Last week, I visited United Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA to celebrate the installation of their new Schoenstein pipe organ. Doug Brown, the seminary’s musician, had the creative idea to bring the instrument into relationship with music of the Global Church, so we found thoughtful and playful ways to integrate the organ into music from Indonesia, Argentina, South Korea, the Philippines, Brazil, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
Read MoreThanks to the invitation of Vanderbilt Divinity School and Dr. Steph Budwey, you can find me on campus this week! Wednesday will be a full and rich day of learning and worship, and I’m excited to be part of ongoing conversations around welcome and singing in community.
Read MoreI'm pleased to share a recent article from the Presbyterian Mission Agency focusing on music for this year's Big Tent gathering in St. Louis. It's been a joy to help plan music for a national event of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and I look forward to sharing worship leadership with a wonderful talented, diverse group of musicians this July!
Read MoreOver the past year I’ve been collecting short songs and hymns focused on spiritual journey and pilgrimage. Some are walking songs or invite body movement; others feature a beautiful or thoughtful combination of text and tune. I have used many of them in congregations I've served as an interim/transitional musician and I'm happy to share the list with others as a resource.
Read MoreIs it a creeping tension in your neck and back? Perhaps you're finding it hard to focus or can't quiet your thoughts? Maybe your stomach is upset, your head aches, your teeth are clenched? Maybe you find yourself hyper-vigilant or distrustful of others in public spaces? You are feeling the subtle and insidious presence of anxiety, which seems to affect us all in these difficult days.
While I don't have a quick fix to our collective unsettledness or the anxiety that ebbs and flows, I have noticed that singing settles us. Perhaps one of the ways we can defuse anxiety and diffuse peacefulness is through song, specifically songs that remind us who we are and whose we are.