Fermata Apr 29, 2022: Fear & Rest, New Music Out
West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, New Single from The JuJu Exchange
Fermata is the weekly newsletter describing some of the past week’s highlights from Notes of Rest, which is my spiritual retreat ministry that interweaves text, music, and questions for the sake of cultivating stillness, introspection, and creativity in communities so that all may rest. I'd love to host a Notes of Rest for your church, seminary, or affinity group. Feel free to reply to this email to start the conversation!
New Music Out!! Walk Cycle
Sessions to Come:
Sessions to Come: Notes of Rest for Contemplative Outreach (May 14, 10a Central, Zoom)
Notes of Rest at First United Methodist Church of Oak Park (May 22, 10a Central, 324 N Oak Park Ave, Oak Park, IL)
Hi everyone,
A few weeks ago, I held Notes of Rest for a group of pastors in the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. This session was held under the banner of a grassroots organization for whom I work called Fearless Dialogues. Fearless Dialogues facilitates hard, heartfelt conversations amongst unlikely partners about taboo subjects. Because Fearless Dialogues helps our clients lower their fears, this particular Notes of Rest session was about the relationship of fear & rest. To ground our time, we sat with a foundational Scriptural passage I use for sessions, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, in which God instates Sabbath, a weekly rhythm of rest for the people Israel.
We explored how God liberates us from fears that keep us from resting. In the context of the passage, God liberated the Hebrew people from the fear of being punished by Pharaoh for not continually working. God did so by setting them free from slavery and requiring them to take a Sabbath. Put simply, one fear that keeps us from resting is the fear of punishment. For the modern-day pastors in Ohio, I made space for them to think through what fears around punishment they might be able to lessen so they can rest better. Are there fears of punishment from their congregation or from their superiors or from God, or even from themselves? These pastors responded honestly about how their fears can keep them from resting. (For the sake of confidentiality, I won’t share those answers here given the nature of what was shared.) I was thankful to provide this space of respite and resistance.
What fears do you need to address in order to rest from your work? (For me, I always contend with the fear of being labeled lazy or not having enough money. That’s what can keep me from resting. Needless to say, there’s a lot of cultural restlessness I have inherited and am working through myself!)
Big news! I released the single Walk Cycle on Wednesday with my jazz-electronic band The JuJu Exchange. I am delighted for the warm response it has received, including sitting at the top of Spotify’s All About Jazz playlist! Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
This song is apt for Fermata because the smoothness and flow of the song is in keeping with the restfulness I’m called to engender in the world through my retreats and my original music. The music video for the song also points towards rest, and so I encourage you to check that out too! (Hint: Watch until the end to see how.)
I always give thanks and praise to God for you, my reader and listener. Please let me know how I can be praying for you. I hope that the outpouring from Notes of Rest and The JuJu Exchange gives you good hope for the journey. May you give to someone and receive from someone Notes of Rest today.
abundantly,
Julian