Greetings!  

As we move further into the holiday season, I’m reminded of my mom’s forever wise words.  She speaks them to me every time I’m with her. “BE happy for that is YOUR responsibility, and don’t ever let anybody take your joy.” In this time of year that we most desire to be joyful, a time when we come together as friends and family and celebrate in community, the feeling can be elusive. We can sometimes feel as if a long list of obligations and errands must be completed before any joy can arrive. But my mom would tell us “if you allow something or someone to take your joy, well, they got you...they’ve taken your strength. Remember, your joy comes from within and your joy is your strength!”  

With these words, let us take pause and move beyond any frustrations of the day and focus on our inner joy. Where is that, you may ask? Joy comes from that internal place of love, that place of acceptance as we are, that place that can stay present and embrace whatever circumstances happen to us. Joy asks for us to take the time to be quiet, to take away the internal and external distractions of the day so that we can connect to that inner calm and to our loving joy.

I sometimes see so much disconnection through our gadgets and devices that rob us from the present moment because we feel we have to “capture” the moment. In trying to capture the moment, we distance ourselves from it, instead of just being there...fully present. How many of us are with people in real life, while at the same time we are on our phones looking at people in our virtual life?  That disconnection from people who are right in front of us is a way we relinquish our joy.

Being present is a gift we can give to each other, to ourselves and to the world. If I take anything from the holidays as I grow older, it’s the opportunity and the blessing of being with someone in person without having to do anything else. We can just be in each other’s company. Joy is simpler than it seems.

May your joy abound in the present moment.

This month, we have a few festive events to ground yourself in joy.

I was very honored and happy to premiere the title track from my upcoming record a few weeks ago, so during December, “I Am Somebody” is available as a free download. I’m thrilled to share this with you. This song comes from my trip teaching children in South Africa, and watching them go from shy young people to singers with brave voices. I hope the the song uplifts, moves and inspires you as it has done for everyone who has worked behind the scenes on this project. Go to vernonbush.com to get your copy of this song.

Our Holiday Gospel Sing-a-Long is on Monday, December 10th. Come get in the holiday spirit and join us for a wonderful, magical evening of community singing, where we'll sing our gospel folk songs as well as some soulful holiday favorites. All ages and all levels are welcome!

SoVoSó is an a cappella wonder, with deep roots in the Bay Area music scene and a long history of making vocal magic. We will perform exclusively at our annual holiday concert at the Freight and Salvage located in Berkeley, CA on Monday, December 17th. It's an incredible show of pure holiday delight. Everyone of all ages are welcome.

And please join the fun on Sunday, December 30th at Sing for Your Life, twelve hours of continuous singing. This is circle singing at its finest and is open to all levels. If you’ve never done this before, I HIGHLY encourage you to attend. It’s fun and extremely healing! It’s a wonderful way to bring 2018 to a close.

Finally, if you want to bring some of that gratitude and loving spirit into your own home, I recommend that you host a Voice Church Home Celebration during this season. What’s a Voice Church Celebration? So many things. Primarily, it’s a gathering where different people from our many communities come together to experience what it is like when we all sing together. If you are interested in hosting these house concerts/celebrations, please contact us (sing@voice-church.com). Hosting is easy and a great way to bring all that good singing energy and joy into your home.

More information on all these offerings can be found on the "At a Glance Schedule" on the right.

Thanks again for your continued support in person and in thought. Until next time…

Joyfully,

Vernon Bush,
Founder
VOICE CHURCH