This is part two of a series published by the
Statement examining the Canterbury House, its
influences and history. Part one was published
last week, titled “You Can’t Bury Canterbury:
Ann Arbor’s Hidden Musical Gem.”
A
simple bass line plucked on an
upright bass lays beneath the voice
of a strong soprano. The voice sings:
“Maybe we could use this as communion.
Stand and hold hands.”
[Chairs shuffling and sliding]
“We shall overcome
We shall overcome
We shall-”
[Audience members join in]
“overcome someday
Deep in my heart …”
The recording sample, just as the whole
audience starts to sing, fades out. If the civil
rights and anti-Vietnam movement can be
exemplified in one song, “We Shall Overcome”
is it. Originally a gospel song and covered
countless times by artists like Pete Seeger,
Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and everyone under the
sun, this rendition comes from the powerful
and captivating voice of Odetta, recorded in
1967 at Canterbury House and found among
the other recordings digitized by the Michi-
gan History Project and Project President
Alan Glenn.
In addition to the concerts staged at the
coffee shop location in the ‘60s, Canterbury
House became a hub for political activism and
people who wanted to express their disdain
for the United States’s involvement in Viet-
nam. According to Canterbury House records,
former Chaplain Dan Burke perceived Can-
terbury House as an instrumental institution
in Ann Arbor’s history of activism.
“I think it was unanimous that we were
opposed to the war,” Burke said. “We were
involved in anti-war protests and in some
–– but not all –– of the counterculture. Lots
of organizing events occurred in the building
just because it was a place everybody knew
and trusted.”
However, as “We Shall Overcome” should
make obvious, former Canterbury House
doorkeeper and performer Bob Franke said
the music and the politics weren’t mutually
exclusive, but rather intertwined in a very
purposeful way. According to Franke, folk
music is inherently political, as its storytelling
nature and ability to be sung in congregation
makes it a powerful force against injustice
and the evils of the world.
“The idea of music being good for a num-
ber of political purposes and being a power-
ful way of basically expressing … political
solidarity, that was all up front and that was
a part of what was happening,” Franke said.
“The Civil Rights era definitely fed into it and
was a part of it. There was a real sense that we
were writing about politics as well as music.”
In terms of political participation, a lot of
the regular patrons, like Canterbury photog-
rapher Al Blixt and Franke, were involved
with the cause simply by hanging around and
discussing how to further “the Movement,” as
Gayle Rubin, an associate professor of anthro-
pology and women’s studies at the University
of Michigan, explained.
“It was obviously a highly charged political
era, so there was this counterculture vibe like
Woodstock all day,” Blixt said. “What we felt
was we had an unpopular war going on and a
lot of us were suffused with the idea of put-
ting an end to that.”
“I was not a political organizer per se but,
like many young people, it was clear to me
what was right, and so I hung out and I sup-
ported what I could,” Franke said. “As much
as I look back on those days with compas-
sion for everyone involved, I learned from my
father’s experience that war was essentially a
crock and went at it from that angle.”
The coffee shop location dabbled in all ele-
ments of counterculture amid the political
turbulence of the ’60s, according to Glenn’s
research of Canterbury.
“Canterbury was deeply involved with all
aspects of the ’60s movement,” Glenn wrote
in an email interview. “Social justice, racial
equality, political revolution, anti-war pro-
test, draft resistance, you name it. Plus the
explosion of creativity that took place in the
arts and sciences. It was a truly happening
place made possible through the hard work
and sincere commitment of a lot of groovy
people, the likes of which we unfortunately
won’t see again for a long time.”
Glenn’s sentiments echoed the political cli-
mate of the University community as well. On
campus, only a few blocks from Canterbury
House, students were organizing protests and
teach-ins against the Vietnam War and other
political causes.
After the ’60s had come and gone and Burke
and Martin Bell had moved ministries, Can-
terbury House decided to take a step back
from the concerts and counterculture. In
1971, it moved back to the house on North
Division Street that it occupied first in 1935
and concentrated on the ministry, a return to
its roots. However, its involvement in social
equality didn’t come to a complete stop. How
could it, with such a rich history of activism
under its belt?
On Sept. 28, 1975, the Canterbury House
Gayness and Spirituality Group, an organi-
zation “for people of any spiritual path who
relate positively to their own gayness,” met
for the first time. The group was instrumental
in making gay students at the University feel
accepted by a religious institution in a time
when homosexuality was persecuted by soci-
ety and the law.
By providing a safe haven for people of all
creeds to discuss their sexual orientation
and spirituality, as well as an opportunity to
meet other gay students on campus at events
like the “Gay Dance Party” and other weekly
meetings, Canterbury House led the charge in
combatting stigmas against homosexuality in
the ’70s.
After moving to a new space on South State
Street in 1978 in hopes of reinvigorating the
buzz around the ministry from the ’60s, Can-
terbury House rebranded as Canterbury Loft.
Poetry readings, musical theater performanc-
es and concerts followed suit. However, the
public profile of the venue had diminished
from its heyday in the ’60s. Canterbury moved
back to its home on Division in 1984 and then
relocated to its current home at 721 E. Huron
in 1995.
And now, cue the jazz.
W
hen Matthew Lawrence took the
job of Canterbury House chap-
lain in 1996, he had big plans for
how to reinvigorate the church’s role in Ann
Arbor’s music scene while also maintaining a
spiritual mindset.
“Every generation must reinterpret the
Gospel according to its own categories, but
our current shift in paradigms reflects more
than a generational transition,” Lawrence
said, according to Canterbury House docu-
ments. “We are entering a new epoch of faith,
and we are the shapers of the future. It is a
time of experimentation and playfulness,
imagination and openness; it is also a time of
painful conflict and confusion as the current
divisions in the Episcopal Church and our
society testify.”
For this mission, Lawrence called on Ste-
phen Rush, a current professor of perform-
ing arts technology in the School of Music,
Theatre & Dance and the former music direc-
tor at the Canterbury House, to bring his
music expertise to Canterbury House. At this
moment, Jazz Mass was born.
“(Lawrence) asked me if I wanted to do
music there, like jazz, and I probably used
some expletives and I said, ‘Listen, I’ve got a
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 // The Statement
4C
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 // The Statement
5C
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY KOFFSKY
You Can’t Bury
Canterbury
BY MATT HARMON,
DAILY NEWS EDITOR
“The group was instrumental in
making gay students at the University
feel accepted by a religious institution
in a time when homosexuality was
persecuted by society and the law.”
“THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY” : CANTERBURY HOUSE 1885-2018
1978
1984
1995
1996
2016
2017
2018
Chaplain Matthew
Lawrence is hired
at Chaplain and,
with Jazz Studies
Professor Stephen
Rush, starts the
weekly Jazz Mass
In hopes of
attracting
former buzz
around the
institution in the
‘60s, the ministry
moves to South
State Street,
rebranded as
“Canterbury
Loft”
Canterbury once
again moves
back to house on
Division
Canterbury
makes the
final move to
721 Huron
SMTD Senior
Kenji Lee
hired as
Canterbury
Concert
Coordinator
After a Skype
interview
while hiking
the Appalacian
Trail, current
Chaplain
Matthew
Lukens is hired
Michigan History Project
unearths lost recordings of
Mitchell, Young, Dave Van
Ronk and others from ‘60s
Canterbury coffee house era.
Canterbury House continues
to host activist planning
sessions, lively concerts and
various social justice events
1885
Bishop
Samuel Harris
proposes the
creation of
an Episcopal
Student
Church at
University of
Michigan
1887
Hobart Hall
(renamed
Harris Hall) is
built at 617
East Huron
Street.
1890
The Hobart Guild hosts their
first meeting
1935
Ida Jenks is
hired as the full
time Counselor
on Women
and Reverend
Frederick Leech
as the full time
Chaplain
1947
1967
1968
1971
Canterbury House
moves to 218 North
Division Street
Canterbury
House
moves to
330 Maynard
and attracts
panoply
of musical
genres and
future stars
Bob Franke
publishes “Joni
Mitchell Yang,
Dylan Yin” in
The Michigan
Daily ahead of
Mitchell’s second
series of shows
at Canterbury
House
Canterbury House
moves to a space
above Mark’s
Coffee House on
William Street
and then back to
Division location
BY MATT HARMON, DAILY NEWS EDITOR
The legacy and future of Ann Arbor’s
musical gem (Part 2)