Musicals and Muses

Musicals and Muses

It is praise band Sunday. Normally I skip praise band Sundays, but
there was something about songs from Godspell and my explorations of
other spiritual communities reinforced that this one needs and
deserves my energy, is unique despite its current struggles.

I entered fifteen minutes late, normal for days I don't have to be
there early for choir, greeted by a church filled with palms and
sunshine and an energy I have not felt there in a while. Perhaps
residue from yesterday's wedding. Joys were actually shared this
week, something else we have not heard in too long. Even a sermon
entitled "It's A Matter of Life or Death" could not dampen the spring
energy. Amazing considering a good portion of the congregation
teeters on this tightrope in sickness and age.

To close the service a new soloist sang Gethsemane, Jesus final plea
to God before dying. As our now ex-choir director (yes, it was just
this morning) banged out the swelling music moving through denial,
anger, desperation, and acceptance and the voice followed in a mellow
tenor, I felt the same beauty and elation I feel in listening to my
new Muse CD, which I realize can best be described as Broadway
musical mixes with Radiohead and Depeche Mode (political liberalism
and romantic melodrama). (Now I regret not getting tickets for their
show next week as this is music that needs to be experienced live,
like all good musical theater. Damn my inability to commit to plans
more than a week in advance!)

Somehow, this connection opened my spiritual muse and I was able to
envision this church, if it could maintain this energy of love and
hope and springiness, as a living and vital spiritual force in the
community, one that brings hope and love (things most people now do
not associate with 'organized' religion, which is funny considering
how unorganized this church can be).

Secrets are rarely as secret or scandalous as we anticipate. (Last
week, skeptically, I watched The Secret [what, you haven't heard
about it?]. I recently found out some of the stars of the secrets,
such as Ester Hicks, a prominent leader in the teachings of positive
thinking and the law of attraction, have distanced themselves from
it. I can only guess because, though containing many, many good
points, there is an overwhelming and implicit focus on using these
laws of existence and thought for material acquisition, conveyed
through choice of soundbites, but more by the juxtaposition of
materialistic images.) In The Secret, the big deal is simply we are
our thoughts. We are what we eat, but even more, we are what we
think. Sitting in the pew this morning, I realized this is true
collectively as well as individually. If we believe our church is
dying, it is. I we believe our school is underperforming, it is.

I stuck around today for the meeting where church business is
discussed, like the sudden resignation of our somewhat volunteer
choir director. Try point out the secret to others and it is amazing
how they want to just retreat into justifying their belief. I heard
dozens of reasons why we are dying, struggling, victims of
circumstance and district officials. No wonder.

Perhaps this is how this church and I attracted each other. Perhaps
this is why a choir director with amazing talent and vision (with,
possibly, an ego and temper to match -- I do not know details) was
attracted to us for one month, enough time to bring a vision of
something different, of hope, of seeing ourselves as the loving and
enduring community we are.