Singing Along the Journey

General

A room for things that just don’t fit in other categories.

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More

Why I Became a Baptist, Part 2

When I wrote the first entry titled "Why I Became a Baptist", I never dreamed that I would write "Part 2".  But after the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the choices I've made over the course of my life, and in particular, this specific choice. You see, it has been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me, what with committee meetings and concerts and a whole host of activities that have kept me running hither and yon, as my mother would have said.  By the time I finished everything that I had to do on Sunday and finally found myself at home, sitting in my…
Read More

Pausing for a moment

I have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about, but, for a whole lot of reasons, I have neither the mental focus nor the energy to tackle them today.  But, feeling that I have been silent for too long on this page, I wanted to share something with the world.  While I am not a big fan of poetry (funny thing, for someone who SINGS it all the time), but as I opened a new piece of music this morning that I ordered in honor of a friend who does really like poetry (yes, Amy, that's you) I was struck by the poem that…
Read More

Public versus private

Yes, okay, I live in Washington DC, so "public versus private" are words I hear often, but right now I am not talking about politics or organizational funding.  I'm still thinking about my "Day with John Bell" retreat from last weekend. Right now, because I haven't had time to listen to the recordings of the sessions again, I can't quite sort out in my mind what he actually said from what I extrapolated from what he said.  But no matter where the words came from, I'm pretty sure the created an important thought in my soul. What I know he said was this:  that there is public worship, and private…
Read More

I’ve been fed…

(Written while on retreate at Montreat Conference Center, posted later) I'm sitting here in my little wooden chair, in my room at the Assembly Inn at the Montreat Conference Center, having just had a cold shower (hot water is an issue here, but the shower wasn't that bad), with the windows wide open to the cold morning air of the mountains, watching the light creep up over the edge of the baby mountain in front of me.  I'm sitting here in the dark, waiting for day that mostly involves driving and flying, and I'm thinking...I don't care.  I don't care, because I've been fed. And I don't mean the exceptional…
Read More

The Great Tradition

I've been away from my treasured new book, Resounding Truth, by Jeremy S. Begbie, for a little while.  So I was really happy to have time yesterday to pick it up and return to Dr. Begbie's detailed survey about the history of thought about the relationship between Christianity and the arts, in particular the art of music.  And as I opened the book to the place where I stopped, my eyes landed on these words: If it never made its way into the Christian world, we would probablynot have mentioned the Great Traditio in this book.  But it did not die with clasical antiquity.  It was injected deep into the…
Read More

Burning off the fog…

In a couple of days I'm heading for away for a fall mini-vacation to the mountains.  Fall is my favorite time to vacation and I rarely get to experience its beauties away from the city, because of other demands.  My friend, Leah, is hosting a wonderful series about the glories of the fall season on her blog.   I'm hoping that I'm not too early to get to experience the season's glory on my little mountain trip. It's mountains and leaves and fog that is on my mind, as I think about the past few days of my life. I'll admit it, I had a particularly tough weekend.  Things are clearer…
Read More

Be not afraid…

I did not want to let today pass without pausing to add a remembrance of this day, but I have to admit that I simply cannot come close to the words that the Rev. Jim Sommerville posted to his blog, so please, take a moment, and read what he has to say....
Read More

A New Question to Consider: Skill vs. Calling

Okay, prepare yourself.   Because today's musing is full to the brim with questions, and pretty short on answers. I've recently taken up a new committee duty at my church, one that stimulates a part of my brain and experience that, well, haven't been used much since I left the world of business some 10 years ago.   It is really important work for our community, at this point in our regeneration, and a series of events led me believe that I needed to accept when the invitation came. And I must say that it is quite interesting to meet parts of myself that, frankly, I considered long dead.  It is interesting…
Read More

Feelings…

Over the past week or so, I have been thinking a lot about my experiences at the song festival in Granada.  In particular, I have been thinking about the last masterclass that we did. It took me a while during that class to realize that, what the guest teacher was trying to get from me was, well, more feeling in my singing.  He used a number of interesting techniques -- walking me about the stage while I sang about "going to the fair" in Manuel Garcia's song, "Floris";  having me close my eyes while I sang "Parad Avecillas" to imagine for myself the feeling of protecting a sleeping person I…
Read More

It is well with my soul…

Yesterday, the congregation at the Calvary Baptist Church gave me a present.  They probably don't know that they did, but they did...a great big, warm, sloppy wet kiss of faith and love.  And all they did was do what they do best -- be the best they can be at being the community of Jesus in that moment and in that place. What did they do?  They sang, spontaneously, the most beautiful four-part harmony on the hymn for our call to prayer, "It is Well With My Soul".  The congregation has grown so over the last couple of years, that, on any given Sunday, there are many faces that belong…
Read More