When I was in seminary at Saint Paul School of Theology, I traveled just about every summer and January interterm to Pacific School of Religion to take their elective courses in worship and arts.  I would be there for a week taking one courses in the morning and afternoon.  One year a course title caught my eye:  “Liberating Liturgy.”  Was it liturgy that needed to be liberated or was it liturgy that liberated us?  YES!  Turns out this course was being taught by one of the masters of verbal play, hymn writer and liturgist Brian Wren.  Well friends, it was the beginning of what would turn into a close friendship and a deep passion for me–the connection of liturgy and ethics–which I eventually put together for my PhD years after Brian’s course.

If you’ve read any of Brian’s books on language, you know that he takes a special interest in the power of words to shape and form us.  And certainly if you’ve sung one of his copious gifts to our Christian hymnody, you know that his way with words can be surprisingly profound (not surprising that it comes from him, but surprising in the ways it is, as friends of mine say, “sneaky deep”).

It is always a pleasure when you get to say, in front of a bunch of people, how deeply you have been shaped and formed by a mentor.  I got to do that during my latest “Elevation!” retreat when Brian attended with his partner-in-marriage and collaborator in music, Susan.  When he wrote and told me that he would be there, I e-mailed my friend Dan Damon right away (pictured above with Brian and I).  What an amazing movement of the Spirit that I had already asked Dan to be my musician for the event.  He and Brian have collaborated on many hymns together.  And Brian has been for Dan, as well, a mentor for a long time.

So one snowy (yes!) afternoon in April here at my retreat in Tahoe, the 35 of us sat down with Brian and Dan and listened to them share about their experiences of creating songs for the church to sing at important times of their spiritual lives.  One moment I’ll never forget… someone asked Brian what it was like to hear music put to his words for the first time.  His quiet tears spoke volumes.  Thank you, Brian.

Be sure to check out Brian’s resources at Hope Publishing and don’t miss his must-read “What Language Shall I Borrow?” here.