My kids are enchanted by the music collected and performed by Elizabeth Mitchell, and so am I. Well, the music I make for Smithsonian Folkways is children’s music. I don’t feel the need to call it ‘family music,’ as many people do these days. I’m really proud to make music for children; I always start […]
The teachers choosing the song list for my primary schools in the 1980s were clearly a bunch of ex-hippies. We had psychadelia, folk songs and lots of Beatles, and certainly nothing written for children (unless the thoroughly depressing Puff the Magic Dragon counts?) And lots of protest songs. A friend and I (we grew up in […]
What is a Blue Christmas Service? Guest writer Melanie recently reflected on the process of putting together a Blue Christmas service at Frenchs Forest Baptist Church, where she is a pastor: The concept of a Blue Christmas Service was new for me this year. The idea behind the services is to provide a quiet, contemplative service […]
This is the third and probably last in a short series of Advent posts, collecting some of the best writing from around the world to fuel your Advent journey. You can find the first two posts here and here. Rachel Held Evans American blogger and writer extraordinaire Rachel Held Evans is blogging through the […]
Is it just me, or is Advent all over the internet this year in a way it hasn’t been in the past? If online resources nourish your spirituality, there are plenty of them out there. Here are some of the best things I’ve found over the last week or so. Let me know if any […]
I’ve been binge-watching Nashville lately, and here’s a song from the show that has stayed with me. It’s called ‘A Life That’s Good‘ and is performed in the show by a few different combos of characters, but here, by teenager Lennon Stella and co-star Charles Esten. The following clip is her and her sister (both […]
I am loving re-reading LM Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables books right now, and keen to share the joy. I’m working on a series of posts to accompany the experience of re-reading the books as an adult, so if you’re inspired, dust off your copies or find some in the library and join us! They […]
This is an all-in-one post for Week 6 of our Lent with Kids plan. To fill in some background, start here. You can also see the series index here. Charles Dickens could have been writing about Palm Sunday: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of […]
This is an all-in-one post for Week 5 of our Lent with Kids plan. To fill in some background, start here. You can also see the series index here. Let’s start with a prayer: We give you all thanks and praise, O God, for yours is the power of life that even death cannot hold back. You […]
This is an all-in-one post for Week 4 of our Lent with Kids plan. To fill in some background, start here. You can also see the series index here. The collection of Lectionary texts for the fourth Sunday of Lent includes these three Gospel readings: John 9, where Jesus heals a man who has been blind his […]