Transforming Center - Good Friday

Every several months, I have an opportunity to sing at a Transforming Center event. The Transforming Center is an organization founded and led by author and spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton dedicated to the health of the spiritual lives of church leaders.

It’s refreshing to me, after so many years of singing to large crowds in huge rooms, to sing simply, usually without amplification, in a small space, with simple accompaniment, as souls are stilled and contemplative.

That chapel vibe draws me into the company of Jesus.  I used to hang out in empty chapels and cathedrals when I could. This is the next best thing to that silence. It’s communal. It’s pure in so many ways.

So much that could distract is stripped away.  It’s organic and without bells and whistles.  It’s meditative and peace-inducing.

Especially on Good Friday.  We walked around like a clump of pilgrims around the chapel, revisiting the Stations of the Cross. There were beautiful and simple iconic images representing Jesus' journey from his trial before Pilate, through the agonies of his walk to the cross, the horror of his crucifixion, and his death and burial.  It's amazing how in that little space, with those images, I can imagine myself there.

Less is more.  Less stimulation somehow results in more imagination, a more vivid picture.  An ability to be more engaged and present.  It's fascinating how that works.

Ahhhhh… grateful to be a part of something so simple and beautiful.