Mood: Moderate
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STJ#1008, When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place
I want to like this one. Composer Joyce Poley is one of the sweetest human beings I ever met. She was open, generous, and kind to us UU Musicians Network conference newcomers. She had amazing insights when it came to song leading. And there is a sweetness to the music she writes. And there is… Continue reading
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STJ#1004, Busca el Amor
There’s a terrible film from 1999 called The 13th Warrior featuring Antonio Banderas playing a 10th century Arab ambassador to northern Europe; he somehow finds himself included in a group of Vikings setting out to deal with a threat in a distant Viking land. At the start of this quest, Banderas understands no Norse and… Continue reading
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STLT#412, Let Hope And Sorrow Now Unite
Gentle readers, there is a chance I will let you down today. You see, I am feeling utterly and totally uninterested in where this hymn came from, who wrote it, and why we sing it to this tune. Which is kinda funny, because that’s exactly what my mom would have me do: activate another part of… Continue reading
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STLT#411, Part in Peace
Hmmm. I really don’t have much to say, because I don’t know how I feel about this one. (Also, I’m squeezing this reflection into a day full of fall house cleaning.) What I can tell you is the lyrics, by Sarah Flower Adams (of Abide with Me fame), set to the Charleston tune (which you… Continue reading
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STLT#405, This Do in Memory of Me
“And I’ll bring you hope, when hope is hard to find.” We sing this incredible line in Come Sing a Song with Me, which we have acknowledged is simultaneously insipid and profound. And while that one isn’t today’s hymn, it is the line that sings over and over in my head even after singing today’s… Continue reading
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STLT#402, From You I Receive
I was about to write something quick about this quick little song, and then go on with my day. I was going to write something like “how sweet and familiar this is” and something else about how some congregations accept the offering by singing this. And then I was going to add a quick note about… Continue reading
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STLT#400, Shalom Havareem
This morning I am grateful for Google’s proximate search capabilities. You see, I typed in the title of today’s hymn, a sweet traditional Jewish round, and it corrected me in that totally not shaming way Google has, by sending me results with ‘chaverim’ instead of the more phonetic ‘havayreem’. It also presented me with a… Continue reading
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STLT#399, Vine and Fig Tree
In my last year of seminary, I and five of my most creative friends co-created and produced a Broadway revue that told the story of the book of Exodus. We began our work with Biblical preparation led by Old Testament scholar David M. Carr: not just reading and exegeting the text but also examining the… Continue reading
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STLT#398, To See the World
Programming Note: I’ve added a lovely piece from Mary Grigolia about her song I Know This Rose Will Open, from an email exchange we had, about the origins and meaning of that song. After you read this, go to that entry and check it out! — There are days in this practice when the little… Continue reading
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STLT#393, Jubilate Deo
First – apologies for the delay this morning. A great ministers’ retreat also meant late nights and early mornings and I decided turning off my alarm was a smart move. Second – I don’t have much for you today. I could blame it on the grogginess of a long sleep, but really, there’s not much… Continue reading
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