In a recent post, I had mentioned both Threshold Choirs and that there are other groups that do bedside singing and different kinds of healing music ministry and outreach. Some of the ones I know are Unitarian Universalist groups, some are Quaker groups (such as Nightingales in Northern Yearly Meeting), and I'm sure there are plenty of others I don't know about yet.
When I attended the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network Conference in 2009, I went to a number of wonderful workshops. One of them was facilitated by Kellie Walker, of Valley Unitarian Univeralist Congregation in Chandler, AZ, about HeartSongs, a music ministry program which focuses on healing. I left with inspiration to take back to my vocal ensemble at home and to Quaker Meeting for Worship for Healing.
My notes from that workshop are currently on a boat somewhere between the US and the UK, but earlier this week, new developments in Walker's program were spotlighted on the UUMN blog:
Heart-to-HeartSongs: Music Ministry Thrives in Chandler, AZ
http://singingforourlives.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/heart-to-heartsongs-music-ministry-thrives-in-chandler-arizona/
There are all sorts of neat things that have come about in the last two years in this work.
For more information about the program and about the Voices Lifted Singers -- including recommendations for how to start your own group -- see:
Heart-to-HeartSongs: Voices Lifted Music Ministry
http://hearttoheartsongs.wordpress.com/
Enjoy reading, and do make sure to check out some of the videos from the Voices Lifted Singers. They're wonderful.
1 comment:
Looking forward to having time to delve into the links you posted. Shape Note Singing (which I've done for about 15 years) has a long tradition of "singing people over" and some of the songs seem specifically written for this activity. The matter-of-factness about dying and death process in the songs is so refreshing...framing it as a natural transition not to be feared.
Blessings,
Natalya
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