The Rev. Bertie Pearson has taken a circuitous route back home to Austin where he serves as vicar for San Francisco de Asis. Along the road, his music and his faith fueled the miles between college in Berkeley and Paris, working as a DJ and playing in several bands from the West Coast to the...

Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church has a fantastic location in Houston, nestled between Hermann Park, the Texas Medical Center and Rice University. But thanks to some innovative thinking and a healthy amount of perseverance, Palmer isn’t limited to just that space—they can reach people all around...

Jazz services have been an integral part of worship at St. James’, Austin and St. James’, Houston for more than 15 years, and while the music is not strictly “jazz,” the vibe never disappoints.

Not long ago a priest brought to my attention the work of the code switchers. In its popular context, code switching is the art of bridging across differences. Code switchers are those people who relate well to people from other groups, with different backgrounds, and even languages. In the...

Throughout Judeo-Christian history, joyful and lamentable events have been marked by singing: Moses and Miriam lifted their voices in thanksgiving upon crossing the Red Sea; brass, strings and cymbals accompanied joyful shouts upon the Ark of the Covenant’s return to Jerusalem; Mary sang when...

This past Memorial Day weekend, a group of Brothers from the Taizé community in France joined young leaders from every reservation in South Dakota and non-native young adults to create a gathering to celebrate the possibilities of reconciliation. (tinyurl.com/Taizépineridge) The friendship...

Many church musicians in charge of adult and youth choirs often focus on the weekly process of “rehearsing and rendering.” However, we who serve as choral directors must also be cognizant of the duty to convey to our choristers the expectations of them as living members of the Church and as part...

Have you ever been to a Eucharist where the music touched you so profoundly that you remembered it long after the service was over? Or have you ever experienced a sense of being together with fellow parishioners, when it seemed like everyone in the room was “on the same page?” Where the music...