This 4 part a capella arrangement holds a unique and much needed message--that there are gifts and truths given in the "dark." In addition to this being a powerful message in and of itself--that there is beauty and power and deep Truth to be experienced in the dark moments and realities of life (literally and metaphorically), there is also power in challenging the implicit racist implications in assuming that "light is good" and "dark is bad." This song could be a congregational song and/or a choral anthem. It could also be a piece to use on "Good Friday" during Holy Week. Lots of potential uses for this provocative chorus. Learn More

Picture her sputtering in awe when you imagine Saint Angela of Foligno singing, "This world is pregnant with God." It's a powerful feminine metaphor for change. Sing it in Springtime, either Lent or Eastertide, on Earth Day, or any moment to remember humankind's interconnection with creation. The simple refrain deepens in meaning as the verses suggest dimensions of the metaphor: if creation is a pregnant witness of Christ incarnate in the world, then every living thing is kin (verses 1-2). For verse 3, I was thinking about the parable of the treasure in the field, and of my family's roots in farming. John 16, Mark 13, and Romans 8 refer to labor pain as a metaphor for the pain of transformation and renewal (verse 4). Teach the community the single-phrase refrain, and your music leader or choir sings the verses. Learn More

This song works well at the end of a gathering of the community of faith where we have been fed, challenged, given new hope, and perhaps new perspectives. It is an invitation to remain at peace with God ad with each other. Learn More

This is a song about giving of our offerings of time, money, and energy: in short, our lives to God's work. Learn More

This song urges us to hold onto the hope for peace on our troubled world. We need again and again to sing our dream of the "not yet" as we face the "what is." Learn More

This piece is a meditation based on the Magnificat of Mary. It asks us to hold in our hearts the prophetic message that God will lift the lowly and bring down the proud. Learn More

"In the Valley" is a song to be sung after a mountaintop experience like a beautiful retreat or a week at a church camp, or in silence, or in nature, or in circumstances we face each day. It might well be sung before a sermon. Learn More

"Christ Has Made Us Friends" is a celebration of the dramatic and life-changing assertion that followers of Jesus have become a part of a world-wide community of sisters, brothers, and friends. it invites us to bask in that relationship and live out that friendship both in our local church and in our relationships with folks who, though unlike us, are together with us in this new family. Learn More

"Let Jesus Be Set Free" is a reflection on the beautiful book, Freeing Jesus, by Diana Butler Bass. It focuses in particular on the man Jesus who was prophet, teacher, brother, mentor, and friend. Learn More