Seeking Authentic Voice

A reflection on the readings for the second Sunday of Lent:  Genesis 17:1-16; Mark 8:31-38 Almost every Sunday between the 8am and the 10am service I join Sean and the choir for their vocal warm-up as they prepare for the worship service. In the actual service I end up either singing with the congregation or singing by myself with the congregation responding. I rarely sing with the choir. Warming up with the choir is one way I prepare for worship. One of the main things Sean works on is helping each choir member hear the voices of those around them and to blend their voices so that no one voice stands out more than another. That is the work of choral music, a blending of voices to a unified whole. It is also the work of orchestras, blending the instruments to create a whole sound. Blending voices is a skill that requires one to be simultaneously aware of one’s own voice and aware of the voices of those around one’s self and the ability to soften or raise one’s voice so that it b

Deb, over at the RevGals blog offers this Friday Five meme: 1. For The First Time in Forever:  Tell us about a magical first snow day – for a child, a transplanted southerner, or maybe you have a great story from the first snowfall in your area this season.  As a child I loved to ice skate and go sledding. I lived in Salt Lake City until I was nine, there the opportunities for great sledding hills were prolific. It was thrilling to race down a hill and then exhausting to walk back up to the top only to be repeated. These hills were really mountain foothills... When my kids were little I made sure to do the same with them. I have fond memories of ice skating and sledding with my kids, always followed by hot chocolate for them and tea for me.  2. In Summer:  Tell us what you look forward to when it’s warmer again. I look forward to the ease of summer - shorts, t-shirts, sandals. Long walks outside. Warm temperatures. Having the house open, a nice breeze blowing in. The sounds

Reflection for Lent 1B I have a confession. I am not very good at praying. More specifically, I am not very good at praying in “typical ways.” Particularly, I do not kneel on my knees at my bedside and pour out a series of confessions and petitions to God. Although I did do that when I was child. Then I remember praying for each person in my grammar school classroom, beginning with the child in the first chair of the first row and going chair by chair to the last person. When I found the Episcopal Church, I prayed on Sunday mornings, I prayed when I came to church. With my young family we prayed before meals saying a simple prayer that Dan remembered from his childhood, “Bless us oh Lord and these thy gifts”…. I also prayed with our children before bedtime, a little prayer that looked back over the day, at what had gone well and what had not.  For a long time I prayed the daily office from the Book of Common Prayer. I’d rise early in the morning and move through morning pr

Jan, over at the RevGals, offers this Friday Five: This is the beginning of the season of Lent. What are your thoughts, hopes, and prayers? For today’s Friday Five, share five things about Lent. If you’d like some guidance, here are a few suggestions: 1. books - the church I serve, along with a sister church in our town, are reading and engaging in the book, "The Restoration Project" for our Lenten series.  2. new ideas - At my church we will engage "The Restoration Project," and it's emphasis developing formational Christian practices, during coffee hour on Sunday. We will have a variety of themed table tops where people can chose to sit. Two will have jigsaw puzzles (The Last Supper, The Life of Jesus) with the idea that as people put together the jigsaw puzzle they will engage in conversation and build relationship. One table will have knitting and crochet for starting our prayer shawl ministry. Another table will have mandalas, blank pieces of pap