music – Page 2 – Grits and Grains

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There’s a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in. That’s a line from Leonard Cohen’s anthem – play the video while reading the rest of this. He advises “forget your perfect offering”.

That sounds pretty sound advice to me because there is no perfect offering. I have just returned from a a training event led by Bishop Stephen Platten who is Chairman of the Liturgical Commission. One of the exercises we chose to do together was to devise a liturgy to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS. We decided that there had to be opportunity to confess how the NHS had not lived up to its ideals and that we needed to avoid triumphalism. It’s only when we admit there are problems that we can improve – institutionally and personally. Forget our perfect offering. There is a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.

I wonder if God designed us as “seconds” – cracks included. Without the cracks what use would be the light of the world?

Great experience on Saturday – a Singing Workshop!

Not something I would normally do, especially on a Saturday. we were lucky enough to have Sue Perkes with us – all the way from Tewkesbury.

Apparently singing is as good for you as a workout at the gym, and makes you feel happy because of funny things it does in your brain which are far too complicated for me to understand.

jasmine came with her clarinet. Sue had her getting it out of the box, getting it aligned and cleaning its inside as an illustration of what we need to do when we sing. we get the instrument out (our voice). The inside cleaning job is getting our hearts right, destressing etc.

Made me think of the value of a cantor in worship, particularly one who has the permission to be impromptu in leading the praise.

Another spectacular sight was our organist improvising around Sue’s improvised singing. That was WOW.

Tag: music

>Leonard Cohen’s anthem

>Singing Lessons