-
Vespers
In the past few months I have added two positive events to my life. The first is a late afternoon walk which takes me to a beautiful nearby lake. The second is Zoom Evening Prayer from the Church of the Ascension in New York City. It starts with an opening prayer for forgiveness. The lectionary leads us through a Psalm or two, followed by readings from the Old Testament and New Testaments. The readings are not always easy. Led by each Priest we get the context and a better grasp of the meanings. There are also prayers the needs of particular people and the world. Both the walk and the…
-
Sicut Cervus
Several years ago I studied voice with Marcia Young, a wonderful soprano from St. Luke-in-the-Field’s Church, in Greenwich Village. She taught me how to find my voice at the back of my head and to support my voice which was not an alto, but rather a mid-range soprano. That was the beginning of this journey back to singing, but I needed lots of training, singing and sight-reading to improve and enjoy singing more fully. There are many benefits from singing. I recently read about a woman who suffers from a genetic skin disorder and she returned to her early love — singing. She says: ” I sang fully conscious of…
-
Your Place in the Family of Things
from Wild Geese … the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting — over and over announcing your place in the family of things. (Mary Oliver) It has been almost a year since I left New York City for the small seaside town of Asbury Park, NJ. I have come to feel a part of this landscape, but at times I have also felt like a lone ship on the sea. I love to see the broad expanse of the ocean every day, but I sometimes miss the dazzling nightscape of New York. However, I do manage to get back to…
