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Healing & Creativity…
On June 30th this year, the gospel reading tells us a wonderful 2-fer story of healing. In the early part of the reading, we learn of the persistent and faith-filled woman who sought Jesus, believing that if she could only touch his garment she would be healed of her ailment. In the second part of the reading, a local man (Jairus) approaches Jesus also seeking healing — but in this case, his plea is on behalf of his daughter who was desperately ill.
I have loved the story of the healing of Jairus’ daughter for as long as I can remember. The original version of the poem which I set to music was written in Dutch by Willem Barnard and then translated into English by Fred Kaan.
The way in which Willem and Fred make an application of the gospel story to today’s church in the final verse is both sobering and filled with hope. It’s always hard for me to believe that the text was written over 50 years ago.
Many others have been inspired to bring new life to "The Daughter of Jairus" song through a variety of art forms.
Dorothy Farquhar, whose husband Hugh was minister at St. Paul’s United Church in Riverview, New Brunswick, choreographed it for her children’s choir.
A visual artist (whose name I do not recall) was one of the group leaders at the Naramata Centre one summer in the 1970’s. She covered a wall of the worship space with massive sheets of newsprint and, while the song was being sung, 'drew' it, sketching it in real time, complete with the resurrection of the young girl.
Gayda Errett, who led creative dance and movement at St. David’s United Church in Calgary, danced the story dozens of times as part of my concerts.
Sheelah Megill wrote and presented a deeply moving monologue based on the song hundreds of times as we travelled across Canada.
Using different artistic disciplines, Christina has choreographed it as a liturgical dance and, most recently, created a beautiful video which includes Sheelah’s vocal solo. It can be viewed here: "The Daughter of Jairus"
I have long wanted to arrange "The Daughter of Jairus" as an anthem and, as I write this, I’m nearly finished! It will be uploaded to the Musiklus website by the end of this week. No pressure. RK
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