New York City fans of punk rock and experimental theater will be led to think deeply about every word in the Lord’s Prayer when "Bold Enough To Say" debuts in the Fall of 2014. With a team of musicians and actors, Billy Webster will debut a performance that is part concert, part theater, part film. The church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Brooklyn will host the first performance. “I hope the piece will go on the road, be performed by other groups of artists in different settings throughout the world,” Webster says. “In other words, the work could reach out both to the rock community and beyond.”

Partially funded by a grant from the Episcopal Evangelical Education Society, Bold Enough to Say grows out of a 12-week spiritual practice of meditation, with each week devoted to a single line from what Webster regards as “the perfect prayer. 'Our Father’ became a meditation on the implications of using gendered language for God. 'Who Art In Heaven’ explores the concept of universal salvation and the insider/outsider dynamics found in many religious communities.” Two albums will accompany the show. The first, to be released in April, will deliver a collection of the songs in Bold Enough to Say. The second will come out after the initial performances and will give listeners a taste of the live version, much like The Who’s rock opera, Tommy, did in 1969. Webster hopes diverse audiences will turn out and be “equally inspired and challenged” by what they see and hear.

“For 16 years (since I was a first-year student at Princeton Seminary), I’ve carried this vision of uniting my two worlds, the punk/rock scene I come out of and the church community,” Webster says. “My dream is to look out at an audience next year and see both groups, integrated and brought together by this show.”