Love and Faithfulness Shall Lead



Last September, I was invited to a retreat with other Music that Makes Community* presenters.  We talked about where the organization had come from and dreamed of where it could be going.  We also did a lot of singing! 

 

I shared this simple round by David E. Poole based on Psalm 85 from David when I was a Heartbeat Scholar with John Philip and Ali Newell at Ghost Ranch last summer*.  Check out his Casa del Sol collection here. 

 

This round seems so appropo now.  I hope it fills a space in your heart and finds a purpose in your life. 


* if you're wondering about why I haven't talked about Music that Makes Community or Ghost Ranch or the Newell's ... well, (shyly), know that I plan to make up for that in the coming weeks!

Selected "Tales of a Roaming Catholic" at Recovery from Religion Conference

Selected "Tales of a Roaming Catholic" will be shared at an upcoming Recovery from Religion conference in Minneapolis!  Yay! 

 

Please join us if you can!  Our session will be Saturday morning, April 9, 8:45-10:15 a.m.  Single day registration is available! 

 

This "Recovery from Religion:  Toxic Theology, PTSD, and Road to Healing" conference will at The Open Book, downtown Minneapolis and is sponsored by MICAH, the Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing.  Please check the other sessions on the schedule.

 

Transitions & Transformations

Last week I played my last services at the senior community I've been hanging out with for the last year.  I played some of my favorite piano music, shared a new tune to a favorite blessing, and wept tears of gratitude and blessings for these dear people.  Why was I leaving if there seemed to be so much good (and stability) there?

This quote by Brene Brown kinda sums it up. 

 

For the last 4-5 months I have been hearing an increasingly louder call to something more beyond those senior community walls.  So, with a sense of trust that everything will be alright, I'm walking into the unknown world of freelance. 

 

I say that, and know with certainty a long list of things that hold the possibility of more: 

• showing up at my remaining part-time church music job and getting more inventive in worship
• laying the ground work for the Full Voice coaching work I'm doing with Barbara McAfee
• producing "Tales of a Roaming Catholic" with Mary Martin and leading my own "Confluence"
  Dances of Universal Peace sets as well as finish my dance leader certification and organize another Villa Maria dance retreat
• hosting paperless community sing gatherings with church music, hospice choir, and just for fun peeps
• following the Dance Doodle intuition
• developing the temporary labyrinth thing
• finishing up some projects that are have languished (sorry, ARF and MHTP!) 

All of these projects are connected to an engaging and empowering drive to comfort and liberate the voice of individuals and communities.  I am excited to jump into these realms with more time and groundedness. 

I'm planning to share my adventures here.  Stay tuned.  Join in where you can and Bounce an idea my direction.  We're all in this together. 

Confluence: A graduation dance set

You're invited!

 

I will be leading my hour long graduation dance set for my training in the Dances of Universal Peace on Fri evening, Apr 1, 2016 in Des Moines. The theme is Confluence and together we will explore the gifts from Source, be that parental or spiritual, that we carry and merge downstream with others' gifts and dreams to the ocean that collects all things.

I am offering a preview to Minneapolis-St. Paul folks on Sat, Mar 19, 7pm at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 1895 Laurel Ave, St. Paul. Please RSVP at this meetup.com group: http://meetu.ps/e/Bl87p/1mZbb/a.

What are the Dances of Universal Peace, you ask? The Dances are group songs and movements inspired by the Sacred Scriptures of the world's religious traditions. I like to think of it as embodied prayer chanting for all. The songs and the movements are taught during the group time; no previous experience or rehearsal is needed. Some dances are energetic and joyful; others are reflective and leave you feeling calm.

As the 13th century Persian poet Rumi says, "Come, come, whoever you are! Worshipper, wanderer, lover of leaving ... Ours is no caravan of despair. Come, yet again. Come!"

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Update!  Confluence will be in Duluth on Sunday evening, Mar 20!  Check out the details on Meetup.com and I'll see you there!