Ep 61: Dan Leman—The art of lament

Dan Leman is the lead pastor of Faith Evangelical Free Church in Metamora, Illinois. For episode 61 he is coming back on the podcast to discuss the book of Lamentations and the idea that out of pain God leads us to create works of art. Dan is currently doing a sermon series on Lamentations for his congregation, so the background and poetic structure of Lamentations is fresh in his mind. Our conversation goes all over the place surrounding the subject of suffering, crying out to God, and what place lamenting has in the Church.

You can listen to Dan's sermons here:
http://faithefree.net/sermons or on itunes

Also check out the previous article on music of lament:
Lamenting Through Lent With Rachel Wilhelm and Bifrost Arts

You can support Nathan Peterson's current Kickstarter campaign here:
Dance Again: Grief is Healing


 You can stream the episode above, subscribe to the podcast on itunes or Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

For more on lamenting and art that questions/confronts God, please check out these articles and podcast episodes:
Ep 60: A Discussion on Nathan Peterson's Song "Is It a Sin?"
What Do You Do With Art You Disagree With or the Offends You?
Why It's OK When Satire Makes You Mad

Lamenting Through Lent With Rachel Wilhelm and Bifrost Arts

It's all too much. Really all too much...

Honestly, who knew life was going to be this hard?

Our days can either be viewed as: 
long successions of joy and fruitfulness dotted with periodic times of suffering and trial
or
periodic times of joy and fruitfulness spent fretting over the more frequent times of suffering and trial.

I have lived a very good and full life up to this point, but oh if it doesn't seem like it is often the latter of these two options. So much time is spent planning and hoping for things to happen and much of the rest of the time is spent realizing exactly how difficult it is to make anything happen. It would seems our days are full of hindrances set to divert us from our plans...

Here's a very small case in point: 

I am a church music leader and for several months I have wanted to immerse myself in two particular albums in preparation for the season of Lent:
Rachel Wilhelm's Songs of Lament (free download on Noisetrade) (streaming or purchase on Bancamp) 
and
Bifrost Arts Lamentations (streaming or purchase on Bandcamp

Change of plans...Happy Lent!

Happy Ash Wednesday everyone. Remember your baptism and remember you are but dust...and also that God is making all things new...

I had one more article on liturgy and worship I wanted to get out before Ash Wednesday. But it's not going to happen. It was too much to get my head around in the amount of time I had left. And I don't want to put up a half-baked article on something all-encompassing as an article that attempts to give resources and ideas on practicing the liturgy.

And so...the article I had planned will not get put up until after Lent.

I've decided to really pull back this year during the Lenten season. I'm pausing my Facebook account (they call it deactivating! but that sounds extreme) and I won't be blogging or podcasting either. I will be writing and interviewing behind the scenes as I have time to do so but nothing will be put up on PostConsumer Reports. I will be doing lots of reading during Lent and preparing for an ordination exam, where, if I pass, I could become an Anglican deacon (or a deacon in the Anglican church) some time this summer.

So, if you are looking for more liturgy blog articles...I would actually encourage you to simply go to church. Worship, pray, read Scripture, be in community. Draw back during Lent. Devote time to building relationships. Pour into others, serving them physically and spiritually. Draw close to God and turn away from sin.

I will leave you with a few Lenten reflections I wrote a couple of years ago:
A Pessimistic Lenten Reflection (part 1): Living in Denial

A Pessimistic Lenten Reflection (part 2): Giving the Gift

Related Articles:
Speaking the Truth in Love
Plunge into the glorious mystery: a sermon for Trinity Sunday
Taking a pilgrimage to the wounds of Christ with doubting Thomas
Reflections on the Death of Moses
Come to his marvelous light: a sermon for the Epiphany
We have a problem with authority: A sermon for Christ the King Sunday

I'm Giving Up Blogging For Lent

It is the season of Lent 2015.

Among other things, I am giving up blogging.

I will be working on a few creative projects during this season, but quietly so.

If you need something to read, read these:
A Pessimistic Lenten Reflection (part 1): Living in Denial
A Pessimistic Lenten Reflection (part 2): Giving the Gift

You should "give something up" too. But more than that, you should turn toward God and the people in your life. Turn away from sin and seek God and God's will in the lives of others.

Happy Lent. See you after Holy Week.

There is much more to come.

You can also listen to some Lenten themed music here:

A Pessimistic Lenten Reflection (part 2): Giving The Gift

The Temptation In The Wilderness by Briton Riviere

In the Church calendar the season of Lent extends 40 day from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection. Lent is a season of drawing back and simplifying, of penitence and repentance, of learning to walk the way of Jesus, the road that leads to the cross, of learning to give up what we cannot keep in order to gain what we cannot lose.

People often "give something up for Lent", but really Lent is about getting rid of the things that detract and distract us from God. So the call goes much deeper than merely not doing some petty thing we know does not do us any lasting good. Instead, the call is to consider what in our life causes us not to see and hear God. So we "giving something up" not to punish ourselves—though in the short term we may be doing that—but to take on a posture where can begin to draw near to God.

As a way of helping others get to that place, I now offer part 2 of a Pessimistic Lenten Reflection:

Giving the Gift...

A Pessimistic Lenten Reflection (part 1): Living in Denial

In the Church calendar the season of Lent extends 40 days from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection. Lent is a season of drawing back and simplifying, of penitence and repentance, of learning to walk the way of Jesus, the road that leads to the cross, of learning to give up what we cannot keep in order to gain what we cannot lose.

People often "give something up for Lent", but really Lent is about getting rid of the things that detract and distract us from God. So the call goes much deeper than merely not doing some petty thing we know does not do us any lasting good anyway. Instead, the call is to consider what in our life causes us not to see and hear God. So we "give something up" not to punish ourselves—though in the short term it seems we may be doing that—but to take on a posture where can begin to draw near to God.

As a way of helping others get to that place, I now offer part 1 of a Pessimistic Lenten Reflection:

Living in Denial...
_________________

Free Music For Lent: Holy Mercy EP

Over the past few years I have been slowly working on a hymns projects. Like really slowly. But there are a few songs that have been close to completion for quite some time.  I am releasing these songs now in a free four song EP for Lent (the 40 day season of fasting, reflection, penitence, and devotion to God before Easter Sunday):

Holy Mercy EP
1. Schubert's Sanctus
2. Kyrie #1
3. The Glory of These 40 Days
4. Schubert's Sanctus (instrumental)

These are songs for the church and are meant to be sung congregationally, in personal devotion, or just enjoyed as entertainment. You can listen here through the music player, but I really recommend going to my Bandcamp page.  Everyone who downloads the whole EP (which is itself free!) gets free lead sheets and vocal sheets for every song. You get the chords and melodies and words so you can play and sing them yourselves.  That is the intention.


Back in seminary I became enamored with Franz Schubert's Deutsche Messe, a straightforward but glorious work.  I found his "Sanctus" the most beautiful piece of all, one that to this day continually sticks in my head. In a church context I find this setting of the Sanctus works best in more penitential seasons such as Lent or Advent.  This recording is the up-tempo version. One day I hope to release the lullaby version.

The recording of the Kyrie is my own setting and is one we have sung in my congregation for a few years now during Lent.  It is labelled #1 only because it is the first setting of the Kyrie I have ever written. It is still the only one but maybe someday I will write another one.  My intention in the music was to pivot between contrite/penitential postures and that of receiving God's grace through his act of forgiveness using the major and relative minor keys.

I love the German folk melody that accompanies "The Glory of These 40 Days," and am astounded with the fact that the lyrics are attributed to Gregory I from the 6th century.  This is a sturdy hymn to me, one that I have a few different versions of in my head.  This recording is more of the bluesy version. Hopefully the other versions will follow in the coming years.  It's a simple recording, using only one guitar with a few overdubs.  Congregationally, this song is best sung numerous times during Lent, as the different Lenten themed Scriptures and stories are read throughout the weeks.  Hearing these stories helps us know the journey of those in Scripture is our journey as well and that God is with us through it all.

Finally, I end the EP with an instrumental version of the Sanctus.

As always with my recordings, these songs have been properly nor fully mixed and certainly not mastered. I hope they can be enjoyed anyway and be a blessing to others.

The EP will be free all throughout Lent, meaning until Easter 2014, the Sunday of all Sundays, the Eighth Day of Creation.
Happy singing!

Lenten Devotion for Tuesday, March 6, 2007 by Chris Marchand

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

+++Matthew 5:6

I could sure go for some ice cream about now.
I could probably eat an entire half gallon.
Make sure it’s chocolate. Chocolate anything.
I’ll eat it. All of it.

I have this list. It’s a long list.
It’s filled with books and CD’s and movies mostly.
It’s on the internet.
I made it for myself, so I don’t forget all the stuff I need to buy.

I love to receive presents. Especially in the mail.
Especially presents I bought for myself.
The waiting is the fun part.
The let down is when I open my package and I still want something else.

Sometimes I spend hours watching videos on the internet,
Entertaining myself, when I should be working,
And when my wife comes home, there’s still work to do,
And I don’t have time for her.

Some days I wake up and I’m Ptolemy and others
I’m Copernicus.
I’m always getting the two confused.
I really hope my life’s not a show on God’s TV.

{[(I used personal pronouns twenty-five times in this poem including this line)]}

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water
will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water
that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water
that I will give him will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water,
so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

+++John 4:13-14

Lord God, teach us to hunger and thirst for your living water.
Teach us to draw daily from your unending well.
Teach us to be fully eternally satisfied in you,
so that we might give out to the rest of the world
your living water.
Grant us the grace to do this we pray,
in the name of Jesus our Lord, Amen.