Year: 2020

During this time of mandatory stay home/lockdown due to the coronavirus, churches are scrambling to adapt their Sunday worship into an electronic format. More and more, the cast of liturgical participants is getting smaller to avoid contagion. Worship during this time is falling on the shoulders of a precious few—quite often solely on the pastor, who may or may not, have practical, internet broadcast skills.

As we traverse this unusual time, I freely offer the gift of music and accompanying information for your use—in worship or as personal/group meditation. The music was recorded by my group, the OÎkos Ensemble. Except for an arrangement of one hymn, all the songs are original and have been performed countless times in jazz worship services and sacred jazz concerts. 

You are invited to freely use the music in your worship streaming or for personal and group meditation.In the next series of blogs, you will find the following for each musical selection:

• Link to the musical selection on You Tube
• Brief reflection about the music
• Prayer for personal use or in worship

I encourage you to listen carefully to each song and read the reflection and prayer before incorporating it in your worship. This time of online streaming calls for a simplified approach to worship on the internet. In this spirit, consider using the music as a worship prelude or postlude, an introduction to scripture or homily, as a creative punctuation to the Word, or even as a musical foundation for a time of personal prayer. The reflection and prayer can also be shared as part of your streaming liturgy.

If possible, please give credit to Rev. Cliff Aerie, The OÎkos Ensemble, and Worship Jazz Resources. Feel free to share this with others. My hope is, that together, we can form an international bond of healing and hope for everyone, everywhere.

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The CD (“Dreams and Visions”) was recorded at the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. In addition to myself, the musicians include: Dr. Christopher Bakriges, piano, Arianna Aerie, vocals, Kenneth Walker, bass, Chris Lee, drums, and Gabriel Mervine, trumpet

For several years Chris Bakriges and I were musical partners, traveling around the country leading jazz worship services and presenting sacred jazz concerts. At each city we would perform with local musicians, thereby giving a new and fresh feeling to our music. That’s what happens with jazz musicians. Each brings his or her artistry to the music and through improvisation, new and exciting expressions are created. Our goal for OÎkos was simple: “Music and Stories to Change the World.” I hope this music will touch you in profound ways as you discover the hidden stories behind the music that can have a tremendous impact on the listener, and the world.

For more information about Chris’ music please go to his WEB SITE.

We now live in an era of social distancing. The coronavirus has spread across the continents and speculation is that once consistent and significant testing begins, we’ll discover that the number of infected people will be far greater than anyone considered. The hope is, however, that the virus is not as prevalent as many fear it to be. But we just don’t know. 

These are precarious times and those of us with compromised health find ourselves significantly socially distanced. At the very least the goal is to keep six feet away from others, in groups 10 or less, washing hands frequently, sneezing into elbows and, sanitizing surfaces around us, being vigilant as we try to evade contagion. 

This is a difficult time for many congregations as they are forced to cancel public worship. Church identities are built upon their affirmation of being a family of faith and worship is a central component of fellowship and ministry. The church I belong to initiated web streaming this past Sunday—something new for us. Fortunately, we have a tech savvy pastor and supportive laity. This week we will stream a jazz service. No one will be in the sanctuary except the jazz quintet, our pastor, a lay leader and video tech guy. We’ll pre-record the service on Friday morning and stream it on Facebook at our regularly scheduled worship hour on Sunday (10:00 am CDT). It’s a little tricky getting all our ducks in a row, but we have the basics to pull it off technically and the talent to support the pastor with our music.

If you’d like to check our web streaming efforts just go to Facebook and search for First Congregational Church Webster Groves.

 Tim and I wish you good health, courage and an adventurous spirit as your church explores new ways to worship during this global pandemic. Remember to keep reaching out to one another with compassionate support and love.

Cliff

“The Old Rugged Cross” is one of the most beloved hymns in the traditional Christian community. A country gospel favorite, it was written by George Bernard, a Methodist Evangelist, in 1912. It has been performed countless times in worship and recorded by some of the most influential vocal artists—Al Green, Chet Atkins, Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson—also by Mahalia Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald, just to name a few.

As popular as the hymn has been, I must admit that I’ve never been a big fan of the song. In fact, it’s a hymn I very much dislike. From the sentimental melody to the blood and atonement theology, it has never resonated with my spiritual or artistic sensibility.

In deciding on which hymns to arrange for our upcoming Volume 7, titled “Still more of our favorite hymns,” I was perusing the hymnbook and quickly thumbed past it. For some unknown reason I stopped, turned back to page # 195 in the New Century Hymnaland reread the words of “On a hill far away,” and once again began turning the page. But I was compelled to stop, go back and look yet again at the hymn arrangement. Hmm, I thought. Perhaps there could be some neat possibilities here. And I began to re-imagine it. What if it began in a slow, blusey way, with two horns evoking a long-ago gospel feel. That made me think of the New Orleans second-linestyle used in funerals. And the idea struck: after a slow, almost mournful feel why not have the drummer break into a Dixieland beat followed by a syncopated, toe tapping melody. And thus emerged the inspiration for the arrangement I created for volume 7.

I suppose some folks may feel that this is a sacrilege—taking a hymn, beloved by millions, and jazzing it up. And that’s entirely the risk Tim and I take with every arrangement. In trying to contemporize the hymn through jazz we often take a lot of liberties: changing meter, syncopating the melody line, reharmonizing the chordal structure, and transforming a staid hymn into a swing tempo, a jazz waltz, a Latin beat, a funky groove . . . almost any style found within the broad umbrella called jazz.

Has the “Old Rugged Cross” become my new favorite? Not really? But it’s made me appreciate its theological beginnings and its historical legacy. As Tim and I like to say—these jazz hymn arrangements create something uniquely modern: worship in a new key.