Angel voice with attitude

Brooke Fraser wants to get one thing straight – sure, she’s a member of the Hillsong Church, but that doesn’t mean she agrees with all its teachings.
The New Zealand-born songstress, who, like Russell Crowe, the Finn brothers and Keith Urban, is hoping her move to Australia will lead to international fame and fortune, is adamant the church and all Christians should embrace and love gays and lesbians.
“I have such heart for the gay community and I am so disturbed that, yes, the church is screwed up and, yes, Christians say stupid things,” Fraser told SSO.
“But God is for everyone. He made us and nothing should be a barrier. He puts up no barrier for anyone coming to him.
“It’s a culture thing for people with small religious mindsets. I believe it doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, gay or straight.”
Already a bona fide star in her home country, Fraser is now making waves with her latest album Albertine – a more mature direction for the modest star, featuring the standout tracks Hosea’s Wife and C.S. Lewis.
“Hosea’s Wife is random. Using a biblical metaphor, the song is about people rejecting God in many ways but still God loves them the same,” Fraser said.
“C.S. Lewis is a song about wanting more in life and the restlessness in the world as well as the yearning for something more.”
She is touring the album around the country at the moment, before heading back home for a quick visit, and then touring the world with Hillsong United.
Fraser is also one to put her Christian values out there for the world to see. In 2005 she signed up as a World Vision ambassador and has since travelled to Cambodia and Tanzania to help bring attention to the poverty-stricken countries.
The humanitarian role has had a profound effect on the singer, with her trip to Rwanda inspiring the album’s title track.
“Africa was where I really felt the personal connection with the people and my eyes were open to the poverty and how things could have been different if we were born in a different country or circumstances,” Fraser said.
“It’s a big problem but it’s fixable. If you change one person’s world you can change many.”
Her next single, the beautiful Shadowfeet, should hit the stores in a couple of weeks.
“It’s another C.S. Lewis-inspired song based on the novel The Great Divorce,” Fraser said. “The song focuses on thinking about this journey of life and what it parallels.”
See www.myspace.com/brookefraser.