|
Rehearsal
This week, the word rehearsal has been sitting with me in a meaningful way.
Today would have been my maternal grandmother Geraldine’s 85th birthday (she shares her birthday with Pastor Jad!). I mentioned her briefly in my first sermon back at St. Luke’s, but her influence on my faith deserves more space. I grew up worshiping in her Pentecostal congregation, Church of God by Faith. That was my first church home. It’s where I learned how to sit still in worship, how to listen, how to show reverence and yes, where I first wore a suit to church, especially on Easter. It’s also where I gave my first Easter speeches, standing nervously before the congregation, rehearsing words meant to honor God.
I didn’t know it at the time, but that church was teaching me something essential: worship is rehearsal. Week after week, we were practicing how to live God’s story of love, learning posture, humility, gratitude, and praise. Looking back now, I can see that it was also rehearsal for my calling to preach, lead, and stand before God’s people today.
Rehearsal is on my mind for another reason this weekend. Many of us are excited for Men of Motown, a joyful celebration of music that shaped generations. What we’ll experience on stage didn’t happen by accident. It came through countless hours of rehearsal: voices blending, rhythms tightening, cues learned, mistakes made and corrected. Rehearsal is where individuals become a unified song.
And then, of course, this weekend is also...
| 
