So grateful to have my song God Calls You Good included in The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada’s new collection titled Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming the LGBTQIA2S+ Community, released at their annual conference this month.
Read MoreI wonder what would it look like to imagine worship as a kind of holy rehearsal space. What if singing together is a place we are put back together, where we remember, re-discover and renew what we believe?
What if this congregation is a choir: a community of learning where we have the opportunity to grow into new experiences, trusting there is no success or failure but a deep pool of grace that holds us as we try and try again?
What might it look like to put to practice this way of love through our voices, through the tunes and rhythms we share in song?
Read More
I'm grateful to The Rev. Hillary Raining for including me and Music that Makes Community in the Way of Love podcast focused on worship.
It's Holy Week, and time is of the essence, but take a listen when you have a moment and reflect with us on the formative power of worship, especially singing!
There is lots more to listen to at The Hive, an online spiritual community buzzing with rich material to sustain your life of faith.
I was honored to represent Music That Makes Community at launch of The Hymn Society's Center for Congregational Song, joining a group of 40 leaders in the field of song and hymn-writing to discuss the most important issues facing composers and writers in the church today. I was also invited to write a brief essay reflecting on the question, "What kinds of songs are needed for today's church to best intersect and witness to the world?"
Read MoreRather than focus only on the ways that we have failed or fallen short, how might our Lenten journey (indeed, our life journey) change if we begin with an affirmation of our beauty and worth as beloved children of God? When doubting voices inevitably come, will we let them derail us? Or can we learn to respond with a powerful assertion of trust – ‘God calls me good, beloved child. I am a treasure deeply prized’ - and live in freedom and love instead of fear.
Read More