Rehearsal

Its getting close, our PrayerSong debut. Rehearsal tonight went a bit bumpy. One of our singers is on vacation in Hawaii, one is fairly new to the group and hasn't had time to read through the music yet due to some life events, our accompanist was out last week - yikes! I feel adrift, like we just aren't ready.

We have one more rehearsal next Sunday to pull it all together, and I have asked for extra time. Its hard to feel like you know things well if you only get an hour once a week. Of course, last week the singers did read through everything (sans accompanist) and I felt much better about things then.

I have arranged with my engineer friend from Eastman to borrow a DVD recorder and record our upcoming rehearsal - I need to see for myself what works, what doesn't, what songs just need a bit of adjustment. I have arranged for us to rehearse in the church sanctuary so we get a better sense of space and placement and arranging stands and all that. A dry run if you will.

Even so, I struggle with how to communicate my vision to everyone, to bring them along through a process I have been involved with for several years, to get them to the heart of the matter. This is not just a fun activity, something we love doing (although it is obvious we all enjoy singing). This is a serious service for sick people.

I try to communicate that in what I say about things.

Our motto - PrayerSong: good for what ails you.

Music is medicine for the spirit, for the soul. I am reading Don Saliers book Music and Theology, and Bruce Epperly's book Healing Worship. They speak of music as the intersection of heaven and earth, a thin place where we can connect with the Divine. Music is so much more than just the notes on a page. When it becomes the sound in the air, it is larger than the sum of the parts, to borrow a phrase.

There is a multiplicity of research document the positive effect of music on blood pressure, the need for pain meds, the heartbeat rate, the presence of endorphins, even the reversal of aging and dementia. To touch a life on any of these levels - physical, emotional, spiritual - is a sacred privilege and not to be taken lightly.

Well, I leave it in the hands of the Almighty. We will be what He enables us to be. He will take our inadequate preparation, our human faults, our musical inabilities and transform us to be of use to those who so desperately need a touch from God. I totally can't wait!