The Friday Fix

Category: Uncategorized

  • ‘Sing It Loud’ – k.d. lang

    Jane writes:

    In the last 18 months or so, I’ve had a lot of people talking to me about “finding your song”. It may have been in worship or through a children’s story; through conversation and reflection on a radio programme or even through song lyrics themselves. It has even extended to those conversations about Simon Sinek’s work on “Finding Your Why” or discovering your core purpose. A sort of perfect storm then around discovering who you are and what really drives you. What is your song and how do you sing it with passion?

    Into that space then comes this song from k.d. lang. It has such a lazy summer feel to it and yet it has at its heart a celebration of the unique individuals we are. The imperative to be true to yourself and all you can accomplish with what you’ve been given or learnt or seen as critical in life. How to be your true self and then what you do then with that discovery.

    The story in your eyes

    Spoke of all the things you realize and dream

    The thing about finding your song or purpose is that it offers great joy. A kind of sweet spot moment but also comes with other questions and queries. If we extend the metaphor then. What happens if you’ve effectively lost your voice for while? What if someone, or some situation, has stopped you from singing? What if you’re in a choir and the rest of your friends want to sing something different? What if your song is a one hit wonder or maybe it’s a classic. How do you teach others to sing it if it has a complicated tune? How long can you sustain a solo without backing singers? You get the picture. How do you handle having to not be your whole self for a while knowing that at your heart there is a thread of being you can’t put down?

    As a person of faith it never ceases to amaze me how critical song is biblically.

    Songs of joy and thanksgiving. Psalms full of gratitude and despair. Songs of lament and sorrow in exile. Songs of love. Songs of realisation. In scripture then these songs are a representation of how people were discovering who they were and what they were for. People who knew from the start what they were being called to and what their purpose was. People who were unsure and on a voyage of discovery. People who had to be persuaded or discovered the hard way. People who didn’t like it. People who lived through some really tough stuff. Abraham. Moses. David. Hannah. Samuel. Jonah. Joseph. Jeremiah. Mary.

    Each one with a unique story to tell and a significant “song to sing.”

    It seems then that all this “song stuff” requires of us at least a little self awareness. Time to dig deep and find out who we are and how that plays out in our lives. Time to discover and focus for a while but then whatever you do and whatever your song……..

    Sing it loud, sing it, sing it, sing it loud

    So everyone knows who you are

    Oh and by the way I Iove this bit:

    When the days grow dark with confusion

    You can always give your burdens to the music

    It’s a real truth for me and I guess many readers of a blog like this. Ultimately I suppose, your song is what keeps you grounded but more simply the songs sung by anyone can sustain you and you can rest there for a while. Both literally and metaphorically of course.

    You can find out more about KD Lang here https://www.kdlang.com/

  • Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)- Green Day

    Gill writes:

    Another turning point
    A fork stuck in the road
    Time grabs you by the wrist
    Directs you where to go

    In her book ‘How to Fall in Love’, Cecelia Ahern describes life as “a series of moments, and moments are always changing.” We humans mark out our lives with key moments/milestones/achievements – birth, first tooth, first steps, first tantrum, first day at school, first love, last day at school…you get the gist.

    Some of the moments are choices; some of the moments are not; some moments are inevitable; some moments are completely unexpected.

    For me, this song manages to capture the tension between the expectations and uncertainty of life. The last year of pandemic restrictions has confronted us with the notion that we’re not in control of everything. We can diligently plan to the finest detail but we should also factor in that such plans can be scuppered in a moment. Or by a teeny, tiny organism.

    So make the best of this test
    And don’t ask why
    It’s not a question
    But a lesson learned in time

    So what am I going to learn from these unexpected moments that have been foisted on me thanks to Covid? Well first of all, I’m going to accept that it might be a few years down the line for some of the learning to manifest. Secondly, I am going to continue to grab opportunities as they are offered and relish them – rather than wait for a better option or compare them to other experiences. And finally, I’m going to try and embrace the unexpected; less anger at things not going ‘my’ way and being thankful for the chance to learn and grow even more.

    So take the photographs
    And still frames in your mind
    Hang it on a shelf
    In good health and good time

    The last Friday in June traditionally marks the last day for those in Year 11 at school. I know this year that many schools opted to finish their Year 11’s early. Not so in our house, it really is the last day of Year 11 for my son today. There will be photographs – and dressing up in daft costumes – and a BBQ with the staff to say a cheerful goodbye. Memories caught in images that will continue to be replayed, revisited and reviewed throughout their lives.

    True enough, the last two years of school life have certainly not been what was planned and expected. It’s been distressing, disheartening and disruptive. However, it’s also opened minds, opened up dialogue about how we do things and opened up new possibilities about how we move forward.

    Tattoos of memories
    And dead skin on trial
    For what it’s worth
    It was worth all the while

    Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes famously talks about a time for everything. It also reminds us that we’re not the ones in control. Verses 11 to 13 sum this whole thing up perfectly ‘True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life.’ (The Message Version)

    It’s something unpredictable
    But in the end it’s right
    I hope you had the time of your life

    Find out what Green Day are up to these days at https://greenday.com/

  • Sounds of Summer

    As I was driving home the other day, I was suddenly transported back to the summer of 1989. How? Well Soul II Soul’s ‘Back to Life’ came on the radio, that’s why…

    It got me to thinking that it would be lovely to fill our Friday Fix in the coming weeks with songs that you associate with summer. Who were you with? Where were you? What were you up to?

    So if this has inspired you, why not sit down this week (or sometime soon) and jot down your thoughts in a Fix and send it to Gill at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk.

    Looking forward to a bumper inbox!

  • Go on, go on, go on, go on….

    So you’ve been following the Friday Fix and have loved reading them. Some might have really provoked some action you’ve taken. Some might have made you nod in agreement. Some may have reduced you to tears. Some may have made you chuckle or reassure you.

    You have an idea in your mind about a song that you love, or made a difference, or reassured you, or challenged you but you don’t think anyone would want to read all about this.

    How wrong you would be. We’ve received Friday Fixes from lots of people who have said ‘you don’t have to use it’ or ‘it’s probably not good enough’ – only to find that they have been some of our most popular posts.

    So go on – take a deep breath and pop your thoughts down in an email to Gill at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk. You don’t have to find the video clip, it doesn’t have to be word perfect and it can be about any song as long as it’s ‘secular’.

    Looking forward to a deluge of contributions over the coming days and weeks!

  • Friday Fix 2020 Playlist

    Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

    Just to brighten up your January days, we’ve created the Friday Fix 2020 Playlist on Spotify.

    It’s nearly all the songs that we covered last year – a couple of them are so ‘leftfield’, Spotify doesn’t know them (or the artist doesn’t want Spotify to know them).

    So here’s the link – it’s a really eclectic mix!

  • Christmas Songs.

    There’s been much discussion in the British media this week about Christmas Songs. Whether they should be played in November (some shops have banned them until 1st December) and which one is the most annoying (the prize goes to Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas according to a UK poll by Huawei).

    We wondered if there were any Christmas songs that speak to you. Or whether there are any songs that you associate with Advent or Christmas that warm your heart.

    We’d love to hear from you. Just send an email to thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk with the name of the song, the singer and an explanation about why & how the song speaks to you.

  • Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

    Lots of people cite Autumn as their favourite time of the year. Are you one of those people? Do Keats’ words of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ thrill you? Are there secular songs about Autumn or songs that remind you of Autumn that you could tell us about?

    We’d love to hear from you – just write a few words about the song and why it resonates or moves you. Email it to Gill at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk or drop a comment through this blog to us.

  • ‘Desparado’ – The Eagles

    David reflects:

    My travel communion box lay open on her kitchen table. The now faded, embossed image of a circuit-riding preacher glistened in the afternoon sun. My host had found a small piece of west African kente to use as a communion cloth. I had poured the grape juice into two small cups, placed a wafer on the tiny plate. We talked a while over our make-shift altar — about her family, her faith, her life ‘back home’…

    From the radio in the next room I could hear BBC Radio 2 chiming three o-clock. Against the muffled backdrop of the headline news, we prayed an opening prayer. Travel news babbled through the scripture lesson. Then some requests. Oldies music, a soundtrack to our sacrament.

    A familiar piano introduction wafted down the corridor. Then, Don Henley’s raspy voice, like an old friend calling from the distance: Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses…. Suddenly, I was back in 1970’s New Jersey, listening to DJ Don Imus on WABC. Here I was in a south London flat in my ministerial role, but my mind wandered back to a time of proms and pimples…

    I wondered if my host was noticing this song. I sensed not. How can the same song awaken one person’s memories and drift by another in static? But then again, I might have missed her inner reminiscences of an earlier song?

    Snap back to the present. On the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread… I reached for the plate.

    …Now it seems to me, some fine things have been laid upon your table…

    I looked across at my host. In a practical sense we are foreigners. In a theological sense, family. In essence, however, we are complete strangers. Just behind the door of her memory is a whole warehouse of memories I will never know. Nor could she understand what the Eagles evoke in me. How can we have grown up to such different music, but for this three-minute span, be listening to the same melody?

    The middle age minister chastened the day-dreaming teenager back to the task at hand.

    Later, when the supper was over… I handed her a cup.

    Desperado, O you ain’t getting no younger…

    As I prayed for her, for her family, for the community and congregation, I paused. “…and for all those who are out riding fences…” I’m not sure if she caught the reference, but inwardly, I smiled. I’m sure I’d transgressed all kinds of liturgical guidelines. But in some strange way, it felt like reaching across time and space to bring something together, back together. And one song had opened the gate.

    If you want to know more, follow the link to the Eagles website https://eagles.com/

  • Send us your songs!

    The Friday Fix has been up and running for nearly 3 months now and it’s slowly gathering a following.

    We’ve loved the contributions from you so far – they’re taking us to unknown musical places for sure. If you’re following this blog and haven’t sent us a contribution yet, please don’t be shy. Leave us a comment or click on ‘Contact Us’ at the top of the page – and we’ll be in touch.

    Image by rahul yadav from Pixabay