easter morning improvisations

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I have found improvisation a life-changing spiritual practice - a space of exploration that invites me to trust my intuition and lean into the grace of listening and learning rather than perfection.

So when I woke up before sunrise on Easter morning and felt drawn to the keyboard, I followed my heart and found inspiration in singing birds, rain, and rumbling thunder as a storm passed through. I read a translation of Psalm 46 by Norman Fischer. And Easter hymns found new life for me, not trumpeted out in festive pageantry, but offered in the hushed, sometimes ecstatic improvisations you can hear below.

god goes on our same walk

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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.

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exploring the sounds of the neighborhood

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Over 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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