Bridget Mary's Blog: Meditation Music Videos

Again & Again, a new song for Lent, by The Many. For over a year, we (The Many) had been reflecting on this line Lenora had written, “Why are things so broken.” It's a tough question. An emotional question. It seemed like the genesis of great song, but we were stuck. Then a few months ago we had an invitation from Sanctified Art to write a song for Lent. They were working with the theme “Again and Again.” They were using the phrase not only as a lament but also as a word of praise. It was then that Lenora and the rest of us began to get a glimpse of where this song could go. There's lament - “Why are things so broken – again and again – where has all the mercy gone.” But also this gratitude – "again and again"– in the midst of it all, "God’s love remains." And so this song was born. Lyrics are by Lenora Rand with music by Hannah Rand. We recorded this during the pandemic – Hannah, Leslie Michele and Darren Calhoun all recorded the vocals from their bedrooms or living rooms, Hannah and Gary Rand made the music in their basement. The video is also the work of Lenora and Hannah. This is our first time using this particular “look” for a video. We love it. It seems to fit the emotions of this song just right. We pray the song might bring you some healing and hope.

All Belong Here - The Many - Lyric Video

https://youtu.be/sJBEwqBfw3I

From our 2017 album, "All Belong Here," this song is a new kind of call to communion, a call to remember who we are, and how much we are loved, a song that sees God's table as a place where we all belong, and that this whole world is God's table, where we can eat and be filled, where we can drink in the grace. The Many is a creative collective that believes there is power in singing together – it changes things inside us and around us - and their vision is to create music we can sing together that’s honest, full of questions, full of faith and doubt, full of longing. These are not songs about a God who only loves some of us. This is not head in the clouds “worship music” - but feet on the ground, heart in hands, scars revealed, wild and holy, liturgically-seasoned music of resistance, reconciliation and restoration. This is music made for people to sing with each other, in churches, in living rooms, in basements and bars...anywhere, everywhere... in spirit and in truth. The Many features vocalists, Darren Calhoun, Leslie Michele and Hannah Rand, along with guests and collaborators. Learn more at www.themanyarehere.com This lyric video was created by The Many using creative commons photos and video, as well as personal video footage from live events at Wild Goose Festival and St. Paul's School of Theology. Band footage shot by Jason & Blue and Roberto Nieves. Learn more about The Many: Website - www.themanyarehere.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/themanyarehere Facebook/Instagram/Twitter - @themanyarehere Church Resources website - www.pluralguild.com Get music by The Many: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ZpUGMG iTunes/Apple Music: https://apple.co/3cR0AKC Website: pluralguild.com/music or themanyarehere.com/music All Belong Here - Lyrics 1. When you’re not sure who you really are When all you feel is the shape of your scars And you have more wounds than you can count Open your eyes, look all around You aren’t alone, this is your home Chorus Come and remember who you are here Do this to remember who I am Come and remember you belong here All belong here 2. When you don’t know how to forgive When locked doors seem like the only way to live And you’ve got more questions than you can count Open your eyes, look all around You aren’t alone, this is your home Chorus Bridge At this table come as you are Broken and bleeding’s ok At this table eat and be filled Come and drink in this grace. Chorus Lyrics by Lenora Rand. Music by Hannah Rand © 2017 Plural Guild Music

All You Ask – The Many

On Love > Fear Album

Beyond Belief – The Many

https://youtu.be/5ll4qGiG47w

Broken Body of Christ - The Many - lyric video

https://youtu.be/nPyx89YZLUg

From the album Love is Greater than Fear, this song "Broken Body of Christ" is a song that speaks the truth of what it means to be human: imperfect, hurting, uncertain, longing, and also absolutely loved. All of us. Just as we are. It is a song that can be wonderful for a church's communion or Lord's Supper experience or something great just to sing whenever you need a reminder that Jesus came to show us we are loved. In bread that is broken, in the knowledge that Jesus is with us in our brokenness, there is hope and there is life, for all of us. Learn more about the song and get the sheet music at: https://www.pluralguild.com/broken-bo... Learn more about The Many: Website - www.themanyarehere.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/themanyarehere Facebook/Instagram/Twitter - @themanyarehere Church Resources website - www.pluralguild.com Get music by The Many: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ZpUGMG iTunes/Apple Music: https://apple.co/3cR0AKC Website: pluralguild.com/music or themanyarehere.com/music Lyrics: We are the wandering We are the seeking We are the ones left out to dry We are the bleeding Our hearts are weeping We are the broken Body of Christ Chorus And when we eat We are fed The love that God has given And when we drink We take it in This love This earthly heaven 2. We are the thirsty Looking for mercy We have all been kicked aside We are the stumbling Our hands are fumbling We are the broken Body of Christ Chorus Bridge We are loved Just as we are Taste and see Loved as we are Beautifully different Loved as we are Just as we are. Chorus Coda We are the wandering We are the seeking We are the broken Body of Christ Lyrics: Lenora Rand Music: Gary Rand © 2019 Plural Guild Music

Come As You Are – The Many

https://youtu.be/WLQsfto8LyE

Inspired by Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28-30, this song is an invitation to all of us into God's loving embrace. We can come with our faith and with our doubt; we are welcomed with hopes and with fears.We can come deeply weary and wounded and carrying loads of baggage and God promises to never turn us away.We come as we are and are loved as we are. No small print. No exceptions.

Extravagant Love - The Many

https://youtu.be/13reNhytzS0

Find Our Way to Love - The Many

https://youtu.be/QAWcIzdsJPQ

Written as a response to the horror of Orlando, of Paris, of Charleston, the insanity of a world where hatred and violence seem to be winning, this song is a lament and a search for a different way. Perhaps there are no easy answers, but maybe it begins with us seeing that we are "us" - that we're all in this together on this tender, trembling earth. When I hurt you, I hurt me. Inspired by these powerful words by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his letter from a Birmingham jail: “We are caught in an inescapable netword of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects on directly, affects all indirectly.” Lyrics by Lenora Rand. Music by Gary Rand with thanks to Hannah Rand for her help on the song as well as lending her beautiful voice to it. And thanks to the author Rob Bell for this quote: “With every action, comment, conversation, we have the choice to invite Heaven or Hell to Earth.” Amen to that.

Forgive Us – the Many

https://youtu.be/SU1Q9zULTwQ

“Forgive Us” is a song of lament and confession. A song to sing when we don’t have words; when our efforts to help, or do right, or even pray seem to come up empty. Honest and vulnerable, this is a song that gives voice to what we often don’t think we can say in church: “We don’t know how to pray here, stay here. All we hope is that you’re here.” Filmed at a takeaway show at Pilgrim Church in Oak Park, IL, this song was written by Hannah Rand, one of the lead singers of The Many, a group dedicated to creating music that we can all sing together…music that speaks to faith and doubt, inclusion and belonging, resistance and hope. Along with Hannah, featured in this video are lead singers, Darren Calhoun, Leslie Michelle and Kerry Anne Pritchard. Produced by Gary Rand. Song lyrics by Lenora Rand. Find out all about The Many at https://www.themanyarehere.com/ Follow The Many on Facebook and Instagram @themanyarehere

Forsaken - The Many - Lament for Black Lives Lost

https://youtu.be/98yde4gMHCI

We created this lyric video to our 2017 song "Forsaken" to be shared as part of a special Lament Together gathering on June 3, 2020, focused on the racism, inequity, violence and injustice in this country, to mourn the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmad Arbery, and lament the trauma, hatred and division in our country right now. In The Many, we've been holding these online gatherings of lament ever since the U.S. went into lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. Once a week we gather to grieve the losses brought about by this virus, in our personal lives and in our communities and around the world. Because we believe lament is essential to healing. And it's a way to resist all that destroys life. We come together on Facebook and YouTube to name our sorrows, claim our pain and transform our tears, through the grace of God into action, into change. This song, "Forsaken" is found on our album, "All Belong Here." Learn more about The Many: Website - www.themanyarehere.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/themanyarehere Facebook/Instagram/Twitter - @themanyarehere Church Resources website - www.pluralguild.com Get music by The Many: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ZpUGMG iTunes/Apple Music: https://apple.co/3cR0AKC Website: pluralguild.com/music or themanyarehere.com/music

God of the Movements and Martyrs. A Hymn by David LaMotte arranged and performed by The Many.

https://youtu.be/F4sCalkzZOo

This hymn was written by David LaMotte on a commission from the North Carolina Council of Churches to honor of their 85th Anniversary. It was arranged and recorded in six different styles by five different artists and premiered the week of June 15, 2020. This video is the arrangement created and performed by The Many. Sheet music, recordings and video are available at the Convergence Music Project. https://www.convergencemp.com

Holy Is Your Name - The Many - Original

https://youtu.be/T8rCjcmxWPs

Behind the scenes at the recording session. "Holy Is Your Name" is based on Mary's Song in Luke, the Magnificat. Music by Hannah Rand, lyrics by Lenora Rand, recorded at Foxhall Studios, Chicago, featuring soloists Olivia Harris, Hannah Rand and Leslie Michele. Produced by Gary Rand, engineered by Dorian Gehring, Mixed and Mastered by Doug McBride. Presented by The Plural Guild. Learn more at www.pluralguild.com Follow The Many on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pluralguildband Follow The Plural Guild on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pluralguild Free download available at http://themany1.bandcamp.com/track/ho... Video by Hutchinsons Media http://www.hutchinsonsmedia.com Lyrics: “Holy Is Your Name” Based on Luke 1:46-55 Verse 1 You have seen me in my sorrow You have heard me in my pain You have known me in my suffering You have loved me in my shame Chorus And I sing Holy, holy, holy is your name And I say Glory, glory, glory to your name The angels and the heavens sing Of the new day that You bring They say Glory, glory, glory to your name Verse 2 You have held me in my questions You have heard me when I pray You have looked on me with favor You have never looked away Chorus Bridge The proud will fall And the poor will see That all hope’s not lost And grace flows free (Repeat) Chorus

Into Mercy – The Many

Lamb of God - The Many - Lyric Video

https://youtu.be/2ZaKw7-cJ1M

Lamb of God is based on a traditional communion song/prayer. In our version, we've tried to bring a fresh perspective on the old text. With lyrics that talk about a God who so loves the world and everyone of us: "Lamb of God. With love poured out you suffer with the world." With a tune made to be sung together...as a prayer, as a plea, as a hope...for personal mediation, in small groups and in churches. Music by Gary Rand. Lyrics by Gary and Lenora Rand. Sung by The Many - we are an intentionally diverse collective making music for people to sing together about peace and justice and a world where all belong. www.themanyarehere.com Get the MP3, sheet music and this video at this link: https://www.themanyarehere.com/merch

Let Justice Rain by the Many

https://youtu.be/RORyLr9y2Y0

Amos 5:24 tells us "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." That was the inspiration behind this song. This is a call to all of us to say, "Enough is enough." There have been too many names but we still need to say them out loud and not forget. We need to weep for them and fight to see that things change. And we need to realize, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told us, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We wrote this song a little over a year ago, but this week we all learned about Ahmaud Arbery who went out for a jog and never made it home. This video is dedicated to him...and to all who work for justice for him, for all people and for this planet. This song is on The Many's 2019 album "Love Greater Than Fear" which is available on iTunes and Spotify. You can learn more about The Many at: https://www.themanyarehere.com/ Find more info on this song at: https://www.pluralguild.com/let-justi... Learn more about The Many: Website - www.themanyarehere.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/themanyarehere Facebook/Instagram/Twitter - @themanyarehere Church Resources website - www.pluralguild.com Get music by The Many: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ZpUGMG iTunes/Apple Music: https://apple.co/3cR0AKC Website: pluralguild.com/music or themanyarehere.com/music

Love is Greater than Fear - The Many - lyric video

https://youtu.be/l23Dkmyy1Cw

Love is Greater than Fear is the title song of our 2019 album. And we wrote this song because of fear. Because there is so much fear in the world right now. And so much inside each one of us. And it's not helping. We don't want to be so afraid, but how can we let go of fear? We want to believe that what Jesus taught is true - the Love is greater than fear, and when we remember we are loved fear loses a little of its grip on us. When we can practice love - for ourselves, for God and for everyone on this aching planet, fear doesn't win, That kind of love drives out fear. That's our hope and prayer. Find more info on this song (including sheet music) at: https://www.pluralguild.com/lovefearsong Learn more about The Many: Website - www.themanyarehere.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/themanyarehere Facebook/Instagram/Twitter - @themanyarehere Church Resources website - www.pluralguild.com

Love Is Here by the Many

https://youtu.be/vXrkBetfDXM

Sometimes, when you're tired and worn out, when it seems like hate and greed and fear and exclusion and inhumanity are winning, it's hard to believe God's love is real, and it's enough, and it's HERE. Sometimes all you can do is sing what you want to believe, and maybe then, you can start to believe it again. Love Is Here by The Many is a song about that.

Lovely Needy People - The Many - Lyric Video

https://youtu.be/h_6gxdeJ_LY

From the 2017 album "All Belong Here" by The Many, "Lovely Needy People" includes the refrain: “Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison" - some of the most ancient words that have survived from the earliest church liturgies. These words mean "Lord Have Mercy. Christ Have Mercy." This song, a lament for all of us, lovely, broken, needy people, reconnects us with those ancient words and reminds us that there is mercy enough, grace enough, love enough, for all of us. Find sheet music and more info on this song at: https://www.pluralguild.com/lovely-ne... Learn more about The Many: Website - www.themanyarehere.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/themanyarehere Facebook/Instagram/Twitter - @themanyarehere Church Resources website - www.pluralguild.com Get music by The Many: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ZpUGMG iTunes/Apple Music: https://apple.co/3cR0AKC Website: pluralguild.com/music or themanyarehere.com/music

Love Rises – The Many

https://youtu.be/uhWgQ2tMpMk

Only Grace - The Many - lyrics

https://youtu.be/YDAOLCPg220

This is a demo recording of The Many's song Only Grace, written by Hannah and Lenora Rand, with production by Gary Rand. Featuring Hannah Rand on vocals. With the current state of the world, where it seems like everything's broken, it's sometimes hard to believe Love and Grace have the last word. This song written during Lent, is about that. Inspired by these words from Frederick Buechner, "Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you." For more songs: Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pluralguildb... Find us on iTunes: https://itun.es/us/YWlK_ And on Bandcamp: https://themany1.bandcamp.com Lyrics: Things are broken here Things are broken here. Things are shared Things are carried here Hearts bow in prayer It is grace, only grace That brings us here Holds us all together here. All together here. Things are dying here Things are torn Things are growing here And burdens borne. It is grace, only grace That brings us here Weaves us all together here All together here. Amazing grace, hear the sound Here is where hope can be found.

Remember Mercy - The Many

https://youtu.be/X7-THUalBfk

"Remember Mercy" is a song from The Many's 2015 Advent & Christmas album. The song was written to help us all remember that, even in times of great hardship and suffering, God has not forgotten us. When it feels like all hope is lost, we can remember God’s mercy. Inspired by Mary’s Magnificat from Luke 1, which throws into bold relief what's wrong with the world, yet in the midst of the cries of pain, there are also cries of praise - the testimony that things are bad now but God is not going to let them stay that way forever. In this song, we wanted to bring this scripture to life as a straight-out gospel song, a music born out of the African American experience of slavery, racism, suffering and the struggle against oppression. So the tune was written as a collaboration with one of our long-time friends, and Chicago gospel music legend, Elsa Harris. Lyrics by Lenora Rand. Music by Elsa Harris and Gary Rand. Find sheet music and more info on this song at: https://www.pluralguild.com/remember-...

Remember When – The Many

https://youtu.be/he98mMybs1A

Can we be honest? Sometimes we wonder where God is and what God does. When horrible things happen in our personal lives and in our world we may not always say it out loud, but we think it...where were you God? Why don't you do something about this? We cry out like the Psalmists did in Psalm 10 "Lord, why are you so far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" Or lament like the writer of Psalm 42: "My tears have been my food day and night, as people constantly question me, 'Where’s your God now?'" This song is about that - remembering some of the recent events that have left us in tears, left us heartbroken and undone. Where was God when children are put in cages on the U.S. border? Where was God when Laquan McDonald was killed or Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor or George Floyd? Where was God when the child is sent to conversion therapy or when we lose thousands and thousands of people in a pandemic? The answers don't come easy in this song...but as we cry out and ask God, "Why didn't you send help?" we sometimes hear God's still, small voice saying, "I did. I sent you."

Room For Us All - The Many

https://youtu.be/rCAmkX7p2XI

"Room For Us All" was inspired by the story of Jesus' birth, and Mary and Joseph's experience as strangers and exiles, but it's a song we need to sing all year long. It was written to remind us that we are on this earth to love.

Music, Hannah Rand Lyrics, Lenora Rand Verses 1 They said no room They said move on They turned, turned you away. We’ve been there too Felt that alone Been hurt, been hurt that way. Chorus: Your light came shining Into this crying night Bringing hope, bringing healing Your love revealing. Your light came shining Into this crying night To say it's ok there's room for all of us here Verse 2 Oh but it’s hard To open the door Not lock, lock love away We’ve been there too Felt so afraid To try, try another way Bridge: We are on this earth to love ================================ Band: The Many Album: "Advent & Christmas 2015" Release Date: September 18, 2015 Genre: Christian/Gospel : Alternative Hometown: Chicago, IL

Take Comfort - the Many

https://youtu.be/rYJFAu3SpiA

Tear Down the Walls

https://youtu.be/9wRsVh5DXZg

The Many Homiletics Video

https://youtu.be/DK6aw5bha5s

Waiting For You - The Many - Takeaway Show

https://youtu.be/RndTVIsAuQA

When you're looking for hope. Longing for change. Waiting and hoping for a world where there's justice and mercy, where love wins... A song for Advent, the 4 weeks before Christmas, a song for all of us - a song to sing along with... "We are waiting for You...You are waiting for us too..." Written by Hannah Rand and Lenora Rand. Featuring lead vocals by Kerry Pritchard, Darren Calhoun, Leslie Michele and Hannah Rand. Special thanks to Pilgrim Congregational Church for hosting this takeaway show and for all who joined us in longing...and singing. Discover more music from the Many at www.themanyarehere.com Video by Jason and Blue, www.jasonandblue.com - special thanks to them.

We Stand by the Many

https://youtu.be/XZOE7oOIHc4

Inspired by the We Stand With Love movement (westandwithlove.org), people "coming together to say NO to the hate rhetoric that threatens to divide us and YES to more just and generous ways of living with and loving one another..." we wrote this song and this is our home demo. Performed by The Many, featuring Hannah Rand, Leslie Michelle, Kerry Anne Pritchard, Gary Rand, Torri Hamilton, Jack Harris, and Julia Harris. Thanks to all of them who came over with barely any notice to huddle together singing in our basement... Thanks also to Brian McLaren, Glennon Doyle Melton and many others who are leading this effort to "stand with love." Find more songs from The Many at https://themany1.bandcamp.com Presented by The Plural Guild. Learn more at www.pluralguild.com

OTHER SONGS

My Spirit Lives On by Women With Wings (Potential for Funeral/Memorial Service)

https://youtu.be/GQ1meBq8cCE

Be Here Now by Women With Wings (Meditation)

https://youtu.be/QKWZSGuWEAA

I Am by Women With Wings

https://youtu.be/uHGrMX5C3qU

Heal our land by Evelyn

https://youtu.be/BJ4z7chEYB8

This song is a prayer for nations. Released by Evelyn Heal our land, make us one Let strength and courage lead Grant us peace, grant us joy Let love and mercy reign Light the dark, save our nation Bless our people, bless our land Give us wisdom to do right Heal our land Arise for your light has come Arise let your glory shine Arise every tribe and tongue Peace be upon your gates Blessings from above and within prosper our nation Bringing peace on hearts, give us hope for our children

There is a time for silence by Gwen Reiser

https://vimeo.com/428897516

There is a time for silence, a time to listen well,
a time to hear the painful stories others have to tell.
O God, may we who love to talk now hear the rage and fear,
and may we learn from neighbors who have long been silenced here.

There is a time for asking, a time to pause and pray,
there is a time to hear the prophets speak of God’s new day,
to hear the words of Jesus who taught welcome, truth, and love,
to hear the Spirit speaking through the ones who shout, “Enough!”

There’s time for humble study— for reading and for thought.
God, may we learn from others of the justice they have sought,
And may we learn from those who bravely stand against the hate,
So when we’re called to justice, we, your church, won’t hesitate.

There’s time for good reflection, to ponder who we’ve been,
to think how our own attitudes have paved the way for sin,
to listen to the ones we fear— to folks we may resent—
to hear of Jesus’ call to love— and humbly to repent.

And there’s a time to work now — to boldly say their names,
to protest and to organize, to advocate for change,
to use our voices and to stand with those who are oppressed.
As we seek justice, hand in hand, Lord, may your world be blessed.
As we seek justice, hand in hand, Lord, may your world be blessed.

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Monday, March 6, 2023

Meditation Music Videos

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Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP