December 2020 Newsletter
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D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 2 0 I S S U E 2 THE VIGIL PROJECT The Vigil Project Newsletter WELCOME I N T H I S I S S U E by The Vigil Project WELCOME Welcome to the second edition of The Vigil Project Newsletter! We are so glad you are here and we MORE THAN A BAND appreciate all the wonderful feedback we have received since launching our first newsletter last BETHLEHEM, A CITY month. If you are new here, thank you for being here and [TVP] HAPPENINGS being part of our Vigil family! We pray that this space inspires you, informs you of exciting BABY ERSKINE initiatives, and offers a place of community for you. MONTHLY MUSIC PLAYLIST There’s lots to cover in this newsletter including a new album, Giving Tuesday, new partnerships, a tiny addition to the Vigil family and more. So FEATURED ARTIST without further ado, let’s jump in! WHAT SAY YOU? ON THE ROAD D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 I S S U E 2 MORE THAN A BAND by Andrea Thomas We've been joking internally for the last couple of years, that More Than a Band should actually be our mission tagline. Last month, I had the delight of sharing with you a family recipe that's been with my family for years. What makes that bread special (aside from the perfection of the crust), is the story behind it. That bread is meaningful because of where it came from, and I am reminded of the generations who came before me every single time I make it. In a similar way (without the tasty carbs, of course, but we can work on that), there is so much meaning behind this mission because of the journey we’ve been on and the path God has hedged. He truly writes the best stories. So let me take you back five years. I didn't know any of the people I now consider not only my tePaHmOmT Oa tBeYs ,M AbRuTt I Ns oRm. SeM IoTfH my dearest friends. Our story starts with a "what if" question (a beautifully dangerous one to ask, I might add). All of us were working in various music endeavors at the time, all as individual artists. Lizzy and I were connected through mutual friends, and since I can safely say it's harder to make real friends when you're an adult, we decided to trust our mutual friends and grab coffee. Well, I'll remember that coffee forever. Because that day, I met a woman for coffee...this girl Lizzy Boudreaux...who traveled a bunch with her fellow-musician and husband, Greg. We started chatting as girls do, and I suddenly started hearing a similar ideology about music and beauty in the Catholic Church. We realized in that 90 minutes that just maybe we should collaborate on something sometime. This was in the Fall of 2015, and the spark of inspiration (otherwise known as the Holy Spirit) came and begged the question: "What if we got together and wrote new Catholic songs for the seasons of Lent and Easter, live-recorded them, captured beautiful video, and released them one by one for the Church to pray with?" Well, my friends....as they say, the rest is history. Greg got to work pulling together our team. The musicians were gathered (I finally met this guy, John Finch, I had heard so much about), Dan Johnson & 4PM Media got on board to do the videography, Shawn Williams & Papercastle Records signed on to do the audio engineering/music producing, and we were off to the races. “Ignorance on fire” is the best way to describe it. Five weeks later we had fresh songs written and were recording in the same room. It was a whirlwind experience I'll never forget. C O N T I N U E D O N N E X T P A G E > > D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 I S S U E 2 The image in my heart that I have for this ministry is the horse, Secretariat. That horse was made to run. Once he left the gate, there was excitement watching him leave it all on the track and do what he was made to do! It was inspiring! (The movie Secretariat is worth a watch, if you've never seen it). I hardly recognize the people who came together that February to record that first album. And no, I'm not just referring to John's constantly changing hair styles. God has done so much in us, and we are simply left without words. I believe with all of my heart BECOME A that God has been preparing each of us for a time such as this one to do this needed work in the PATRON Church; to elevate beauty as it ought to be elevated! And to empower those who desire to also hold it high. This work we are doing has We are on a mission to eternal ramifications, and we take it that restore our heritage of seriously. beauty through music, and we need your help! And so...in the afterglow of Thanksgiving and at the outset of Advent, we find ourselves both reflecting with gratitude on so much the Lord has Please consider partnering done/given AND still waiting with joyful hope for with us in prayer and many things inside our mission to come to giving financially so that fruition. Practically speaking, we simply cannot do this alone, and we know that. We discerned together we can help three years ago to become a nonprofit, and that change the world through has been a tremendous blessing! Through the beauty. nonprofit status we now have, we are truly able to be more than a band. We are on a mission to restore our heritage of beauty through music. We C L I C K H E R E T O would love to humbly ask you to consider L E A R N M O R E partnering with us in prayer and giving financially so that together we can help change the world through beauty. D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 I S S U E 2 BETHLEHEM, A CITY This reflection was written by our featured artist, Aimee They have called me the House of Bread, and built me atop a MacIver. It is taken from her reservoir so abundant it could provide fresh water to all of booklet of reflections titled Israel. “Today In the City,” which is currently featured in our Today, I have never been so full. Footsteps beat upon my online Advent & Christmas prayer journey. You can narrow streets, and travelers crowd my buildings. The people purchase the booklet in are strangers from many far places, but they come here hardcopy here, or participate because I am the city of their shared ancestors. Only a few in the free prayer journey by ponder the wonder of it: a city filled with men who are all signing up here. different and all the same. Two things at once. They come because they must, because they have been instructed to do so by someone they fear. They do not come because I am beautiful and fertile, or to spend rich moments with their loved ones, or to embrace strangers who are really brothers, or to worship together the god they all claim. They hardly break to rest and gather refreshment. They come only because they do not want to be punished by a distant ruler far away in his palace, a king whose face they have never seen. I have seen it repeated through time as old as my walls: the people will make themselves very busy to push away their fear. They will walk very far to outpace it. They will do work that gives no life to their hearts just to quell their anxiety with activity. They will hide in compliant anonymity because they believe it is safer than being known by name. D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 I S S U E 2 The enrollment demands much from these travelers. They have crossed land that has many dangers and few comforts. They carry so much with them, everything they believe they require for sustenance and defense, upon their backs and their shoulders and their animals. They are dusty, weary. When they come through the city gates, they break from the labor, but they are not happy. They are only relieved. Joy and relief are both rungs of the ladder out of fear and fatigue, but the people seem to stop at relief far more often than they climb onward to joy. I could give them much more than what they choose to receive. I am the city of bread to nourish and strengthen them. I am a city of fresh water to clean away the dust and fill their cups and refresh their hearts. I am a city with strong walls that set them free to rest. I am a city of life! I am the city of David, the shepherd who became the king! But they are so tired, so focused only on how I can satisfy their duty, and they do not see my beauty and myP HgOifTtO. B Y M A R T I N R . S M I T H The night sky fans out deep and wide, a bright star swelling above.