Sister Joann Gehling, beloved friend (and one of the Prairiewoods foundresses), once told me joyously that “singing is twice praying.” I love this notion and have thought about it many times since Joann shared this with me, a phrase she learned from another FSPA sister who was her choir director.
So many beautiful prayers and scriptures are set to music and we pray both by reading and repeating the words, and by physically singing the melody with our whole being.
One of my favorite examples of “singing as twice praying” is from John Philip Newell’s CD, Sounds of the Eternal Meditative Chants & Prayers, with soloist Suzanne Butler:
“You shall be like a garden, like a deep spring where waters never fail” (Isaiah 58:11).
In this powerful composition, the meaning of the scripture comes to life so beautifully. Click here to listen.
Which hymns come to mind as you ponder the idea of “singing as twice praying”? What comes up spiritually for you as you sing?
—Angie Pierce Jennings, Prairiewoods hosted groups and hospitality coordinator