I Cannot Dance Unless You Lead Me is a layered song based on a saying of Saint Mechtild of Magdeburg (1210-1282), a medieval mystic who shared visions that inspired and shocked her contemporaries for their sensuous, intimate language of relationship with the Divine.
Read MoreOur Tears, Falling Down Like Rain was written for the 2018 Annual Conference of The Hymn Society in St. Louis, Missouri. I hoped it would be a vessel big enough to hold many people’s prayers of repentance, especially those from diverse denominational and theological spaces. It’s essentially a Kyrie eleison (Lord/God, have mercy), a classic penitential text in the Christian tradition, rooted in a verse from Psalm 126:6.
Read MoreTo receive forgiveness is to have a burden lifted from our shoulders; it is a gift of grace upon grace upon grace. Forgiveness frees us from the unrelenting demands of perfectionism and fear of failure; it nourishes hope and encourages us toward a whole and integrated life. When we are forgiven our offenses are in the past, forgotten by God. We're given a clean slate and invited to begin again.
But have these life-changing words found their way to the core of our being? Does our liturgy provide space to celebrate and savor the grace we have received? Do the words and tunes we sing in response to the Assurance of Pardon invite us to be present to moment and to share the joy with others?
Over the past year, I have found renewed joy, nourishment, and a profound sense of place in nature. Working in both northern and southern California has put me close to some of the country’s best national parks and I have been grateful for the resources and the time to visit several of them.
Driving and especially hiking through such varied topography – from giant redwoods to high desert, and seaside cliffs to peaks in the Sierras – has filled me with wonder. I have been humbled by the astounding variety of plants and trees, of landscapes carved from the slow movement of glaciers or the fiery power of a volcanic eruption. The expansiveness of sky and sea has inspired prayers of gratitude. The sound of an ecstatic bird chorus or the twilight gurgle of frogs has motivated me to lift my voice in praise of the Creator.
I was raised in churches where Praise and Worship was an important part of our Sunday morning service. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the congregation would spend the first part of the service singing, offering up-tempo praise choruses, hymns, and slower ballads that helped them focus their attention on God. At its best, Praise and Worship energized and united the congregation through a shared repertoire of song. Worship leaders might weave scripture and prayers throughout, giving it a relaxed, contemplative feel at times and an ecstatic, joyful quality at others.
My musical life in the church, and even my prayer life, was formed through these experiences of worship.