In our Lenten read, On Repentance and Repair , Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg draws on the work of the 12th-century Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, and his 5-step process of repentance and repair: Naming and owning harm (confession) Starting to change Restitution and accepting consequences Apology Making different choices This Lent, we invite you to dive deep into empathic and compassionate recognition of harm and injury experienced in order to get a sense of the suffering and pain God is willing to be in with us. "Repentance—tshuvah—is like the Japanese art of kintsugi, repairing broken pottery with gold. You can never unbreak what you have broken. But with the sincere and deep work of transformation, acts of repair have the potential to make something new."

FANNY – THE MUSICAL Susan Jane Matthews, Director of Music This Lent, the Choir School has begun a journey to write and perform a musical about the German Romantic composer and pianist Fanny Hensel (1805-1847). Until the past few decades, Fanny Hensel’s compositions have remained in the shadow of her younger brother, Felix Mendelssohn. When Fanny suddenly died of a stroke at the age of 41, she had only been publishing her music under her own name for a year, though she composed over 450 works. She was a virtuoso pianist, but she did not perform publicly. Her music was heard by the guests at the Sunday concerts (Sonntagsmusiken) that she hosted at her Berlin home. The Choir School gathered at the home of two Choristers, Anna and Alice Malhotra, to begin research for the musical by watching a 2023 film documentary directed by Fanny’s great-great-great granddaughter, Sheila Hayman: Fanny, The Other Mendelssohn. The film both tells of Fanny’s life as a musician and traces recent sleuthing which brought her gorgeous Ostersonate (Easter Sonata) for piano to light in 2010. Choristers insightfully responded to 36 questions as they viewed the film, which includes a recording of St. Paul’s organ in the wedding scene. They began to consider broader lessons that might be drawn from Fanny’s life on vocation, the work to which a person is called by God. In coming weeks during their Wednesday rehearsal time, guided by poet and writing coach Mia Malhotra, the Choir School will draft a script and take on roles in the musical. They will be learning music Fanny highlighted in her Sunday concerts by Bach, Beethoven, Gounod, Felix Mendelssohn, and Fanny Hensel herself, and will consider how Fanny has opened the door to women musicians beyond her time. For those attending the parish retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch, I will offer a sneak preview concert of the Easter Sonata on Saturday afternoon, along with the first four movements (months) of her Das Jahr to which the sonata is linked. Make sure to save the date of 4pm Sunday, May 18 for the Choir School’s production of Fanny-The Musical! **************************** Watch Fanny, The Other Mendelssohn Read more about Fanny Hensel.