Having an incredible time at the CoCreation weekend at Holy Trinity in Greensboro, NC. With presenters Brian McLaren, Diana Butler Bass and Paul Smith... what a treat to hear all these folks! Surrounded by music, art, dance and generous hospitality. More to follow!
I'll be helping out with the Adults Who Work With Youth conference June 17-22, at Kanuga Conferences. We've got a great team assembled; coordinators Ben Robertson and Sarah Bailey, our chaplain Kathy Phister and our keynoter, Andrew Zirschky. The response to Andrew's presentation last year was phenomenal and this year promises to be even better. Hope to see you there!! Visit the Kanuga web site for more info; www.kanuga.org
'In our culture how do we equip our
young people with a sustainable faith,
a faith that will last and endure on the
complicated journey of life? We will
consider what practices, ancient and
contemporary, can buoy such a faith.'
In FL this week..been a great time. Have gotten to hang out with some of my long-time friends who I don't get to see that often... John Palarine and Dabny Smith, and many others. Going back over to the east coast tomorrow to Melbourne at Holy Trinity, then back to the west coast for a clergy retreat at Dayspring, then to Clearwater on Sunday for a concert at Holy Trinity. Here are a couple of pix from Canterbury Center, where I've been camped for a couple days.
and with my friend Dabny Smith, Bishop of the Dio of SWFL.
We had an amazing four days doing our 'A New Ancient Harmony' gathering December 4-8! John Philip Newell and Judy Brown were outstanding as our keynote presenters, and our musical ensemble was truly a joy to be a part of. Thanks so much to all the wonderful folks who attended - we are grateful for your support and kindness. Thanks to my colleagues, Ann Holtz, Brian Prior and Diana McKendree for sharing and guiding the vision; to Aimee Bostwick for her creative, inspiring work with images; to Ra Ra Schlitz for painting twelve incredibly beautiful, soulful banners for our backdrop. My deepest gratitude to Lindsey Blount, Charles Milling, River Guerguerian and Duncan Wickel for the sharing of their gifts and spirit, and to Eric Murrell, without whom none of what we had hoped for or envisioned would have come to fruition. And thanks to Lutheridge and their friendly, helpful staff for providing for us all.
We are going over the 12 hours of recorded material, video and audio, and our hope is to have some video footage up for viewing here, on my youtube channel, on the AwakeningSoul web site and youtube channel, and on John Philip Newell's site, Terre Salve.
Here's a photo of the band.... more on the photos and news pages to follow soon.
L-R Duncan Wickel, Lindsey Blount, Fran, Charles Milling, River Guerguerian
photo by Larry Hastings
Here's an acoustic, live version of 'Times Like These' which seems to get more and more appropriate with each news cycle...<embed src="http://wizard.franmckendree.com/publicfiles/Times_Like_These.mov" autostart="false" /
Here's a short video about the upcoming 'A New Ancient Harmony' gathering. John Philip Newell and Judy Brown are our keynoters. Brian Prior, Ann Holtz and I have been working on this event for over a year now.. hope to see you there for a time of inspiration, reflection and transformation.
<embed src="http://wizard.franmckendree.com/publicfiles/FM_ANAH_pr1.mov" autostart="false" />
And here's Fran with a brief introduction of the Right Rev, Brian Prior;
<embed src="http://wizard.franmckendree.com/publicfiles/ANAH_pr_for_B.mov" autostart="false" />
This cute little guy came for breakfast this morning... it was the first morning this fall that we've dipped below freezing, and I think he was looking for a sunny spot.
about an hour later... ahhhh... much better!
I had a really wonderful time doing some music for a day long session with author/teacher Cynthia Bourgeault at Holy Trinity, in Greensboro, NC. She is a wise and wonderful teacher; affirming, challenging, inspiring and profound. She's a courageous voice.
Sometimes it's tough heading out on the road, especially when we're in the midst of a beautiful October here in the mountains of NC. Our cat, Inky, however, was ready for a little adventure this past week as I packed up!
Had a really wonderful 4 days helping out with a retreat for youth workers, with my friend and colleague Jenifer Gamber, and about 14 other great folks. This has become an annual event at this beautiful and contemplative Benedictine house. Check for dates for next September.
One of our morning sessions;
Here's sunrise one morning, overlooking the mighty Hudson River..
We took a little ride to a bridge over the Hudson and where a thunderstorm suddenly descended on us. The wind picked up very quickly and the river had this very strange look to it.... there had been quite severe flooding, and the river was quite high...
My wife, Diana, and I led a retreat for clergy and licensed lay workers for the Diocese of Niagra in early May. It was held at the Mount Carmel Retreat Center, in Niagra Falls, Canada. What a great few days we had- wonderful, diverse group of folks attending, and the center is lovely, with the best food I've ever had at a retreat center, and a really great staff. We only had about 24 hrs with the group, but the atmosphere was brimming with great conversation and sharing. It was still a bit on the chilly side, and raining, so I made a quick visit to the actual falls before heading to Toronto to visit for a brief 24 hrs, then head to Buffalo, NY for a visit with my younger sister and family. A great trip! Thanks to all who attended, and helped organize the gathering! Here's a shot of the falls from the Peace Bridge.
I joined the 5 O'Clock Band in a benefit concert at St.Luke's in Birmingham Saturday night. The purpose was to raise funds for a trail to be cut at Camp McDowell in memory of the late Rev. Deb Braden, and counting some donations that came in from a private gathering, over 12,000.00 was raised! Thanks to everyone who came to support the effort. I'll try to get some photos up soon.
My wife, Diana, had back surgery this past Thursday. All went flawlessly, and she's recovering well, 'tho it will take about 6 weeks before she begins to feel the full benefit. We give thanks for the skill of the surgeon, all your prayers, and the wonderful 'mealtrain' volunteers that have been bringing us delicious dinners, and for the generosity of the folks who have been so incredibly kind to us, guiding us through the surgery, and providing a home away from home.
www.readthespirit has a story this week about a retreat I led a couple weeks back for youth leaders in the diocese of SW VA. Please visit; http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/2011/3/1/lets-go-fly-a-kite-astonished-by-clarity-beauty.html
This site is always a great source of a wonderful variety of information... a real adventure! Editor/creator David Crumm does a great job of creating a valuable, fun and very insightful resource.
Had a really wonderful visit to Kennett Square, PA to help lead a retreat for folks from the Church of the Advent. Jenifer Gamber and I were invited to lead a day long program, focusing on discerning and celebrating the gifts and vision of the parishoners, as they are in the process of calling a new rector. It was a joy to share the time with Jenifer, Jan Schroeder, and Deb Schmittle, who really had the vision for this retreat. Thanks to all the folks who shared their energy, time and dreams with us. Had a fun concert, as well, and I was joined in the music for Sunday morning service by two great musicians, Wilson and Leon..thanks again, guys! I did forget my camera... hoping someone else might have some pix to share.
Just back from a long but wonderful stretch on the road. Had great visits to Camp McDowell for the annual Curlsillo Ultreya, then up to Loookout Mtn, TN, down to Montgomery, then Selma, AL, back up to Signal Mtn, TN for a couple of days. Then off to Phoebe Needles Conference Center for a Dio of SWVA youth leaders retreat [always great fun!] for the weekend, and over to Richmond, VA for two days at St. Catherine's school. I'll post some photos here and on the photo gallery page from most of these. I love driving this time of year, as the winter ground still lies fallow, but new life is just starting to burst out.... love this in between time. I think myabe the best expression of that is the excercise we did at the youth leaders retreat, which led us to each flying a kite [well, as best we could, in shifting, flukey wind!] A beautiful lifting of spirit, hope and color!
Here's are a couple of photos of the work in process;
And here are some pics with the fantabulous Five O'Clock Band from the concert for the Ultreya at Camp McDowell:
Over the past few months, Ann Holtz, Brian Prior and I have been putting together the pieces for what we believe will be a very special Advent retreat, December 4-8, 2011 at Lutheridge Conference Center.
Back in December of 2008, Brian and I presented an opportunity to be with John Philip Newell and Barbara Brown Taylor for four days in the mountains of western North Carolina. Intertwined with teaching there was music, story telling, worship, meditation and prayer.
Overwhelmingly, those who were in attendance said, "Yes! This is what we are hungry for." and "When will you be doing something like this again?"
And so it is with great joy that we invite you to the Advent 2011 gathering 'A New Ancient Harmony.'
John Philip will be back with us again and Judy Brown, teacher and poet, will be joining us for the first time. The event will be December 4-8, at the beautiful Lutheridge Conference Center, just outside Asheville, NC.
For more information, please visit our website:
http://www.awakeningsoulpresents.org/AdventConference/
We are also on Facebook at Advent 2011- A New Ancient Harmony.
We hope to see you there. We encourage you to share this with anyone that you think might be interested in attending.
Please contact Ann with any questions that you might have about this event:
Ann Holtz
A New Ancient Harmony
Event Coordinator
Knoxville, TN
865-414-8509
awakening2011@att.net
The brand new McKendree Spring recording, '9' is now available in cd or download form at the CDBaby.com web site! Here's the place to go;
I had a really wonderful trip out west to help out with the music for the Diocese of Northern CA's centennial celebration and convention. Got to play with my friend Rob Sabino [Rob has played keys and piano with Madonna, S&G, Mick Jagger, and tons of others] which was really great. Also got to visit with some very dear friends, and see a beautiful part of the country. Snow covered Mt. Shasta loomed large. Wonderful talks by Bishops Beisner and Baxter. Here are a few pics;
with the choir
ready to go!
view from the Sundial Bridge
John Philip Newell and Judy Sorum Brown, December 4-8, 2011, Lutheridge Conference Center, Arden, NC
Sanctuary...Sustenance...Inspiration...Intention
Music by Fran McKendree, Charles Milling, River Guerguerian, Lindsey Blount and others.
Some of you will remember the Advent Conference in 2008 that I co-coordinated with Brian Prior [now Bishop Prior, Diocese of MN]. Our friends John Philip Newell and Barbara Brown Taylor were the keynote speakers that year, and we had a wonderful gathering. I'm thrilled to announce that Brian, Ann Holtz and I have come together to create a new event, December 4-8, 2011. John Philip, will be with us once again, and we'll be joined this time around by the brilliant poet and teacher, Judy Brown. The event will take place at the beautiful Lutheridge Conference Center near Asheville, NC. You'll want to reserve early, as we expect to fill quickly, given the overwhelmingly positive response we had to the last event. Registration will be available soon, via the Lutheridge web site. More details to come, but in the meanwhile, if you'd like to learn more about the work of John Philip, Judy, and the venue, please visit these websites;
http://www.jphilipnewell.com
http://www.judysorumbrown.com
http://www.llmi.net/lutheridge/default.aspx
I facilitated the parish retreat for the second year in a row for this wonderful gathering of folks. Being at Camp McDowell is always a joy, and to have a this great group of seekers to share the weekend with...what could be better? I took a couple of photos of the new St. Francis Chapel, really a sight to behold - warm and full of a wonder of woodsy smells, while feeling like you're right out in nature. Joel Blackstock, the architect, did a magnificent job here. And, his wife Laura, a great artist, as well, did the cover for 'Awake,' my newest recording!
What a great visit! Hosted here by Katie Saliba and her family, and the wonderful folks from this beautiful parish.
Jenifer Gamber and I co-led a retreat for youth leaders and other seekers at the beautifully serene Holy Cross Monastery, in West Park, NY. It sits on a bluff overlooking the mighty Hudson River, and is one of my favorite stops in the work I do. We spent five days with a wonderfully alive group of 23, from all around the US. We join in the daily routine that the monks follow, services at 7a, 9a, noon, 5p and compline at 8:30p, then the great silence from the end of compline through eucharist at 9a. It's really amazing how that schedule keeps one focused and in tune. Jenifer did her usual great work, and we were all grateful for the time to slow down, breathe, and move into a deeper awareness of God's presence in our midst. We were joined one afternoon by our friend Ana Hernandez, who lives quite nearby the monastery...much singing and laughter ensued. The Brothers made us feel very welcome, and the food, as always was stellar! A great week, and I invite you to put it on your calendar for next year, if you feel the urge.
Here are some photos from the week, Ana H and me, some of our participants, and one of the many icons that adorn the walls.
We occasionally have a flock of turkeys visit our back yard, which is always a great event. The other morning I startled them, quite by accident, and all twenty of them flew up into the trees around our back deck. One of them looked as if he was going to try to join the chickadees and finches at the feeder!
SEWANEE
I was at the University of the South, Sewanee this past weekend. Had a fantastic visit with some of my favorite folks, some whom I've known for years doing events at Camp McDowell, and others who have come from other parts of the country - either doing their undergrad studies there or are in the School of Theology. Had a great turn out for the concert, and enjoyed a day of being on campus on Sunday...hearing their great choir at All Saints Chapel in the morning. We had a wonderful Growing in Grace service [their more informal worship service] on Sunday eve. It's always such a joy to be with those folks! I was having such a great time, I forgot to take some photos, so I went into All Saints Chapel at about 6:00 a.m. just before I left and took the pix below.
MCKENDREE SPRING UPDATE
The mixes are going well, and we should have the downloads ready by the latter part of September. Stay tuned!
Here's a look at my studio in 'listening' mode - the mixes our engineer, Casey Wood, has been working on;
