Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey shared a prophetic message in the pulpit and on the keyboard during the North Central Jurisdictional Conference.

The 2016 Episcopal Address moved from pulpit to piano as Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey addressed the chaos and fears experienced by individuals and the church in this day. During the times of disquiet permeating life, “I seek something deeper,” she said. While a lover of words, Kiesey admitted that “I need something more visceral in these uncertain times.”

Because she “hears Jesus’ words in a new way” through music, the bishop offered her audience some guidance on listening to what was to come. “Listen in light of what our church is going through,” she began then described a miracle revealed through music: “You can have two separate notes that occupy the same space, very different but you don’t lose their uniqueness,” she said. “And together they make us richer as one enhances the other.”

Saying, “Maybe music can touch those invisible parts of our hearts and souls and teach us what God hopes for the world to be,” Bishop Kiesey prepared those in the hall to appreciate the piece she would soon play, the second movement of Beethoven’s Sonata #7 in D major. “The piece begins with struggle, frustration and fear, something we all know too well,” she said. Then in benediction she concluded the Words-portion  of her message with: “Then part way through you begin to hear a quiet beat with the left hand … As you listen may you hear your story in this music. May you believe that the God who brought you this far will continue to hold you. May you find hope and peace.”

Find the text of the message here.

https://vimeo.com/174727174

Last Updated on July 18, 2016