Hymn by Hymn
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STLT#349, We Gather Together
On December 9th, this tune first appeared, and I suggested that “later in the hymnal, we sing the usual words.” Well, that ‘later’ is today, and while the first three words are the same as the usual words, that is where ‘usual’ ends. And so I stand here in my wrongness being wrong. And thank… Continue reading
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STLT#348, Guide My Feet
Today, gentle readers, I offer you A Tale of Two Liturgical Moments. Because indeed, as our man Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The best of times was when I learned an arrangement of this African American spiritual in my seminary gospel choir; the harmonies were… Continue reading
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STLT#347, Gather the Spirit
This hymn almost got ruined for me in 2009. That spring, Saratoga Springs’ minister, Linda Hoddy, went on sabbatical, leaving a congregation well prepared to hold the fort down. As chair of the worship committee, I was also on the sabbatical team, and after a fall spent ensuring we had all our ducks in a… Continue reading
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STLT#346, Come, Sing a Song with Me
I’m finding things a little hard this morning (9/11, Irma, the memories this song stirs), so I’ll let Michael Tino introduce today’s post: “We confront the complex reality that something can be both insipid and profound simultaneously.” You see, this song by Carolyn McDade can be awfully sticky-sweet, with its rolling 3/4 time often played… Continue reading
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STLT#345, With Joy We Claim the Growing Light
First, I need to say a prayer for Key West, and really all of south Florida this morning. I have friends who are still on the island (mostly they are first responders, public works folk, or other government officials), and they are getting hit so very hard as I type. I’ve seen a few videos… Continue reading
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STLT#344, A Promise through the Ages Rings
It is always a relief to me to turn to a new section of the hymnal; I think it’s because of the frankly unnatural nature of this practice. i was getting worn out by the Insight and Wisdom section, feeling as though I had little of either by the time it all ended. But now… Continue reading
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STLT#343, A Firemist and a Planet
I am very tired of the humanist/theist debate. It seems to me that there are so many bigger, more important things for us to wrestle with, especially since – at least in Unitarian Universalist circles – even our most divergent theologies support the principles where we all meet. And I get that it’s harder to… Continue reading
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STLT#342, O Slowly, Slowly, They Return
I feel like an apostate for saying this, but I do not care for this hymn. Now let me be clear: I like the tune (an initially tricky Swiss folk tune called Solothurn). And I like Wendell Berry’s poetry. And I don’t even mind the two together – they seem to fit well, with some musical… Continue reading
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STLT#341, O World, Thou Choosest Not the Better Part
I am in a Lichtenstein painting: “Oh no! I forgot to read George Santayana!” And I’m a bit embarrassed, largely because he wrote about spirituality and aesthetics, and this is the area of my ministry and while God knows I have read a ton of literature in my area of ministry, how is it I’ve never read… Continue reading
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STLT#340, Though Gathered Here to Celebrate
Wow. I have a service I love to do called “Holey, Holy, Wholly” about the myth of wholeness and the grace of brokenness as a truer path to healing. It is one of those deeply pastoral services that fulfills the call to ‘comfort the afflicted’ – because we can’t always just ‘afflict the comfortable.’ I… Continue reading
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links
Learn more about my ministry at The Art of Meaning
Read my thoughts about congregational life at Hold My Chalice
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