Sound Theology by Colleen Butcher

I’ve been called a Grinch. It’s true. I have an unusual pet peeve . . . Christmas carols in church before Christmas.

The reason I have been called a Grinch is that when worship leaders make me sing Christmas carols in November and early December, I get grumpy. Downright growly.  And, I’m not usually quiet about it. (You know, like that baby Jesus, who never cried . . . no, that’s not me.)

The reason I get grumpy and growly is because when we ignore Advent and bring out the carols too soon, we shout, loud and clear, that we don’t know our own stories. That we (the church and her worship leaders), don’t have any clue how to be true to the narrative of scripture. We advertise that we really don’t recognize how to be counter cultural. When we ignore the liturgical calendar, which helps us to sing the seasons, and sound the story, we train our community that culture trumps story. read more…

The longest days are coming to close for this year. The leaning into darkness will begin to tilt in a different direction soon. The promise of light is on the horizon.

But for a few more cycles, the earth’s angle impedes the light . . . the light is shining, but it’s not visible to us.

And so we lean into the dark, again. read more…

How is your Advent season going? Have you been able to stop and take a breath from the service planning, party going, and present planning (not to mention shopping)?

At the beginning of the season, I challenged us to spend time listening. To hear the minor key of the season and rest in the sounds that subtly, but persistently, challenge the merry-making frenzy all around us. How is that going?

I am finding it very difficult! Maybe you are as well. read more…

So many things in our world at the moment require lament. So many current circumstances conspire to crush our hearts and leave us wondering when our hope will arise. Lament: the passionate expression of grief or sorrow. Lament: not a failure of faith, but an act of deep, purposeful faithfulness.

As communities we need to learn again the embodiment and language of lament. One significant way we engage in this embodiment and language is through shared song. Music has tremendous power to validate sorrow and set it free. Music in community has the power to join us together in shared hope. Lament teaches us that there are things that are difficult and painful. There are many things that we do not understand, and even some things that we cannot change. read more…

As the light of winter descends, the days grow shorter and dusk comes sooner. Darkness comes early and stays late, and our vision is hampered by the lack of light. Our vision resists the darkness, and unless we are attentive to our other senses, we end up on one of two places: our eyes close in the pervasiveness of night, or we become blinded by the garishness of the seasonal lights.

It is a perfect season to develop our focus on sound. read more…