Come o long expected Jesus. Born to set thy people free. From our fears and sins release us . . . This well-sung Advent hymn, text written by Charles Wesley, is a favorite during this season. With many choirs over the years, I have had them sing it to “Divinum Mysterium” a 16th century hymn derived from early medieval plainsong. I then like to bump up the mystery quotient by having the choir sing it accompanied by a set of tuned wind chimes that I bought in the late 80’s fo

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. For those who aren’t Christian liturgy geeks, it means we’ve got four weeks until Christmas to sing mysterious minor hymns, dwell in darkness, and wait. The theme of this Sunday is often centered on hope. In my life, hope is a slippery thing. It is very easy for me to slip into despair. I like to tell myself that this predilection for hopelessness is because I have a strong grasp of reality. I mean, if YOU knew what is REALLY happeni