Turning the World Around

Turning the World Around

Sometimes we feel like our own inner world is the one that needs to be turned upside down. We see pictures of everyone’s fabulous lives on social media and it reminds us of how much we long for the deep connection with another, a connection we can’t ever seem to obtain. We empty ourselves caring for an ailing loved one and wonder if our own inner reserves will ever be filled again. Luke’s beatitudes and Mary’s song are for us to. God’s power comes out to meet us and to turn our world around, making our hearts to sing again, perhaps at first in a whispering song of tentative hope, and then later a full-voiced aria of rejoicing as God’s stronger-than-death love brings spring to our wintry hearts.

Shaped and Changed Through Song

Shaped and Changed Through Song

Hymn writer Susan Palo Cherwien writes: 

“Singing together is one of the most important things the Christian community does together in worshiping God. We sing into ourselves, into each other, into the universe, holy stories, holy truths, wisdom, beauty. We are shaped into one body by singing together holy songs. We begin to vibrate together. We are changed. Into what are we being shaped by the songs that we sing?” 

The Healing Power of Singing

The Healing Power of Singing

Renowned opera singer Renée Fleming has helped spearhead a collaboration among the National Institutes of Health, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts called “Sound Health” that supports research into the effects of music on the brain and the potential use of music and singing to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, stroke, chronic pain, mental illness, and more.  

Prepare to Be Surprised

Prepare to Be Surprised

When we open ourselves, our congregation, to relationship, we should expect to be surprised. When we begin with relationship, we are already creating open space for something new and surprising to emerge, something mutual, something life-giving to both our neighbors and our congregation.  What surprising new partnerships might emerge as we begin to be in deeper relationship with our community?

Music at St. Simon's: July 21, 2024

Music at St. Simon's: July 21, 2024

In the reading from Mark's gospel that is part of liturgy on July 21, Jesus extends the invitation to "come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." Rest is a blessing - a gift from God, and something as necessary to being human as our very breath. So, since we are in the summer season of rest and relaxation and we have in invitation from Jesus to rest, why not sing a hymn about rest?