RESOUNDING JOY:Moment of Reflection

The other night Jane and I watched a virtual presentation by the organization known as RESOUNDING JOY. It was with great satisfaction and appreciation that we heard of the wonderful music therapy ministry this amazing organization provides. It uses music therapy to bring healing and hope to so many hurting people: military veterans, survivors of torture, children facing life threatening illnesses, lonely elderly and more. This is a very impressive list and it brought joy to me to just image all those people who find hope and peace through music therapy provided by this wonderful group. I also noticed that in all the credit references the founder and Executive Director was never mentioned. That is Barbara Reuer. I am sure this omission of any mention of her was completely with her approval-and maybe even at her insistence. Barbara is a very competent and caring individual who in the interest of the greater good always suppresses any personal ego needs. Listening to the moving testimony of so many brought my mind back some 20 years to a simple lunch at a Thai restaurant in Solana Beach. I was there at the invitation of Barbara. She shared with me how blessed she was to be one of the first in our nation to get a PhD in Music Therapy. She shared her pleasure in using music to bring healing to many, including hurting people in our Lutheran congregation. However, she also shared two frustrations. She felt there was so much more music therapy that could be done through churches and she felt that her contribution toward making that happen had been way too limited. She felt so frustrated that she wanted to make a major change in her professional life. She wondered if she could perhaps start an organization with the goal of reaching congregations across the USA and equipping them to do music therapy. Her dream, of course, had one major obstacle and she had no idea how to overcome it. She had no money and knew of no source to get start-up funding. Now she may or may not have known that I was associated with an organization which did exactly that: provide funding for charitable start-up organizations. At the time it was called Wheat Ridge Ministries now called WE RAISE FOUNDATION. Its mission statement was clear: Provide Start-up funds for organizations bringing healing and hope. 

Barbara and I wrote a proposal requesting, I think, $45,000.00. The grant was made. Barbara did the rest. Her exact plan of delivering music therapy through local congregations did not work out but the alternative which she developed which utilized music interns from around the country to do focused ministry in a local area like San Diego has been a smashing success. Every day people and organizations from all over San Diego county are being restored and given hope through Barbara’s wonderful organization with special thanks to many people and other organizations who provide their money or in-kind contributions. It is all great. And I have the quiet satisfaction that I, too, got more than just some good Thai food out of that wonderful lunch with Barbara Reuer.

Covid-19 It’s a Hoax

 I keep hearing the message:” Mel, don’t be so concerned about Covid-19. It is a hoax. Last month I went to Texas to attend a Celebration of Life for my sister-in Law Elaine. It was a simple, yet profound ceremony at my brother John’s home. There were 28 of us there; three (3) of us wore masks. The message: The virus is not so bad; in fact, it is mostly a hoax. My sister Darline skipped the “mostly”. It’s a hoax, she was convinced. She cited as an example the deaths in the home for the elderly in her hometown. “We have had more than a dozen deaths in the home,” she affirmed. “They said it was all from the Virus. I don’t believe it for a minute. Those poor old people all died of loneliness! This whole thing is a hoax!” I have a good friend from church whom I admire. He scoffs at the idea of taking all these unnecessary precautions. His argument “We are all going to die sooner or later. What is so bad about dyeing now rather than later? I am happy to take my planned trip to Minnesota or Chicago or wherever. If I die it’s because my hour has come…And as far as our church is concerned, let’s get together NOW and worship as the family we are !” We have a President (for another few weeks ) who refuses to wear a mask, who gathers crowds, who wants everything open. He himself had Covid, People around hm by the tens are unable to come to work because they have the disease. His message, “Ignore it. If you just ignore it, it will go away. Just be as smart as I am: Recognize a hoax when you see one !” On TV news this evening I heard of a woman who had lost her husband and two other members of her family. Her conviction, “I don’t know what they died of, but I am sure it was NOT Covid. That Covid stuff is just bull --!” My reaction: I believe the health experts. I hear the number of deaths from Covid in the world, our country and San Diego County. And I wear my mask. I don’t have guests in my apartment. I pray for patience and an answer to my impatient prayer, “ From this deliver us, Heavenly Father.”