truth. o
