Last night, our visiting pastor, who is serving our congregation while our lead pastor is on sabbatical, led a small group in an active listening exercise. The exercise itself is not based in any new theological or educational theory. It was, in fact, very similar to exercises designed by Carl Rogers, the 20th century American psychologist, whose “Client Centered Therapy” was very popular during the time that I was preparing for the ministry. We learned a lot of active listening and practiced a variety of listening exercises similar to last night’s experience. the members of the group, with whom I’ve been working for more than a year, really appreciated the exercise and got right into the practice of listening carefully and repeating the meaning of what had been previously shared before sharing their own ideas. It was a good reminder for me of the power and importance of active listening. It was also a reminder of a discipline that I have practiced for my entire career.

I have an unpublished manuscript of a book designed for pastors about the process of grieving and the role of the pastor and the funeral service in facilitating healthy grief. Much of what I did during my career, which is reflected in the manuscript, is active listening. When I was called upon to make a death notice or to respond to a death in a family, I had a few simple statements and questions that I would voice and then, the process was mostly one of active listening. I learned that family members would quickly tell the story of the deceased person and begin processing the meaning of their life and if I listened they would tell me what were the most important things that should be lifted up in a funeral service.

It is not just grief work, however, where I practiced active listening during my active career. I also used active listening to facilitate committees and church leaders as they planned and directed the work of the church.

Last night’s experience was, for me, a reminder of the power of very good ideas. It was fun to see a new and freshly-trained minister, currently working on their doctoral thesis, using concepts that were a part of my education nearly a half century ago. Good ideas remain.

In the exercise last night people used small trinkets or symbols to talk about their relationship to the church. One of the major themes of the dozen or so members of the group who shared last night was how music was important in the relationship of many group members and their church. Among the symbols presented were hymnals, camp song books, the cloth of choir stoles, and bells.

At least since Paul and Silas found themselves in jail, and most likely much before, the power of music to express faith has been a part of the church. Knowing the importance of that connection, I am energized to discover that theological seminaries continue to take music seriously as a part of graduate education.

Among the degree candidates who walked across the stage and received their red academic hoods for completion of their masters degrees in theology at the graduation ceremonies of Harvard Divinity School was a 28-year-old who sang “Over the Rainbow” at the commencement service. I’m fairly certain that the thousands of fans who watched Maggie Rogers play the Coachella festival in April were unaware that her performance at that event was presented to Harvard Divinity School as the public presentation element of her masters research required by her course of study.

At Coachella, she opened her set with “Give a Little,” a song about the emotional transaction between audiences and performers. During the performance she threw off her sunglasses, symbolically breaking the barrier between the stage and the crowd. “I brought everything I was learning into the details of that performance,” she is quoted on the university website. “From the way I collaboratively worked to design the stage layout, the stage production, the set list, the clothing, the way we came off stage, the way we rehearsed. At the end of the day, creativity and spirituality - it’s about the process.”

“When you are on stage, there’s a lot of energy being sent directly towards you,” she continued. “Over the last year, I’ve really thought a lot about what that means. What is your ethical responsibility to the audience? How do I help people feel a connection to something bigger than themselves - me included? How do you bring people together at a time when we’ve never been more divided?”

Reading her words, similar to those she used in the defense of her masters thesis, warmed my heart. I am not a big fan of popular music. I often am unaware of the names of contemporary performers. But I’m bound to notice Maggie Rogers now that I understand how deeply she has been challenged to weigh questions of ethics. In a time when the humanities have been eliminated from so many universities, the role of theological education is even more critical if we are to pass down centuries of ethical reflection and learning. To know that divinity students are still wrestling with deep ethical issues that are directly relevant to the lives they live gives me hope.

“If I wanted to now, I could be a professor, or I could work in a bookshop - and knowing that this other life exists makes me choose music actively, every time. It’s not just something I got swept into like ‘I went viral and here I am.’”

Public people get a lot of attention and not all of it is desired. Not long ago a heckler shouted “take off your top” during one of her performances in Austin, Texas. She issued a statement calling out his degrading behavior. That statement was picked up by Fox News, who made it a talking point. She started to receive death threats. “I don't think that my experience, of being angry and frustrated, is singular. So I believe my job is to be brave enough to feel as much as I can, so I can translate that into something that can unite people. I have a lot of faith that music has an ability to heal.”

Harvard Divinity school has done itself proud in issuing a degree to an emerging theologian of our times. They also have reminded me how important it is to listen to the music.