There are times when life feels fallow. Dormant. Anxious and unsure.
Energy is flagging, the freshness we felt at the beginning of a project, job, or relationship has passed, or we’re feeling the weight of resistance or struggle. We begin to question whether we’re on the right path, or whether we have what it takes to finish the work we need to do.
Read MoreEvery Christmas for the last few years I've been inspired to re-arrange a carol or two for solo piano. It's a creative challenge to take something well-known and make it my own. It also gives me a chance to dig deeper into the text and see how it might come alive through sound. It's a bit of theological exploration through music that first emerges through improvisation.
This year I found myself drawn over and over to Away in a Manger (to the tune MUELLER) as well as Shirley Erena Murray's sobering adaptation, Away and In Danger.
Read MoreThemes of spiritual pilgrimage and journey are woven through the last few years of my work. While I’ve blogged about pilgrimage before and even compiled a list of songs on the theme, it wasn’t until this year I actually wrote a song of my own about it. The Journey of a Thousand Miles is rhythmic walking song based on a teaching of Taoist teacher Laozi (also known as Lao Tzu), with some added text of my own.
Read MoreHow can it already be mid-October, friends?! The last weeks have passed quickly and joyfully, with visits to Lebanon, PA, Roanoke, VA and Chicago, IL alongside my semi-regular commute between St. Louis and New York City. There's been a lot of focus on Advent music and planning, including several workshops focused on creative planning for the season.
Read my fall newsletter to find out where I’ve been and where I’m headed in the coming months!
Read MoreI came out as gay in my early 20’s. It was a process, a slow revealing of life-giving truth. I had so many loving people who walked with me. I wouldn’t be who I am without that cloud of witnesses, many still alive but several older, wiser ones have passed on.
Over the past years there’s been another slow revelation as I’ve been claiming the word queer. On good days I realize I don’t fit easily into any box and cherish it; on harder days it can be a bit lonely. But the reality is I’m queer and am ready to embrace that in a more public, intentional way.
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