Translation is such a strange, imperfect art. I'm looking at an estribillo for a Spanish hymn...va Dios mismo en nuestro mismo caminar. It's literally translated, 'God goes on our same walk.'
Hymnals have variously translated the phrase:
...then we know that God still goes that road with us.
...we see God here by our side walking our way.
Those work and they fit the meter of the tune but I'm hearing something new in a literal translation.
Read MoreSo 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 MoreOver the past months, I’ve been delighted to work with The Rev. Ashley Goff and the congregation of Arlington Presbyterian Church in Arlington, VA. Over several years, this remarkable faith community discerned they were called to respond to the needs of their neighbors through a thoughtful listening campaign. They made a bold decision to demolish their building and partner with a developer who would build affordable housing on the former site of the church.
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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.
Every 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.
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