One of my favourite Christian terms is a metaphor: Jesus the gardener. I am sure it has something to do with the random seedlings in my house. Truthfully, these seedlings rarely make it outside to the garden because they are almost all tropical plants from lush and beautiful Jamaica that...
I have been writing to you from the Worship, Music, and Spirituality Desk for over a decade now, and one of the things I have consistently heard over the years is what a blessing Gathering is. I have translated this compliment to mean anything but blessing (e.g., lifesaver, treasure, practical)...
Here is a story of two songs: a hymn from our existing collection and a folk tune I grew up with. VU 468 “Let us talents and tongues employ” (tune LINSTEAD, Jamaican; words by Fred Kaan, 1975) is a joyous communion hymn that is all about abundance: “Loaves abound!” “Linstead...
“Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them.” —Exodus 15:20–21a I don’t know what the Holy Family brought with them when they were fleeing Herod. I don’t know...
We, the Gathering Worship editorial team, would like to introduce ourselves to the whole Gathering Worship community! Get to know a bit about who’s behind the names that appear frequently on your page and screen—the people who put it all together. Meet Alydia Smith. What Brought Me to Worship Leadership...
In the past three years, as discussions on mental health and wellness have become more prevalent, pithy sayings like “It’s okay to not be okay” have flooded social media streams. But the way social media has responded to women like Simone Biles, Meghan Markle, and Naomi Osaka, who choose to...
I am the vine; you are the branches “Don’t tear down an entire branch for one perfect fruit.” This is advice from my father, who, in his youth, often did just that for the perfect mango, killing the branch for one fruit. Perhaps this is why I resist the description...
I do not believe that dismantling racism within the church is possible in my lifetime; like extracting flour from a cake already baked and ingested, it would literally tear us apart. Even though I will never experience a fully anti-racist church, I know that having one is possible and necessary...
“As the people were filled with expectation...” —Luke 3:15 I was 18, wearing a grey baby-doll sweater dress that belonged to my sister’s best friend. All my life, I had performed dance recitals and concerts and spoken publicly before many crowds, but I knew none of those crowds really expected...
While in his nineties, the Rev. T., a preacher I admired, told me that he only had one sermon in him, which he developed about 40 variations on each year, depending on the liturgical season, biblical text, and the pastoral needs of his community. His sermon was one of assurance...
