After spending her childhood growing up on an acreage outside of Altona and attending school in town, Rachel Colman has criss-crossed the country in the pursuit of her passion of fostering participation in singing in church.
That passion also led her to writing and creating praise and worship music, with her debut album "Make A Way" out now, a project where the now living in Winnipeg performer artfully brings pieces of living, liturgy, and scripture to life in song.
"My parents were both teachers in town, and I was quite involved in the church my whole life," shared Colman. "My father was involved with music, he brought me up to help him lead worship, probably from when I was about six years old, so it's been an integral part of my life."
Music a big part of her childhood
Reflecting on her time growing up in Altona, she noted music is such a significant part of the entire community.
"I was singing in choirs, I took piano lessons all throughout my school years, great teachers, good local festivals were a really big part of that too," she remembered. "Because I was studying music already, I got involved with leading worship with youth groups, and briefly had a band called Short Notice. We opened for Starfield once, at a local event, and thought that was the closest we would ever get to stardom. It was great fun and we learned a lot. I sang in a trio all through high school, and my skills with harmonies were greatly developed during that time, and that's been valuable everywhere I've gone."
After high school that journey included heading west to Briercrest College and Seminary to study music and worship.
"I received a great education there," she said. "We learned about all kinds of different styles of worship and different sorts of patterns that different communities follow. They really took an interest in how worship services are structured musically. Some churches use liturgy as part of that, and some don't officially use liturgy, but they have their own patterns. That became something I took a really keen interest in, even in high school, I would say."
Liturgy and patterns are part of the reason why Colman put together an entire album.
"Some of those songs aren't songs you can start with, you have to make your way toward them, and in that way it's kind of like a pattern," she explained. "When we start the service, we start with praise and then we move toward more intimate conversations with God, and maybe more intense emotions, and then we send out with thanksgiving. The pattern of the worship, and how we bring people in and how we send them out, really matters and the words are a big deal."
Ultimately, Colman moved with her husband to Toronto for a period of time, while he was training to be an Anglican priest, before moving to Winnipeg about two years ago. She's also served in numerous churches in praise and worship roles.
Waiting to have something to say
"My father was always a really big part of my musical life, and shortly after I graduated from high school, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's," she shared. "He passed away in 2019, and there is something about going through that process of grief. He was a songwriter. I just kind of had the sense I would write songs one day, but I needed to wait until I felt like I had something I needed to say, and it seemed that became the case after my father died."
That songwriting began with the creation of simple melodies and meditative pieces which grew into more, especially after she took a couple of songwriting courses.
"I took a songwriting course with Brian Doerksen, and the way he puts it when you're looking to write a song, you're looking for seeds, you're looking for seeds that will grow into things," she said. "You become a bit of a collector of sorts."
And that brings us to "Make A Way", which Colman feels the overall arc of is very much like a Psalm.
"The collection of songs I initially had intended to have on this album is not the exactly the collection that it ended up being, so it kind of revealed itself along the way," she said.
Expressing her faith through music
And what has it been like for her to walk through that door of expressing her Faith through songwriting and music, having the opportunity to share that gift with those in her congregation? In short, she says it's been humbling, while relaying this story about leading music at St. Benedict's Table once a month in downtown Winnipeg.
"When you bring a new song, and people start to sing it, and people are meeting God through it, enjoying and appreciating being able to sing it, it's really not me anymore, it's not mine," she explained. "It's doing its work. The song is going out there, and having its own life. It's not mine anymore, and that's just a really beautiful thing to be part of."
And with "Make A Way" now available, and being featured this weekend on Made in Manitoba, what is Colman hoping listeners will take away from it?
"There's a lot of music that is quite emotional on this album and that's intentional," she noted. "One of the focuses of my exploration of faith has been what can we say is true about God when you're going through something that's really hard. I hope people will take away that God welcomes us as we are, that God is with us, even when we feel really bad."