Offerings of Hope

First Notes of Rest Retreat in May, TheoEd Talk, Earth Day Resources

Mar 21, 2025

What’s good everyone,

I hope you’re finding light amidst it all. I pray you can take good care of yourselves and others during this time of overwhelm.

The other day a pastor I’ve known for years reconnected with me to see if I would come offer Notes of Rest for her congregation in Boston, half of whom are Central American migrants fearful for their lives. She said that it was not enough for her people to know their rights and the proper protocols when ICE comes knocking. People also need help dealing with the anxiety in their bodies. That’s why she figured Notes of Rest would be helpful. I was thankful to be asked but more importantly thankful for this pastoral wisdom, which extends to all of us. Sometimes what is not needed is more information, but tending to our emotions. As my friend J Prophet has said, musicians feel for a living. To that end, be it my music or somebody else’s, I hope you can listen to something today that helps you feel some peace.

I am thankful to share with you some good announcements. Despite the death and degradation that is running rampant in my country and in our world, God creates still. May our gratitude, joy, creativity, and rest be forms of resistance to the chaos of evil abounding.

May 30-31, The first-ever Notes of Rest Overnight Retreat

My ministry Notes of Rest will be having its first overnight retreat in May in Oregon, IL (2 hours outside of Chicago). This has been a dream in the making for quite some time. I have always wanted to have a space where people could really get away from their daily grind - and I do mean grind - to experience God’s Notes of Rest a little more freely. Typically, I only have 60-90 minutes with a group for one session, or maybe a few hours for several sessions if it’s a half-day retreat. But now, thanks to a collaboration with the Garrett Collective at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, I’ll be offering a retreat from Friday evening through Saturday afternoon at the end of May. There’ll be various Notes of Rest teaching sessions, ample time for silence and solitude, good food, and a musical concert from my group Circle of Trust. Spots are limited, so I invite you to sign up here as you feel led.

TheoEd Talk Nashville

A few weeks ago was a highlight of my career to date. I was one of four speakers at TheoEd, hosted down in Nashville. TheoEd does for the Bible, theology, and spirituality what Ted Talks have done for technology, entertainment, and design. My talk was about using the chord changes concept from jazz (a musician’s map for improvising in a song) as a metaphor for our lives with God. Here is where you can find my talk and a discussion guide. I also encourage you to check out the other speakers for the day, including Enneagram teacher Suzanne Stabile, visual artist Lanecia Rouse, and Nashville pastor Josh Scott.

After The Chord Changes, vocalist and friend Tramaine Parker joined me to perform a 20-minute set from our recent release When Souls Cry Out and from our upcoming release Notes of Rest Hymns Vol 1, slated to drop on Tax Dayyyyyy. (I have a penchant for sharing music on days of national significance. More on this later.)

Earth Day Resources

For Earth Day 2025, Creation Justice Ministries (a spin-off from the National Council of Churches) compiled a hefty set of resources around the Power of God as it pertains to our care for the earth. I was thankful to be a part of the collective that wrote original music for that, which can be found here on YouTube and here on Spotify.

I invite you to check out the resources not just for Earth Day coming up next month, but for your personal life and the life of your church/community in general. Lord knows we need to be thinking about God’s nurturing power instead of humanity’s extractive power as exhibited by the permission the federal government is giving for people to ravage the earth.

In whatever way the Spirit leads, may we find the courage to resist, and to resist beautifully.

abundantly,

Julian

What’s Next

Mar 27 Circle of Trust at Yale University (7p at Saybrook Underbrook)

Mar 28 Notes of Rest at Yale Divinity School, Mar 28 Performing with Kevin Olusola at Woolsey Hall (New Haven, CT)

Mar 30 Notes of Rest at BCAY (Black Church at Yale)

Apr 3 The JuJu Exchange at Divan (Chicago)

Apr 13 Notes of Rest at UMC Central Skokie (Chicagoland)

Recent Releases

The Last Days of Cabrini Green (from me, Feb 2025)

Somebody Caught Me (from The JuJu Exchange, Feb 2025)