Singing Along the Journey
Thoughts about faith and wholeness set to the soundtrack of life

Hunger and fulfillment…

Even though today is a day when I need to think like a singer (in case you don't know, there is a wonderful Cabaret event at the Calvary Baptist Church this evening, starting at 7:00 pm and I have to get out my belt-voice), I did not want to let too much time past before I write my own kind of very special Valentine love note to my small group, the Wednesday Night Words Bible study group. When I studied preaching those six weeks in 2009 with Pastor Amy, one of the things that she stressed really stuck with me (well, let's hope that many of them stuck with me)…
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Blessed are…

A week ago, I was supposed to fill in for Pastor Amy and lead the discussion in our Wednesday Night Words Bible Study while she was out of town, but 2011's wacky weird weather had other ideas -- that turned out to be the day of  the-wettest-ever-snowfall and the commute-beyond-all-description for so many people (remember the pictures of 100's of abandoned cars on the GW Parkway?).  It turned out to be a very good thing that we cancelled our get-together.  So I did the next best thing and distributed my outline to the group...and promised to write a little bit about Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they…
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Self realization…

Many years ago, during the more "new age" oriented years of my life, I read a book called The Observer Self.  I can't remember who wrote it, and it seems to be no longer in print (since I can't find it online), but I remember it well and the impact that it had on my world view.  That, combined with what I learned about 12-Step program philosophy (particularly the one about creating a fearless moral inventory of oneself), have led me to a life of self-evaluation and have increased my ability to observe others, mostly without judgement.  By the way, the ability to observe is a key skill if you…
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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…
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Guilty pleasures…

I think, perhaps, that I might have given a wrong impression of myself in these writings.  Yes, I am a nerd in so many ways, and I am a pretty serious person (although I have a mighty free laugh for someone who is so serious), but I really don't work or think lofty thoughts every minute of the day.  Well, at least I try not to view everything with a deeply philosophical eye. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is realized most often when I'm travelling. And that pleasure is -- reading mystery novels.  Before I go any further, I should be specific, because I don't read just ANY mystery novels…
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Groupies…

This morning, as I began to work my way through the introductory readings assigned for my course about the Epistles, I came to a sudden realization -- I have an obsession with the Apostle Paul.  Odd choice considering who I am, and an obsession that has been until now completely in the buried regions of my subconscious, but an obsession none the less.  And after reading my first assignment, the article by Robert Wright, "One World Under God", from The Atlantic (April 2009), I understand. Paul and I have a lot in common.  No, I've not gone off the rails -- Paul and I have a lot in common.  Well, maybe the…
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Primary sources…

I realize that I'm a little late, but I finally feel like 2011 is getting into gear.  Most of the clean out jobs were completed by our self-made due date of January 1, but the task of putting into place the changes and new activities that are needed for the next year, well, that usually takes me a while longer.  And so, now the decisions are made: the decision made between two forks in the road; the application submitted; the choice made between Italian or German classes; committee-work restarted; research begun for the new blog I will launch in March (more on that some other time); and well into gathering…
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Now I see me, now I don’t…

As I sit at my desk this first Monday morning of 2011, I have before me a number of project files -- many of which have a due date of January 10, 2011.   And I need to decide which one to tackle first.   The good thing about mornings is that usually, I can multi-task.  For example, right now I am listening to a wonderful recording of Johann Adolph Hasse's Salve Regina in A-Dur, with an ear to whether or not I want to add it to my repertoire this year (and I think the answer is yes).  At the same time, I am staring at a folder for the incorporation…
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Sing Alleluia…

I will begin by admitting that, at this moment, I do not really feel like singing Alleluia (okay, perhaps I feel like it more than I did a few days ago when I began this post).  And I will also admit that, the Alleluia sung in our service at Calvary is generally not my favorite portion of the service -- it is generally very hard to sing and somewhat uncomfortable vocally.  This is not news to those I sing with -- if they've heard me say it once, they've heard it hundreds of times. But, having read the book I was working on (Joan Chittister's The Liturgical Year) through the current…
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Dear God…

I have made reference to my years at a Unity School of Religious Science congregation before.  There was, as with any human institution, both good and bad about those years, but probably my fondest memories are about the New Year's Eve services. Yes, that is correct -- New Year's Eve services. The long-standing New Year's eve tradition in Unity, dating back to the days of the founders (Charles and Myrtle Fillmore) was called the burning bowl service.  Obviously, Unity was not an organization with a set liturgy, however, some traditions did survive long-term.  The format and the setting were adapted and changed by each community, but the essence was simple:  take…
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