World Premiere
May 1, 2022 • 4:00pm
Music by IKE STURM
Text by CHANDA RULE
Conducted by ADAM WAITE
Welcome Letter
In considering our Spring Concert this year – our first in three years! – I felt a call to help Montview bring a new piece of music into this world. We needed a piece of music that was of our time; an artistic expression that simultaneously held our pain and grief of the past two years while also lifting up the joy and love that surrounds us every day.
I am so grateful that Ike Sturm and Chanda Rule felt this call too.
Through a collaborative process that began nearly two years ago, Ike and Chanda have worked tirelessly to create a piece of music that touches the mind, heart and soul. It goes well beyond a piece of music that is just for Montview: it truly is a musical gift for the whole of humanity.
My deepest thanks to all of the musicians gathered here today to be a part of this premiere. And thank you Ike and Chanda for gifting us words and music that know our deepest truth.
In gratitude and peace,
Adam Waite
Minister of Music
Welcome
Rev. Clover Reuter Beal, Co-Pastor
A liturgy of lament that travels from an open expression of sorrow to an open expression of joy.
GATHER (hymn)
Psalm 46:4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
We bring our all
the lifted and the lowly
We bring our all
the loathsome and the loved
We let it flow
from mountain’s peak
to gather in the valley
where God’s holy streams collide –
Hallowed merging with the mire
Flowing over with a flush of grace
this dwelling place
we stand and call divine.
REFORMATION
this broken clay
a fragmented memoir
of better days
still holds a beauty between it’s crack
and shines hope from the hollow that the potter’s hands
will brush away the dirt and soil
and make new it’s fractured body
and make whole it’s fractured soul
THE WATERSHED
There’s a fury
at the watershed
where river meets stream
where headwaters troubled
do weaken the course
with disharmony beguiling
parted paths contending
there’s a fury awaiting
a tear of release. a drop for the journey
sprung fresh from the source
to cleanse fog’s drip
and yoke branches strayed.
that calms whetted lands
and remembers the seep
and carries the prayer
to seed in fertile loam.
BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON
Psalm 137:1
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion.
Shall we sit a while
by that river that held our dream?
She promised to keep them safe
whispered softly that she would never forget
the shadowed dancing of our mourning.
She held our chins at her mouth and freed us from the world’s weight.
but she is old now
withered and drying
my tears are her fodder
and my prayers are lost inside her own.
LECHU LAMAYIM
Isaiah 55:1-3
teach me to hold
a world that is crying
teach me how to live
weightless and free
Teach me how to wade
in the rush of the river
towards ocean’s joy
teach me (how) to carry
the tears and the laughter
teach me how to see
beyond fragment and fear Teach me how to love
in the rippling stillness
of ocean’s joy
teach me (how) to roll
and turn over my sorrows
teach me how to stand
in a pool full of tears
teach me how to float
beneath a river falling freely
towards ocean’s joy
COVER ME
Psalm 25
Here I am
standing before you
holding faith inside my fear
Unveil the pathways
to my hidden truths
and there let me tread, freed
Lord, cover me, cover me
let your love
Cover me, cover me
Here I am
with all my virtue and transgression
with you there is nothing to hide
Stay by my sides
pull me in wher’ev I wander for your silent urge I’ll wait
Oh love, cover me, cover me
let your love
Cover me, cover me
The ways of your love
are many’d and pure
show me the way that meets my heart
let me be led
let me desire your grace
with your love I find relief
Holy one,
cover me, cover me
cover me
let your love
THE LIGHT
Matthew 5:14-16
Beneath the wood
Over the mountain
Atop the river
along the plain
between your words
beyond the cadence
inside a thought
within your eyes
Everywhere
everywhere
seeking light
Everywhere
everywhere
seeking light
Within the text
outside the mayhem
nearby the lover
facing the pain
singing the praises
kneeling before you holding the fullness
searching within
Everywhere
everywhere
seeking light
Everywhere
everywhere
seeking light
Inside the hope
Holding the doubt
there in the distance
beside the dream
Down in the valley
right by the stream
there is a glimmer
reflecting me
I am
I am
I am that light
BEAUTY
Yesterday
I stumbled over a river stone
and witnessed a universe of grace
in the moss beneath.
SELAH
In this place
at the heart of my torment
comes a quiet –
hushed and emptied
Selah
this stillness known
quickens the journey home
back through the muck
the noise
and the dark
Selah
next time I’ll scatter seed
in that fertile ground
so on the sojourn I’ll not stray
Selah
Within the wilderness
of this holy pause
sweet gardens I will always find
Selah
RESTORE
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Let me sit beside you
at the river
let me hold your longing
by the stream
let me keep you safe
in my quiet place
til once again
you can believe. Let me hold your moan
at the runnel
let me cup your tears
by the sea –
Won’t you
carry my promise
when you’re ready
my heart can make wide your joy
PSALM 126
When Spring returned we were glad.
The blanket of winter’s slumber
slipped from our shoulders
with each blossom and
our hearts flowered
in concert with Earth’s bounty.
The songs of our laughter told a love story
that spun our daughters
carried our sons
and danced us to the still waters
that held our tears
that hold the glory of our soon afters.
ISAIAH 43
Oh, to be known
to be held by you
what is this love
to be called
to be named by you
what is this love
to feel somehow
no matter where
this life will lead
to know somehow
no matter what
each day reveals
I am known
Oh, to be held by you
what is this love
I am called
I am named by you
what is this love
when waters rage around me
and all the dreams I’ve dreamed
crash through the storm and sea
and fire swells before me
and all the hopes I’ve hoped
to free me turn to fear
oh holy one
my holy one
to be known
to be held by you
what is this love
to be called
to be named by you
what is this love
HOPE
Mark 4:39
On the other side
beyond the crowd
beyond the story
beyond words
and wind and
Surge and shear
Beyond mind’s angst
and heart’s quake
and soul’s hunger
and questions that linger
On the other shore
May we find peace
BLOOM
I have more to give
this heart was made for miracles
I have more to see
more things to imagine
more possibilities to chase
I’ve got things to change
chances to redo
there is more in me
Let me rise and meet the sun
JOY IS
joy is
the ending
the dig
getting lost and coming undone
it’s the tiny tear that carries heavy memory
and the heart that holds only truth
It’s the secret pause after exhale
that brings us back to the beginning
of the ending
the dig
getting lost and coming undone
it’s the tiny tear that carries
heavy memory
and the heart that holds only truth
It’s the secret pause after exhale
that brings us back to the beginning
PRAYER OF PRAISE (hymn)
Psalm 100:1-5
On the edge of my exhaling lies a song
Tween the lips that sound your glory stands a joy
Deep within this simple being
rolls a field of great thanksgiving
yielding plains of praise – full, jubilant and glad.
There’s a peace that overflows inside this grace
and a breadth that can contain all that I am
Whether filled with adoration
sorrow’d full with lamentation
Through the tides of faith your steadfast love abides.
Let the winds my praises bring to every ear
O’er the children rain a love that will endure
Long as breath does animate me
Make my heart your hall of holy
where you dwell and share your good within this world.
Special Thanks to our Commission Donors
Jeffery and Marilynn Ackermann; Kurt and Lorraine Alcott; Paul Barrett; Bob and Diane Bassett; Seth and Cody Belzley; Mary Jo Brooks; Guillaume and Lizeth Durvin; Martha Fiser; Ruth Hart; Earl and Kathy Hoy-Gipe; Marilyn Kemp; Steven and Debbie Kennedy; Jeffrey and Kim Kirkwood; Paul and Carol Lingenfelter; Mark and Debra Lovell; Dianne Briscoe McKenzie; Jay and Carol Mead; Sue Norman; Ellen Oakes; Desiree Parrott-Alcorn; Eleanor Roberts; Scott and Vivian Showalter; Heidi Shriver; Deborah Sycamore
Chin Tan; Leena and Adam Waite; Barbara Lovelace Williams
Concert Musicians
Conductor and Piano
Adam Waite
Solo Vocal
JoFoKe
Bass
Ike Sturm
Guitar
Jesse Lewis
Trumpet
Shane Endsley
Saxophone
Loren Stillman
Drums
Zach Harmon
Violin I
Leena Waite; Karen Kinzie; Erik Peterson; Tom Hagerman; Brad Watson; Rebekah Durham
Violin II
John Hilton; Chris Jussell; Adrienne Short; Emily Lewis; Sarah Whitnah; Hee-Jung Kim
Viola
Phillip Stevens; Leah Kovach; Margaret Dyer Harris; Mackenzie Gault
Cello
Evan Orman; Annemarie Dawson; David Short; Desiree Miller
Guest Pianist
Bob Bassett
Tenor
Caleb Meyerhoff
Trio
Phoebe Bawmann; Shelley McCluskey; Rebecca Gale
Westminster Choir
Soprano
Alex Bartlett; Phoebe Bawmann; Wendy Bawmann; Jenny Bock; Rebecca Gale; Ruth Hart; Mary Hupp*; Kim Kirkwood; Rebecca Leavenworth; Ella Logan; Peg Logan; Shelley McCluskey; Sarah McDowell; Kelly McMullen; Emily Musser; Erika Neale; Carol Shannon; Jessica Shelley, Westminster Choir Fellow; Misty Sturm*; Nancy Thompson; Mary Treska*; Laura Tribby*; Janet Wolfer*; Barbara Wollan
Alto
Lorraine Alcott; Paula Boltz; Amy Bowles*; Lisa Boyum; Kathie Brand*; Marilyn Craft; Juli Davidson; Ally Dellgren, Westminster Choir Fellow; Donna Frederickson; Nancy Getzinger; Peggy Gonder; Mary Hanson; Janine Haugen; Kathy Hoy-Gipe; Beth Hulac; Catherine Hupp*; Marilyn Kemp*; Carol Lingenfelter; Debra Lovell; Sue Norman; Ellen Oakes; Kali Paguirigan*; Susie Phillips; Ellie Roberts; Heidi Shriver; Cathy Sparkman; Marti Sutterlin; Barbara Williams; Deborah Woodard*; Thelissa Zollinger*
Tenor
Paul Barrett; Martha Borgestade; Dan Bowles; Howard Brand*; Bryan Haugen; Caleb Meyerhoff*; Nate Neale; Jake Phillips*; Donald Tallman*; John Thompson
Bass
Lee Bonsall; Dennis Cole; Richard Cornelius; Jim Craft; Guillaume Durvin; John Goerner; Peter Hulac; Paul Lingenfelter; Dennis Shull; Chin Tan; Ryan Wolfer; Phil Worth; John Wollan*
*denotes guest singer
MONTVIEW BOULEVARD
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
303.355.1651 | www.montview.org