Beginnings: Purpose and Transformative Gatherings

I realize that it’s been several weeks since I’ve written. It’s been quite a busy summer for me because I have a big life update! Earlier in the summer, I was offered the position of Director of Music Ministries at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, Iowa. As a result, I stepped down from my position in Jacksonville, FL and last week, I moved to Iowa City. I start at St. Andrew on August 21. I’m looking forward to new opportunities in St. Andrew’s work on diversity and equity within the context of a new church building with a substantial pipe organ. My responsibilities will include, but not be limited to: planning worship with pastoral staff, directing choirs, collaborating with other staff members, working with the organist/accompanist, handbell director, instrumental director, and hosting concerts and conferences.

Fortunately, I’m able to do some advance thinking before I start, so when I officially start, I’ll have some of the groundwork laid. Thankfully my prior experience in starting at new positions will help with narrowing priorities and determining what questions to ask. From my perspective, if I ask the right questions, I have an easier time thinking of effective solutions. In addition, four quotes will be guiding me this year:

“When we don’t examine the deeper assumptions behind why we gather, we end up skipping too quickly to replicating old, staid formats of gathering. And we forgo the possibility of creating something memorable, even transformative.” (Priya Parker)

“When we have the courage to walk into our story and own it, we get to write the ending.” (Brené Brown)

“Relationships are built at the speed of trust, and social change happens at the speed of relationships.” (Rev. Jennifer Bailey)

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” (James Clear)

In this post, I’ll focus on the first quote. In future blog posts, I’ll write about the others. While all of us have external pressures, doing internal work is essential. Spending time with the internal work is challenging, but knowing our goals, values, and priorities will help us weather the storms of life. Out of our own beliefs and values emerges something that’s truly us. If we show up as our authentic selves, we’ll have a much easier time enabling profound musical experiences. It’s so tempting to want to emulate that other choir director or another program. It can be challenging, but extremely rewarding to focus on the actual singers in front of us, instead of imagined singers in our head.

Even if we’re not starting at a brand-new position, we can still relaunch and re-evaluate goals and methods. Admittedly, in my professional life, I’ve been way too guilty of getting into “old, staid formats”. Even successful events that we create can become stale and not transformative if not consistently re-evaluated. Or for those of us starting new positions, perhaps we inherited an event from a predecessor that might need a fresh perspective. Priya Parker, the author of the book The Art of Gathering, speaks about purpose in this TED talk:

On the other hand, when events, choirs, or programs have a clear purpose, things go much more smoothly. And the better you can articulate your event. Or if you need to pivot, you can do so more easily. An effective purpose captivates and captures the imagination. It distills into the essence of what you value so it comes from a deep place. The author and speaker Simon Sinek has a wonderful TED talk on the importance of “why”. Here is a shortened version of the talk:

When we combine with what we believe and value with the needs of the community, that results in a very powerful combination. For example, part of the Senior Pastor’s theme is “Rooted in faith”. At St. Andrew, several staff members have recently retired, the church building is relatively new in a different part of town than the previous building, and the pandemic upended a lot. As a result, I have been thinking about what it means to be rooted and how I can facilitate a sense of rootedness in the choirs and the congregation. In my opinion, that includes focusing on strengthening community, discovering the congregation’s traditions, and creating new traditions. Ultimately, this is in service of being transformed by God through proclaiming God’s love through music, leading worship, and serving the community.

As a practical exercise, when I’m thinking about purpose, I’ll keep asking myself “Why?” until I uncover something that emotionally resonates, excites me, and has the elements from Priya Parker’s TED talk, as well as her book The Art of Gathering.

In the next blog post, I’ll talk about owning our own story and discovering the story of our choirs and the organizations we serve. What are some of your purposes for this year? Comment below!