soundcheck: TTNG - Cat Fantastic

TTNG hails from the UK but would've fit in well with American emo/indie rock bands taking shape in the late '90's. Very reminiscent of the bands like Texas is the Reason, Sunny Day Real Estate and the Promise Ring. And I highly appreciate their sensitivity to gun violence and therefore changing their name. Take a listen to the entire release, 13​.​0​.​0​.​0​.​0.

You can listen to my playlist on Spotify or Shuffler. Enjoy!

icon(ic): Steve Brubaker

"Transfiguration" by Steve Brubaker

Throughout history Christians have used images to tell the biblical story we are attempting to live in to. I've had a folder in my web browser with links to images that move me for several years. These are typically images that harken to the biblical narratives yet honestly expose the artist's context and culture. Like my weekly "soundcheck" posts in which I share music I've recently discovered, I've decided to start sharing images I've discovered on a weekly basis that inspire me. Hope they do the same for you.

This image by Steve Brubaker is part of Old and New. Consider supporting artists and the project by purchasing prints here.

And here's a bit more on my thoughts on art and faith.

Another EDOW blog post

I mentioned recently that we've started a new blog series on the Diocese of Washington website. Take a look and share your thoughts:

"There’s no denying that the Internet has radically changed how we communicate. In fact, there isn’t much that the Internet has not had an impact on. Reading, dating, buying and countless everyday activities are much different than were a decade ago due to the web-based tools we have access to. It is safe to assume that how we engage the Internet has impacted the local parish as well. For millennials, navigating the Internet has become second nature. In the 1500’s the Anglican tradition used the technological advances at hand–the printing press, for example–to “proclaim” or communicate the Good News. In that tradition, how might we communicate with a generation coming of age with the communication technologies available to us?"

Read the entire article here.

soundcheck: Georgia Anne Muldrow - Popstopper

I've never quite understood why Georgia Anne Muldrow's 2009 release, Umsindo, didn't become as big as it should have. It's a weird, neo-soul, funk, hip-hop and R&B album that I really dug. She's been hit and miss since then but I dig this latest track with Dudley Perkins from her upcoming release, The Lighthouse.

You can listen to my playlist on Spotify or Shuffler. Enjoy!

And just a little more on the subject of worship

Still thinking a lot about the subject of worship. Recently, I've written a couple things on the subjet of "worship." And then I participated in a conference over the last few days in which attendees heard from Ruth Meyers on the same subject. One of the best aspects of any conference are the hallway conversations. In one this week, a clergy person and I were talking about worship as a journey. It brought to mind Elizabeth O'Connor's use of the terms that titled a wonderful book of her's, Journey Inward, Journey Outward. Journey's change us, change how we look at life–at least mine, moving across the country certainly did. There's something going on with worship that ought to take us somewhere.

I've shared before my love for the work of Rainer Marie Rilke. And as I've been thinking about worship these days and what happens during worship–no matter the formate/genre–I've found myself thinking about this favorite Rilke line of mine:

"You said live out loud, and die you said lightly, and over and over again you said be."—Rainer Marie Rilke, Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God

Rilke’s poem displays three important "aspects" of the act of worship. So, I hacked O'Conner's terms, was inspired by Rilke's poem and delved into some thoughts on worship as follows. All three aspects occur within the realm of real life–worship is never void of context. The intent is to change how we look at life’s journey–not replace it or delete it.

The first aspect is the journey together. Worship ought to “lighten” or diminish the impact of death. Death is isolation. When Jesus’ dies on the cross he cries out, “God, why have you looked away from me?!” He is alone. We die alone. Worship fights death by declaring that we are not alone.

The second aspect is the journey inward. Worship ought to assist us in simply being. We live in a world that measures our worth by what we do. When we worship we are reminded that we are as Eugene Peterson writes, “God-begotten” or as Henri Nouwen writes, “God’s beloved.” We can rest in that reality. Worship takes us out of the fray of doing and calls us to simply be in God’s presence in every moment.

The last aspect is the journey outward. Worship ought to take our declaration against death and confidence of presence before God and challenge us to “live out loud” before a watching world. By doing so, we display before others how life should be lived; or, in other words together we give a glimpse a God’s Kingdom--life lived how God intended us to.

Thoughts?

soundcheck: Bomba Estéreo - Pa' Respirar

Bomba Estéreo creates a brilliant mix of electronic and live instrumentation. I listend online to the band's in studio performance on KEXP and was smitten. Dig it.

You can listen to my playlist on Spotify or Shuffler. Enjoy!

soundcheck: Ugly Purple Sweater - DC USA

I first heard about Ugly Purple Sweater on WAMU's Metro Connection. I was immediately struck by their thoughtful approach to their music. Hearing a bit about the story behind this song in particular made the video for it even more intriguing. You can check out more of their music here.

You can listen to my playlist on Spotify or Shuffler. Enjoy!

A bit more on the subject of worship ...

As I was finishing what I wrote last week, I realized that I had a lot more to say about the subject of worship. But my limited word count and scope kept it brief. So I wanted to write down just a bit  more on the subject. 

A couple years ago, I shared a speech by David Foster Wallace in which he says, "There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship."

When I walk neighborhoods with church folks I often tell them that while they walk they should ask, "What does this city worship?" I ask this because worship is more than rituals, more than songs. As I said in my article, when worship is done right it is integrated with the rest of the week. I've often referred to Sunday morning as a set of glasses that when you put on help you "see" the rest of your week in a particular way.  

What Wallace intends to say is that even those that do not participate in a weekly ritual worship as well. It's how we live, as Romans 12 and James 1 points out. Therefore the form–our ritual–ought to shape how we live out our lives in the rest of the week. If this isn't happening, what about the shape and form ought to change? 

I was surprised–quite frankly–to find the preface to The Book of Common Prayer starting with this:

It is a most invaluable part of that blessed "liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free," that in his worship different forms and usages may without offence be allowed, provided the substance of the Faith be kept entire; and that, in ever Church, what cannot be clearly determined to belong to Doctrine must be referred to Discipline; and therefore, by common consent and authority, may be altered, abridged, enlarged amended, or otherwise disposed of, as may seem most convenient for the edification of the people, "according to the various exigency of times and occasions." p. 9 (Thanks, Jane)

Yeah, I know, rough language. But the point seems clear: the form of worship does not matter so long as what is worshiped is made clear. As I've written before worship is witness–a witness as to what we worship. But ritual alone isn't enough. Relationships are equally requisite.

James K. A. Smith does a masterful job of explaining the liturgy of consumerism in the introduction to his book Desiring the Kingdom. But as I read through Smith's imagery I kept thinking about how much of this "liturgy" he is describing is taught. Imagine all the parents regularly pushing youngsters in shopping carts embodying, modeling what it means to be a consumer. Imagine all the toddlers playing with little toy cash registers already mimicking the use of credit cards. We do well at teaching others how to be consumers. How well do we teach others how to be Christians? Do we "unpack" our rituals in worship–explaining what just happened over coffee or describing how things such as kneeling, praying, reading, singing and eating together shape how we function in the world as the people of God? The rituals and the relationships matter.