Monday Music Appreciation #2 -- and now for something completely different

At work at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music on Friday night, I was lucky to sit in on a viola concerto played by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra strings section, with Clayton Leung giving a wonderful performance.

This video is not a viola concerto. But it's absolutely incredible all the same. In an effort not to spoil it for those who haven't run into 2CELLOS before, I'll only say that the performers are two very talented, classically trained Croatian cellists named Luka Sǔlić and Stjepan Hauser. Watch those fingers fly... and stay for the end if you can. It made me laugh with delight!

A Sunday chant -- from Taizé

You might recall the beginning of the pandemic, and how uncertain everything was. Suddenly, the world as we knew it was forced to stop, and our lives were thrown up in the air for quite some time.

Like many, I didn't quite know how to respond, and my anxiety level went through the roof. In looking for something to calm my soul, I quickly turned to the Taizé Community, which was also forced to close itself off from outsiders. But even during the lockdown in France, the Brothers of the community found a way to reach out through broadcasting their prayer online every evening.

So for the first 82 days of the pandemic, I faithfully attended online prayer with the Brothers, getting to know the backs of their heads (hee hee), the sounds of their voices, their choice of seating in the rooms where they met, and many newer chants composed in the last few years. I was especially delighted to hear the brothers I met in 2016 read some of the scriptures and prayers -- it was a consolation to know that they were still there, praying with the 60 or 70 thousand of us from around the world who were joining them online.

Since then, the Brothers have gone back to one broadcast each week, and my online participation hasn't been at all regular. So -- no surprise -- somehow I missed this particular piece of music (maybe they didn't sing it at the pandemic's beginning?) But there it was, part of yesterday's evening prayer (which can be heard every Saturday afternoon (because of the seven-hour difference between France and here) on youtube -- https://www.youtube.com/@taize)

Gib mich ganz zu eigen dir is a gorgeous chant that was part of the International Meeting in Basel, Switzerland in December 2017, and its lyrics come from a prayer by St. Nicholas von Flue, who lived in the 1400s. The beautiful video below is from the Basel gathering's Saturday evening celebration of the Resurrection (hence the candles). Here's a translation of the lyrics that you can find on the Youtube page:

"Take everything from me that keeps me from you.

Give everything to me that brings me near to you.

My Lord and my God, take me away from myself and give me completely to you."

And here are the German lyrics you hear in the beautiful video above:

Nimm alles von mir, was mir fernhält von dir. Gib alles mir, was mich hinführt zu dir. Mein Herr und mein Gott, nimm mich mir und gib mich ganz zu eigen dir.

In the years since this version, the Taizé community has changed the lyrics from "Mein Herr und mein Gott" to Lebendiger Gott (Living God). 

As I'm not a German speaker, I've been singing a simplified English version to myself since I heard it yesterday, but I promise I will learn it in German as soon as I can. These English words don't exactly work with the melody, but they're not far off in case you want to try to sing along...

Take everything that keeps me from you.

Give everything that brings me to you.

O Living God,

take me away from myself

and give me completely to you...

For any local people who are interested, our next Ecumenical Prayer featuring the chants of the Taizé community will be on Sunday, February 12 at 7 pm at St. Thomas D'Aquin church (8410 89 Street) here in Edmonton. All are welcome!

Have a beautiful Sunday.

Walking at Riverlot 56

As someone whose appreciation for nature is constant, I really loved the walk Lee, Suzanna, Shadow-dog, and I took on Sunday afternoon. We found our way out to Riverlot 56, a piece of provincial land east of St. Albert, not far from the St. Albert Municipal Cemetery, Poundmaker Lodge, and Nechi Institute. 

Riverlot 56 is a fairly big space with 6.6 km of looped trail, (to see webpage and map, click here) a good place for hiking, bird watching, and, as we noticed on Sunday, cross-country skiing. There's a guided family nature walk through the trees with periodic interpretive signs inviting kids to spot different kinds of animals, plants, or birds, with true or false questions that amused me (I was always falling behind because I wanted to read them). 

Dogs are allowed on leash at Riverlot 56, though there were a few people pretending it's an off-leash area. Shadow was not impressed, but he put up with it.

Lee, Suzanna, and Shadow were way out ahead of me at the bottom of a gully when Lee suddenly stopped and said, "There's a moose!" I didn't see him at first, but sure enough, there was a big bull just visible through the trees above us. As Riverlot 56 is close to the Sturgeon River that runs through St. Albert, I'm guessing there are many creatures who find it a quiet place to hang out.

It's not the best picture, but I didn't want to move any closer to Brother Moose, who was keeping an eye on us as he contentedly munched some of the underbrush. Maybe if you visit Riverlot 56 (or other places like it) you'll be lucky enough to spot him or one of his friends for yourself... I'd recommend it!

Monday music appreciation #1

Since Appreciation is my word of the year, I've decided to note things I appreciate here in my moodlings. And since music is one of the things in my life that really touches me (as if you haven't guessed that from just this past week's moodlings alone), I'm going with music appreciation Mondays, at least when I remember to or have the time.

There are a number of pieces of music vying for this Monday music appreciation spot at the moment, but I think I have to start with a classic, Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. It was part of an Edmonton Symphony Orchestra concert shift I worked at on Friday night, and the guest conductor, Yaniv Dinur (who was quite funny), made introductory comments that helped me to understand the music better. 

(Note: many symphony orchestras have struggled with whether or not to play Tchaikovsky's music given the genocide Russia is perpetrating in Ukraine right now, but there is evidence to suggest that Tchaikovsky himself was a victim of the Russian Regime of his time. For this reason, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has chosen to continue to play his music.)

Our conductor told us that Romeo and Juliet begins with a hymn-like theme to remind us of Shakespeare's Friar Lawrence (the go between for Romeo and Juliet), and moves to the clash (hear the swordplay?) between the Montagu and Capulet families. Then we hear one of the most famous romantic themes in classical music, followed by reminders of further clashes and a bit of funeral march before the romantic music returns, with a sadder ending, of course.

If you're buzzing about this week as I am, with many things to do, perhaps you might like to let this play in the background -- or, if you have time, plug in some headphones and let it flow through you, as symphony concerts are meant to do. (I like this BBC video for its movement between different London Symphony Orchestra musicians, and the obvious workout being put in by them and Maestro Valery Gergiev. For me it's worth watching, as I'm always fascinated by how orchestra members work together to create beauty, from tiny piccolos to tubas to tympani drums -- if only everyone in the world worked this way!) 

Either way you might choose to listen, enjoy!

A Sunday song to speak to us all

Somewhere in the past week, I heard someone say something to the effect that Jesus called fishermen to follow him because he needed a getaway vehicle now and then, you know, to have a break from all that healing and teaching and arguing with scribes and pharisees. 

But today, Quinn, our fearless leader at Inner City Pastoral Ministry, talked about the calling of those fishermen being parallel to God's loving call to each one of us, and Quinn played the song Out of Hiding by Steffany Gretzinger and Amanda Cook.

Through this song, God says to each of us, "I'll be your lighthouse when you're lost at sea. I will illuminate everything..." and a lot of other beautiful messages. 

I love to hear new God songs like this one. And I really love it when they touch our downtown people. I saw a few of them wiping away the tears when they thought no one was watching, and that only added to the moisture in my own eyes. 

We are all so deeply loved. Isn't that something?

How can we rise up?

Yesterday our Inner City Pastoral Ministry Bible study on the Grandparent Teachings wrapped up with the final teaching of Love. We always get into good, deep discussions at Bible study and run out time before we run out of insights. 

Somewhere in the time leading up to yesterday's study, our leader, Pastor Jim, ran across this old Bruce Springsteen song, My City of Ruins, and brought the lyrics for us (thank you, Jim). They fit really well with our morning conversation about how important it is to love ourselves so that we can love each other, especially in challenging times. And in these challenging times, some communities are in ruins when people aren't properly cared for, so we are called to rise up.

I couldn't remember Springsteen's melody, so I came home and looked it up, and found this video where The Boss is singing to some of the people of New Orleans about a year after Hurricane Katrina. It moved me, especially after walking among the tents and tarps of downtown Edmonton. My City of Ruins leaves me asking myself, what else can I do with these hands? How can we as a society rise up so that change comes? How do we start a groundswell of love in action? Comments are welcome.

Sing it, Bruce!

Another good Sunday song

Farley has sung this song at Community of Emmanuel many times, but for some unknown reason, it touched me at a deeper level today. 

I wanted to share all four verses of Rita Springer's haunting melody that are printed in the ICPM songbooks, but this is the only video recording that I could find, with only the first and last verse. Perhaps the other verses came along after the recording was made? I've put all the lyrics we sing at Community of Emmanuel below this video so you can sing them for yourselves. A blessed Sunday to you!

Make me a prayer, let my prayer be a cry.

Humble my heart, so that you may draw nigh.

Cause me to stand and cry out for this land,

Cause me to be one who's set free

to stand as a house of prayer.

Make me a cup, your love spilled out through me.

Pour out my heart, let your people be free.

Cause me to share my heart and to care,

Cause me to be one who's set free,

who stands as a chalice of love.

Make me a flame, that your light may so shine.

Ignite my heart, let me blaze in the dark.

Cause me to burn my life for your word,

Cause me to be one who's set free,

who stands as a beacon in the night.

Make us a prayer, let our prayers be a cry.

Humble our hearts so that you may draw nigh.

Cause us to stand and cry out for this land,

Cause us to be a people set free,

to stand as a house of prayer.

2023 Word of the Year

Those who follow these moodlings know that I like to choose a word at the beginning of every year as something of a theme on which to focus as the months hurry past. 

In rereading last year's moodling about my Word of the Year, I had to chuckle. I lost that thread of inspiration at about the time the dark days moved back into the light, and my friend Garth returned not long after. I did enjoy most of my Partylite candles, however!

Having reached the end of 2022 and having to go back through my moodlings to remember the word I chose last January, I had to ask myself: is there really any point to choosing a Word of the Year? 

Answer: of course there is -- I just need to be more intentional about actually remembering it (though I sometimes find it challenging to remember what happened the day before yesterday, already!) And 2023's Word of the Year is one I'm determined to remember.

Ready?

APPRECIATION. That's what I want to focus on this year.

Why?

Well, because in the past year, as I've gotten more and more involved in the ministry of presence for folks in the inner city, I've seen a lot of dark stuff. It's become too easy to feel sad and angry about the fact that there are humanitarian crises across the river or down our local ravine, never mind hidden in some of the poorly-maintained rental units within walking distance of my own comfy home. 

I bumped into a neighbour this morning and we got to talking about the 49,000 people struggling with core housing need in Edmonton, and when I mentioned how we need all levels of government to step up and work together to build a lot more affordable housing, she laughed and said, "yeah, right."

Housing is only one issue. I'm sure you can think of a dozen others. The problem is that it's just too easy to get cynical when faced with so many challenges and the seeming lack of political will to solve problems. I feel that cynicism in myself, too. So that's why I decided to focus on Appreciation (many thanks to my friend Jim for his New Year's reflection). 

And just in the nick of time, too. This morning when we arrived downtown to hand out socks, gloves and other winterwear, this is what greeted us.

They had come to dismantle the tarp/tent homes of people in the neighbourhood. Quinn (standing on the corner, shaking his head) captured it well when he said, "This is too crazy. They take it down now, and tonight it will be back because these people have nowhere else to go." People were dragging their belongings out of their shelters and piling them up wherever they could, just waiting for the cops and workers to "clean up" and leave. 

There's nothing like destabilizing the only stability people have had for the last couple of weeks in this chilly winter weather.

But we've seen this many times, and because we couldn't do anything about the inhumanity of the situation (other than being active members of the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness and standing witness as the team from Inner City Pastoral Ministry), we focused on the people who came to our little table for the winterwear donations given to us by kind and generous people -- and we also witnessed the kindness and generosity of community members to each other even as their homes were being taken apart.

One fellow sat amid his pile of belongings on an ancient blanket-covered chair, cracking jokes (to lift peoples' spirits?) He pulled a rubber band out of a garbage bag and announced that he'd found ten thousand dollars in it, then asked a passer-by, "Would you like this rubber band that held all that money?" He was non-stop with his wisecracks.

One young woman came to our necessities table and asked for ladies' briefs, quietly telling me that she was having her "lady time." I dug around under the mens' socks and found the last two for her. She was tucking them into her pocket as another girl arrived, saying, "I'd really like a fresh pair of underwear if you have it." I told her she'd just missed the last two, but of course, the young woman who had just received them dug into her pocket and gave one to the girl who'd asked. Just like that.

People look out for each other all the time, and I appreciate that. Sometimes I even remember to say so.

But not as often as I should.

So my 2023 Word of the Year is chosen to remind me to voice my appreciation in situations where I find myself marveling at the beauty, goodness and truth of this world, and the kindness and goodness of human beings. Especially those who receive more complaints than pats on the back, those who are often overlooked. 

And I need not only to voice appreciation, but to properly appreciate. To really look at, listen to, smell, taste, touch and reflect upon life rather than just letting it pass me by. And to do things to show my appreciation, to make others aware of things, creation, and people worth appreciating whenever possible.

What's your word or focus for 2023?

A prayer for 2023

Happy New Year, friends!

This morning at the Community of Emmanuel, Pastor Jim shared a beautiful prayer that he wrote, and I asked him if I could share it here. Gracious fellow that he is, he agreed.

God of all times and places and beings,

as a new year begins,

keep us aware of the road we are called to walk,

a road where we

   welcome outcasts and refugees,

   heal a broken planet,

   feed the hungry,

   build bridges of trust, not walls of fear,

   share our gifts,

   seek justice and peace for all people,

   and bring Christ's light to the world. 

+Amen.

                                    -- Jim Gurnett

His sermon this morning, about the road we walk starting in this new year, used the word WALK as an acronym for how we can move through the year in God's presence. I loved this idea, and am sure he won't mind me sharing it as well:

W -- we walk in Wonder

A -- we walk in Appreciation

L -- we walk knowing that we are Linked to all other beings, and 

K -- we walk giving Kindness wherever we can along the way.

My prayer is that we all walk through the year 2023 in this good way!