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 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 MoreI didn't grow up in denominational tradition that observed the bluesy, brooding season of Advent. I don't remember preparing for Jesus' birth so much as it simply happening.
But when I 'discovered' Advent while attending an Episcopal Church in college it opened up a whole new spiritual vocabulary for me - grief, longing, impatience, hopeful waiting, in-between spaces. These were words my closeted queer self needed to hear and it was a gift to find a season of the church year that created space to integrate my spiritual life and named the holy discomfort I felt so profoundly.
Read MoreI 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 MoreThe best way I know to express the joy of being forgiven is through song. I've been excited to find and compose music that celebrates God's unconditional love and boundless grace, names its power to liberate and lift us, and then invites us to share the blessing with others.
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