October 3rd, 2007 – Called Together – Creator Choir

Last night everyone seemed to be in a social mood and there was much to talk about and catch up on.

A running joke started during the first part of practice. People arriving late or going out and coming back into the sanctuary used the right side door. To comply with fire marshal regulations to close quickly, the door makes a loud slam when it is not opened wide. Nobody opens this door wide and so the person trying to make an unobtrusive entrance makes a very noticable one. We compounded it by shouting out the name of whoever was trying to be stealthy. Disrupted practice a bit but it was fun.

Tonight we started by practicing Marty Haugen's All Are Welcome. The words and music continue to have profound impact on me since singing it during this year’s Oregon Synod RIC Sunday service which took place at Central Lutheran in January.

Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space, as we share in Christ the feast that frees us: All are welcome in this place.

Until this year for me, the lyric above in All Are Welcome referred to the church globally, in the past, present and future, revealing the love of God through action. In the context of a service centered on supporting acceptance and full participation of people of all sexual orientations and sexual identities, another meaning became evident.

God’s love, constantly being revealed in new ways, breaks down the differences and fractured relationships we draw between each other through time and in different places.

Peter Gabriel wrote a song called Not One of Us. The lyrics hit hard and capture what we find ourselves fighting against:

There is safety in numbers

When you learn to divide

How can we be in

If there is no outside?

All shades of opinion

Feed an open mind

But your values are twisted

Let us help you unwind.

You may look like we do

Talk like we do - but you know how it is

You’re not one of us

Not one of us

No you’re not one of us

The choir also tackled other pieces. We spent a good deal of time on Be Thou a Smooth Path by Ralph M. Johnson. The quiet beauty of the piece began to emerge as we became familiar with the melody, harmonies and the rhythms of the music..

Greg, Pat, Debi, and I, together with any others who want to join, are going to meet next Wednesday about half an hour before Choir to discuss Part 1 of the book The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren.

I am looking forward to that and continue to look forward to choir practices.