APRIL 2021
FINDING BALANCE: ROOTS & WINGS
One of my favorite canons to sing with my choruses is “Be Like the Bird,” by Wisconsin composer Abbie Betinis. It comes from one of Victor Hugo’s poems, translated into English; while not a sacred text per se, its message of balance and faith speaks to a deep place in my spirit:
Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight a while on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and sings knowing she hath wings.
—Victor Hugo
As Lent gives way to Easter, and as winter gives way to spring, this year—perhaps more than most—I am watching the birds as they make their way out into the greening world. I love observing that moment when they shift from groundedness to flight, especially that split second of suspended animation when their wings find the wind and their feet release from the ground or tree branch. In a way, it reminds me of where we are now as people and as musicians; we have been grounded for so long, taking but a few hesitant and solitary flights here and there, our grand choral murmurations stilled for far too long. But with vaccines becoming increasingly available and viral numbers dropping, we are beginning to see in our future a time when we can make our music freely again and, with our gathered assemblies, send our songs high on the air currents like the sandhill cranes that fly high over my house every year. Tere may be setbacks, and if this year has taught us nothing else it has taught us to be patient with change and uncertainty, but . . . when the time comes, we want to be ready.
Tis issue of Pastoral Music takes time to examine the year behind us and ready us for the year ahead. We dedicate a large segment of our April issue every year to the Annual Report of the Association. Tis document pulls together a “bird’s eye” view of what NPM has accomplished over the past year: its new structure, its increased virtual and digital offerings, its programming and membership, and deep gratitude for the many supporters without whom the Association could not succeed. Te issue also gives members the opportunity to get to know Jennifer Kluge, our new Executive Director, as well as the gifted individuals who will chair our eight Forums under the new NPM structure.
We are blessed to be able to share an extended excerpt from musician and author Santiago Fernández’s new book, Un Hermoso Intercambio Cultural / A Beautiful Cultural Exchange. In this excerpt, he invites us to explore the importance of multicultural liturgy from a perspective of mutual giftedness and sharing of one another’s diverse stories and cultural wisdom— finding balance in our interconnectedness and hospitality with one another.
Bridget Jankowski and Jessica Koch each offer valuable advice around how to keep our own selves in “balance”—Bridget, in “Balance Begets Beauty,” speaks from the perspective of Body Mapping and the physical alignment of our bodies; Jessica, in her “Bouncing Back from Burnout,” offers ways we can be gentle with ourselves in this difficult and pressure- filled time and work our way out of the state of chronic stress and lost energy in which so many of us find ourselves.
As we move forward, and as our songs find their wings again, we hope that the wisdom we can share with each other can help us stay rooted in what we know, but also give us courage to take flight!
Jennifer Kerr Budziak Editor
jennifer@npm.org 5
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