Singing Along the Journey

Liturgy

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More

Bless, the Lord, my soul…

Occasionally in life, a much-longed-for opportunity drops into your lap unexpectedly. This week, I had just such a chance -- one of the brothers from the community at Taize spent an hour with us at VTS.   We had the rare opportunity to talk with and worship with Brother Emmanuel last Tuesday. It is funny, to have known and loved the music for many years and yet, to never have learned more about the community itself.  And so I was mesmerized as Brother Emmanuel explained to the assembled participants the founding of the Taize community and the precepts of its mission.  Finally understanding the mission and intent of the community, for…
Read More

A Holy Saturday Meditation: When the Sun Refused to Shine…

This morning the light dawned after the sadness and fear of Good Friday, but our hearts are sore as we remember the crucified body of Jesus lies in the tomb.  That is the meaning of this day in Holy Week, known as Holy Saturday, a day of unknowing tears that will end, I am told, with the great Easter vigil and our first knowledge of the Resurrection.  I am looking forward to participating in my first Easter Vigil tonight, an ecumenical version sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church here in DC and including members of many denominational churches in the area. Right now, though, I'm thinking about everything we heard…
Read More

Why, and on whose authority?

If my mother were still with us and you could ask her, she would tell you that "Why?" and "Who says?" are two questions that I have asked since the moment I first understood how to ask a question.  I was one of those children, you know, the kind who drive all adults around them to total distraction with repeated questions about how the world works and why it works that way and who says it works that way.  Clearly, asking the big questions and living in a world of questions has been part of my spirit since, well, since forever. So it is probably not surprising to anyone that one of…
Read More

One Body, One Song…

In March, I had a chance to attend a conference about singing in the church.  I wrote my personal impressions while I was still there, but now I'd like to talk about a few of the things I learned.  The following is not just for those who work as musicians in the church.   If you go to church, if you have ever gone to church, if you have ever faced a moment when you had to sing in a group and were uncomfortable, if anywhere in your life someone made you feel like you couldn't take part in something just because you weren't "trained", please keep reading.  I think you will relate to…
Read More

It is never about the high note…

Music is, in so many ways, all about the phrasing.  When you experience someone as a "very musical" performer, the technical musical thing that is happening is phrasing--phrasing that best showcases the emotion or meaning of the music being presented.  For the best musicians, phrasing becomes like breathing and requires little thought.  Most of the rest of us work at it most of the time. But one of the most important things we learn, as we learn to phrase, is this rule:  the high note is hardly ever the point of the phrase.  This rule applies to singers and to instrumentalists;  the most important thing about a phrase is its destination...and it is…
Read More

Those little God moments…

For the past 48 hours, I have been in Atlanta attending a conference called "The Singing Church," sponsored by the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  In these past 48 hours, I have sung more church music than I ever imagined possible, I have experienced more different types of liturgy than I imagined existed, and I have had a chance to listen to and meet some people whose books have guided my thoughts and my learning and my transformation over the past three years. I have participated in five separate worship services, sung to guitar, piano, organ, drum, and hung (Korean string instrument that is a little like a…
Read More

Advent: Reminder of the Perpetual Coming

I must admit to having a fair amount of writer's block lately.  I have started any number of texts for various purposes and discarded them.  In one case, I even pulled back something that was about to be published.  I can't even find enough inspiration wordsmithing to finish the personnel handbook revision that is more than overdue. Perhaps it is just the hustle and bustle of seasonal preparations and concert preparations; I am not sure.   Maybe my eyes have been closed for other reasons (for it is with the eyes and and ears and the heart that we write, I believe); maybe my ears have been resting.   Maybe my thoughts have been just too internal…
Read More

The things our heart remembers most…

Last night in our Maundy Thursday service at Calvary Baptist Church, we sang a lot of music, but most poignant for me was the singing of Mozart's Ave Verum.  You see, Maundy Thursday is, well, my anniversary.  And it was Mozart's Ave Verum that we sang in 2006, the first night I attended a service at Calvary as a substitute singer.  And, it was on another Maundy Thursday that I made my decision to join, a decision that has changed so many things in my life. Maundy Thursday has always loomed large in my life of faith and church; as a child, my parents would always take me to the…
Read More

Tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright…

Let me repeat that statement one more time:  tradition anchors us, but change is our birthright. This sentence danced through my brain recently while I was doing my daily trudge on the elliptical trainer (you know, the 40 minute walk that goes no where fast?).   It is the summary that occurs to me after a lengthy discussion I was having with a friend, in response to his exclamation following my excitement about a Lenten study group at my church at the Stations of the Cross: "I don't know why Protestants are always trying to be so Catholic!"  I know a lot of people raised as Catholic, but now practicing Protestant. I…
Read More

The soundtrack of…

And now, for something totally different. I will admit that I am experimenting right now with different types of writing -- I've already mentioned the need I feel to learn to address the primary sources rather than the secondary.  I particularly feel this need when working with pieces of music for performance that relate directly to the lectionary text of the day.  So, all last week, I worked on practicing  just that by addressing the text of one of the songs that I sang last Sunday in church.  That text was drawn from Psalm 27, as set by Frances Allitsen in the sacred parlor room classic, "The Lord is My Light." For a three-minute-long…
Read More