Music for Liturgy, Worship, & Reflection
Congregational Song Leader: Experienced leader of communal/congregational singing/chanting in a variety of ancient and modern musical styles, with training from:
Music that Makes Community utilizes techniques for leading congregational singing without printed words and music. Drawing on oral practices of song leadership, songs and singing can be introduced to congregations and other singing groups in a way that enables wholehearted engagement by everyone regardless of musical background and experience.
Taize Community is a Christian ecumenical monastic brotherhood in France that has developed a tradition of meditative singing in which a short phrase is sung to a simple chant-like melody. As the words are repeated over and over, they sink deeper into the whole of one's being. Taize songs can be led with or without sheet music or instrumental accompaniment.
Swannanoa Gathering provides training workshops in traditional singing and song leadership in a variety of styles including folk, bluegrass, American roots, gospel, spirituals, country-western, shape note singing, and traditional songs from Newfoundland, Ireland, Scotland, England, the Ozarks, and Appalachia.
Liturgical Cantor (Catholic & Anglican): Experienced leader of participatory sung elements of the liturgy (kyrie, psalms, allelujah, sanctus), as well as a variety of Catholic and Anglican chant settings for psalms, litanies, canticles, the exsultet, and special sung liturgies like Tenebrae and Compline.
Composer of new liturgical chant settings that reflect ancient musical practices and traditions.
Samples of original chant settings:
Phos Hilaron
Kyrie Eleison (in two parts)
Composer of new liturgical chant settings that reflect ancient musical practices and traditions.
Samples of original chant settings:
Phos Hilaron
Kyrie Eleison (in two parts)
Worship Music & Hymns: Musical offerings for worship in contemporary and folk-gospel styles, including hymn interpretations, secular-as-sacred songs, and instrumental soundscapes on guitar and piano for meditative moments of prayer/reflection. Experience with selecting and performing appropriate music for worship in diverse congregations and cultures across the country and the world, including:
- Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Greensboro NC
- Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, Greensboro NC
- First United Methodist Church, Eureka CA
- Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York NY
- St. Marks in the Bowery, New York NY
- Roman Catholic Mass with Jesuit Fr. Roger Haight, New York NY
- Union Congregational Church, Montclair NJ
- First Church of Christ, Middletown CT
- First Methodist Church, Tacoma WA
- Katolik Santo Mikael, Surakarta Indonesia
Worship Planning & Liturgical Space
Roman Catholic - Episcopalian/Anglican - Methodist - Presbyterian - UCC - Quaker - Interfaith/Ecumenical
2010-2014
James Chapel at Union Theological Seminary (New York, NY)
Concept, design, setup, and production of 30-minute worship services based on a variety of themes, denominational traditions, liturgical seasons, current and special events, and spiritual goals.
Samples:
Art of Prayer: Improvisational Worship for Holy Monday
Worship Service to Introduce the Labyrinth
2010-2013
Cathedral of St. John the Divine - Nightwatch (New York, NY)
Music and worship leader for a weekly overnight for youth from diverse Christian denominations. Liturgical set up, planning, and preparation and teaching/leading intergenerational groups in song.
2010-2014
James Chapel at Union Theological Seminary (New York, NY)
Concept, design, setup, and production of 30-minute worship services based on a variety of themes, denominational traditions, liturgical seasons, current and special events, and spiritual goals.
Samples:
Art of Prayer: Improvisational Worship for Holy Monday
Worship Service to Introduce the Labyrinth
2010-2013
Cathedral of St. John the Divine - Nightwatch (New York, NY)
Music and worship leader for a weekly overnight for youth from diverse Christian denominations. Liturgical set up, planning, and preparation and teaching/leading intergenerational groups in song.
2012-2013
St. Mark's Episcopal Church in the Bowery
(New York, NY)
Plan and design liturgical space for weekly evening
prayer services and special services. Assist with
liturgical set up for regular Sunday worship. Design and hang fabric installations for special services (see photo). Choose music for worship services.
Samples:
Evening Vespers for Ordinary Time
Evening Vespers for Advent
Easter Vigil Service
2011-2012
Committee on Spiritual Formation (New York, NY)
Planning committee for semiannual retreats and provide regular on-campus opportunities to help students integrate their academic learning experiences with their spiritual lives and ongoing vocational discernment.
2008-2010
24/7 Prayer (Greensboro, NC)
Assist with the creation, setup, and maintenance of a 24/7 creative prayer spaces utilizing multi-sensory,
synaesthetic means such as weaving, painting, inscribing, singing, reading, candle-lighting, collaging, and
and music to inspire prayerful engagement with God in body, mind, and spirit. Click here for more info.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church in the Bowery
(New York, NY)
Plan and design liturgical space for weekly evening
prayer services and special services. Assist with
liturgical set up for regular Sunday worship. Design and hang fabric installations for special services (see photo). Choose music for worship services.
Samples:
Evening Vespers for Ordinary Time
Evening Vespers for Advent
Easter Vigil Service
2011-2012
Committee on Spiritual Formation (New York, NY)
Planning committee for semiannual retreats and provide regular on-campus opportunities to help students integrate their academic learning experiences with their spiritual lives and ongoing vocational discernment.
2008-2010
24/7 Prayer (Greensboro, NC)
Assist with the creation, setup, and maintenance of a 24/7 creative prayer spaces utilizing multi-sensory,
synaesthetic means such as weaving, painting, inscribing, singing, reading, candle-lighting, collaging, and
and music to inspire prayerful engagement with God in body, mind, and spirit. Click here for more info.
Classes & Workshops
*Recipient of the Traveling Fellowship Award '14, Union Theological Seminary
Union's highest academic honor, awarded by faculty to the graduating Master of Divinity senior who has shown the highest promise for usefulness through teaching or contributing to theological knowledge.
Bible Studies & Discussion Groups:
Discussions on a variety of theological topics and questions for a variety of contexts. Topics of special expertise and interest include:
Theology and the Arts
Union's highest academic honor, awarded by faculty to the graduating Master of Divinity senior who has shown the highest promise for usefulness through teaching or contributing to theological knowledge.
Bible Studies & Discussion Groups:
Discussions on a variety of theological topics and questions for a variety of contexts. Topics of special expertise and interest include:
Theology and the Arts
- What is the theological or spiritual significance of music and art outside of church contexts?
- What is the theological or spiritual significance of the creative process itself?
- What counts as "Christian" art or music (and who gets to decide)?
- What is the vocation of artists, musicians, writers, and performers in the church?
- What are the origins of the Christian liturgy and what deeper meanings does it hold for us?
- What are the differences between worship, liturgy, and religious ritual?
- What role does music and art play in worship, liturgy, and religious ritual?
- Why do different Christians worship in different ways? Is there a "right" way?
- What does the Bible really say about humanity's relationship with creation?
- What resources does theology have for understanding our current ecological crisis?
- Is Christianity's rejection of "this world" the same thing as a rejection of the natural world?
- Can there be any truth in the Genesis account of creation given the theory of evolution?
- Are modern scientific discoveries antithetical to religious faith?
- Who were the female apostles, deacons, martyrs, monks, and saints of the early church?
- Is Christianity inherently patriarchal?
- What was the early church's understanding of gender, sexuality, and marriage, and how does that relate to our understanding of gender, sexuality, and marriage today?
- With so many different religions around the world, how can any one of them be "right"?
- Aren't all religions saying the same thing?
- Why are there so many different Christian denominations?
- Is there any hope for Christian unity, and if so, what might that look like?
Workshop Offerings:
Interactive workshops designed to help participants grow in faith and self-awareness through spiritual practices and creative engagement with Biblical texts and theological insights.
Interactive workshops designed to help participants grow in faith and self-awareness through spiritual practices and creative engagement with Biblical texts and theological insights.
Singing as a Spiritual Practice
“To sing is to pray twice,” said St. Augustine. Singing is one of Christianity’s most foundational spiritual practices. It is both active and contemplative, both individual and communal. All of us have within us the innate capacity to sing, but many still struggle to find their voice. Beginning with the breath and basic vocal exercises, we will explore the practice of singing from its root, allowing experienced singers and “non-singers” alike to find their voices anew. We will learn from different traditions of sacred singing like Taize, Iona, Songs of Presence, and African-American spirituals, and discover how singing in any context can invite us into a deeper sense of Presence with others and with God. No prior musical knowledge is necessary.
What Can Art Tell Us About Love?
This interactive workshop experience offers an introduction to how the arts can help us to think about the human experience of love. Through paintings and through movement, we will explore deeper and more authentic levels of expressing our relationships with one another and with God. This is an adaptation of a workshop offered by Brother Stephen of the Taize Community in France.
Music & Theology: God Between the Notes
In the story of Elijah, God comes not in the wind or the fire or the earthquake but in "the sound of sheer silence." Claude Debussy once wrote that "Music is the silence between the notes." This workshop will explore the intersecting territory of silence, music, and God, providing an opportunity for participants to consider where we find God between the notes of music, even music that may not be considered "Christian" or even overtly religious. Through developing practices of listening and theological discernment, participants will grow in their ability to recognize and reflect on the presence of God in their everyday lives.
Improvisation & Practicing Our Faith
In his book Improvisation in Life and Art, jazz musician Stephen Nachmanovitch writes, "When people ask me how to improvise, only a little of what I can say is about music. The real story is about spontaneous expression, and it is therefore a spiritual and a psychological story rather than a story about the technique." Improvisation - whether in music, theater, dance, comedy, or in our everyday lives - requires a willingness to accept and work with the circumstances of the present moment in an active trust of the Holy Spirit's presence to guide and carry us forward. Using Nachmanovitch's book, as well as improv games and techniques from a number of artistic mediums, this playful and fun workshop will help participants learn to practice their faith in their everyday lives by becoming more open to the experience of trust God and saying "yes, and" to life.
Spiritual Exercises of the Christian Mystics
Workshops to introduce a variety of spiritual exercises and practices found within Christian history, including Lectio Divina, Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, Centering Prayer, Chant, Labyrinth & Walking meditation, etc.
“To sing is to pray twice,” said St. Augustine. Singing is one of Christianity’s most foundational spiritual practices. It is both active and contemplative, both individual and communal. All of us have within us the innate capacity to sing, but many still struggle to find their voice. Beginning with the breath and basic vocal exercises, we will explore the practice of singing from its root, allowing experienced singers and “non-singers” alike to find their voices anew. We will learn from different traditions of sacred singing like Taize, Iona, Songs of Presence, and African-American spirituals, and discover how singing in any context can invite us into a deeper sense of Presence with others and with God. No prior musical knowledge is necessary.
What Can Art Tell Us About Love?
This interactive workshop experience offers an introduction to how the arts can help us to think about the human experience of love. Through paintings and through movement, we will explore deeper and more authentic levels of expressing our relationships with one another and with God. This is an adaptation of a workshop offered by Brother Stephen of the Taize Community in France.
Music & Theology: God Between the Notes
In the story of Elijah, God comes not in the wind or the fire or the earthquake but in "the sound of sheer silence." Claude Debussy once wrote that "Music is the silence between the notes." This workshop will explore the intersecting territory of silence, music, and God, providing an opportunity for participants to consider where we find God between the notes of music, even music that may not be considered "Christian" or even overtly religious. Through developing practices of listening and theological discernment, participants will grow in their ability to recognize and reflect on the presence of God in their everyday lives.
Improvisation & Practicing Our Faith
In his book Improvisation in Life and Art, jazz musician Stephen Nachmanovitch writes, "When people ask me how to improvise, only a little of what I can say is about music. The real story is about spontaneous expression, and it is therefore a spiritual and a psychological story rather than a story about the technique." Improvisation - whether in music, theater, dance, comedy, or in our everyday lives - requires a willingness to accept and work with the circumstances of the present moment in an active trust of the Holy Spirit's presence to guide and carry us forward. Using Nachmanovitch's book, as well as improv games and techniques from a number of artistic mediums, this playful and fun workshop will help participants learn to practice their faith in their everyday lives by becoming more open to the experience of trust God and saying "yes, and" to life.
Spiritual Exercises of the Christian Mystics
Workshops to introduce a variety of spiritual exercises and practices found within Christian history, including Lectio Divina, Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, Centering Prayer, Chant, Labyrinth & Walking meditation, etc.
Labyrinth Installation & Instruction
2011-2014
Union Theological Seminary (New York NY)
Union Theological Seminary (New York NY)
- Designed and painted a permanent and functional labyrinth onto the rooftop of the McGiffert building
- Researched the history of labyrinths and their use by the medieval Christian church
- Designed and distributed informational brochure to educate community about use of the labyrinth
- Facilitated annual prayer walks and planned worship services utilizing the labyrinth