Worship and the Arts

  • All Are Called

    All Are Called

    I wrote a song. And instead of performing it for a few friends, or maybe a small congregation, I first performed it on a big stage, with thousands of people watching – and singing along. How am I feeling about it? Good. The Sunday afternoon reprise went better, partly because I knew folks were going… Continue reading

  • Dear Nerdist: An Open Letter of Thanks

    Dear Nerdist: An Open Letter of Thanks

    An open letter to Chris Hardwick, founder of The Nerdist and host of The Nerdist Podcast (and @midnight and The Talking Dead and who knows what else because he’s doing so much as he follows his bliss): Dear Chris, I want to thank you for the impact The Nerdist Podcast has made on me. Like… Continue reading

  • The Power of Silly

    The Power of Silly

    What started as a silly exclamation after drinking at the pub one night turned into two major projects that I undertook at seminary. The exclamation – interjected as a group of us at Union Theological Seminary discovered a mutual love of musical theater – was “we should do a Broadway Revue!” A few months later, we… Continue reading

  • I really care about this.

    I really care about this.

    For several years, I have known that my master’s thesis would be a launching pad for my eventual book on theatricality in Unitarian Universalist worship – my general idea is that we can learn something from our performative cousin, theatre, in terms of how we approach everyday worship. Every time I mention the project to… Continue reading

  • Out of Phase

    Out of Phase

    This past Sunday, Unitarian Universalist congregations all over the country celebrated Ingathering/Homecoming. It’s a old tradition from when our elite Boston forebears closed their doors for the summer in favor of cottages on the Cape. But while almost all of our congregations are year round now, we still take the time to welcome everyone back… Continue reading

  • Out of the Loop

    Out of the Loop

    On Sunday morning, someone in one of my Facebook groups exclaimed the awesomeness of “so many pics of red shoes” in her newsfeed. I then looked through mine; no red shoes and no other mention of them. So I went back to the group and asked what it was about, and I got a one-word response:… Continue reading

  • Nameless – The Chapel

    Nameless – The Chapel

    Below is the video and script for my thesis project, a 30-minutes chapel service called Nameless, held Monday, March 3, 2014. Juliana Bateman– Samson’s wife (Judges 14) Natalie Renee Perkins – Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:34-40) Ranwa Hammamy – Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:1-10) Ashley Birt – Lot’s wife (Genesis 19:15-26) Jessica Christy – Job’s wife (Job 2:1-10) Shamika Goddard – the… Continue reading

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Learn more about my ministry at The Art of Meaning

Read my thoughts about congregational life at Hold My Chalice

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