Quoting from a range of African American writers, poets and
musicians, Chris Pramuk led the LCWR through his musings that music is a
metaphor for our spiritual journey. Referring to Thomas Merton he noted that music
makes us vulnerable to texts that can then more fully open us. He spoke of the
power of the African spirituals to open us to one another with a fascinating juxtaposition
of vulnerability and power. Words of
spiritualities become as sacraments, instruments of real presence.
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| Chris Pramuk shared powerful insights |
Chris spoke about the difference that keys make in declaring
emotions in music. It is the minor keys
that touch him the most. Those African
spiritualities sung in minor keys are those that are much less sure of
themselves. They speak of the grief of the past and the present and ask a
question both hopeful and uncertain of the future. It is in that hope and uncertainty that
resonates with our human experience and struggles.
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Piano has been a lifelong way for Chris
to experience the Divine. He creatively
shared that gift with us |
With words, Chris painted vibrant visual images and with
music he engaged us in a creative way that allowed us to easily enter into the
challenges that he was presenting.
Quotes from Fredrick Douglas, DeBlois and Fumi Tosu challenged us to let
go of our fear of death. Bono’s
postmodern spiritual written for the mothers of the disappeared told the story
of how the dead live among us and are real for us. These words and songs “can plunge us into the
liminal space between life and death” he shared. He offered that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
preached himself through his fear of death in his last sermon before he was
assassinated.
The large group then broke into smaller “deepening groups”
to delve more deeply into what was said and what it offered to us.
Some of the learnings shared at the beginning of the
afternoon session were:
- Songs in a minor key can vividly help us
actively remember the past and kindle hope in an uncertain future, if we can
let go of our fear
- The spirit speaks through everything and maybe especially
in our experience of pain, loss
- Acknowledging the vulnerability of our own lives
and those with whom we minister. That
might be where our power may be
- Sense of communion which we share with the
suffering and joy-filled world
- Expectation, movement- we may be called to
action, what might the world be calling us to do?
- Real sense/passion to move forward in hope and
with courage, the name of what has not yet been given but may emerge
- Fear, loss, and diminishment is real but there
is a sense that there is energy and excitement for the next. The call is to live, to be a presence
- Spirituality of music- what songs are our
congregations singing- what are the words of those songs, the words and the
melodies can be transformative- if they are the words that resonate with our
reality
- Dissonance in the music is the time that musicians
are challenged the most to bring the best of their instrument forward.
For the rest of the afternoon, the LCWR will meet in closed session to make directional and structural decisions and to hear from the candidates for the President-Elect.
