Sunday, November 29, 2026 | 2:00–4:00 p.m. Location: St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 2680 Country Club Drive, Borrego Springs, CA 92004 Shape Note singing returned to Borrego Springs for the second time, building on the enthusiasm from last year’s gathering at the Borrego Springs Library. This year, community members gathered at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, where the acoustics allowed the music to resonate throughout the space. Organized by Jeanne Plekon, the event opened with an introduction to Shape Note singing, covering its history, structure, and the way shaped notes (Fa, Sol, La, Mi) guide participants. Following the introduction, members of the San Diego Fasola Singers led the singing and welcomed community members to participate. Shape Note, also known as Sacred Harp, is a participatory a cappella tradition in which singers stand around a hollow square, with each side representing a different vocal part. No musical training is required, and newcomers are encouraged to join in. The result was a resonant, joyful sound that filled the church and created a memorable experience for returning singers and first-time participants alike. The gathering offered Borrego Springs another opportunity to experience this historic American musical tradition and connect with others through music in a welcoming community setting.
I am hardly an expert in game theory, but its basic idea intrigues me: our choices affect others, their choices affect us, and together those interactions help shape what happens next. Looking back, I think I began learning that as a child. My father pastored small churches and often worked other jobs to support our family. When I was in second grade, we lived in Hotchkiss, Colorado. The church was a charming log building, and the rectory was a large old house that had once been a funeral parlor. My three brothers and I were convinced it was haunted. Behind that house was my kingdom. With dirt, sticks, rocks, bottle caps, and imagination, I built forts, nations, armies, and navies. Naturally, I was G.I. Joe. My mother wasn't thrilled. She worried someone might see the preacher's son playing in the dirt with discarded beer-bottle caps and wonder about us. Mother had definite ideas about proper behavior. But something was happening in that dirt. I was learning that one action leads to another. Choices have consequences. People respond to one another. And perhaps that is true of our spiritual lives as well. None of us are formed alone. Parents, friends, teachers, strangers, churches, disappointments, kindnesses, and acts of grace all leave something behind in us. We affect one another, and in the process, we become different people. The Christian life is not a zero-sum game where I must lose for you to win. Grace works differently. Compassion can create more compassion. Generosity can awaken generosity. One person's hope can become another person's reason not to give up. Perhaps that is part of the beauty of the Church at its best. We encourage, disappoint, forgive, challenge, and love one another. And somewhere within that complicated give-and-take, God is at work. Maybe I began learning that long ago, moving bottle caps through the Colorado dirt. The games get more complicated. The lesson remains simple: we help shape one another. As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 21:17 Blessings for Advent, Father Dave
Sunday, November 29, 2026 | 2:00–4:00 p.m. Location: St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 2680 Country Club Drive, Borrego Springs, CA 92004 Shape Note singing returned to Borrego Springs for the second time, building on the enthusiasm from last year’s gathering at the Borrego Springs Library. This year, community members gathered at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, where the acoustics allowed the music to resonate throughout the space. Organized by Jeanne Plekon, the event opened with an introduction to Shape Note singing, covering its history, structure, and the way shaped notes (Fa, Sol, La, Mi) guide participants. Following the introduction, members of the San Diego Fasola Singers led the singing and welcomed community members to participate. Shape Note, also known as Sacred Harp, is a participatory a cappella tradition in which singers stand around a hollow square, with each side representing a different vocal part. No musical training is required, and newcomers are encouraged to join in. The result was a resonant, joyful sound that filled the church and created a memorable experience for returning singers and first-time participants alike. The gathering offered Borrego Springs another opportunity to experience this historic American musical tradition and connect with others through music in a welcoming community setting.
I am hardly an expert in game theory, but its basic idea intrigues me: our choices affect others, their choices affect us, and together those interactions help shape what happens next. Looking back, I think I began learning that as a child. My father pastored small churches and often worked other jobs to support our family. When I was in second grade, we lived in Hotchkiss, Colorado. The church was a charming log building, and the rectory was a large old house that had once been a funeral parlor. My three brothers and I were convinced it was haunted. Behind that house was my kingdom. With dirt, sticks, rocks, bottle caps, and imagination, I built forts, nations, armies, and navies. Naturally, I was G.I. Joe. My mother wasn't thrilled. She worried someone might see the preacher's son playing in the dirt with discarded beer-bottle caps and wonder about us. Mother had definite ideas about proper behavior. But something was happening in that dirt. I was learning that one action leads to another. Choices have consequences. People respond to one another. And perhaps that is true of our spiritual lives as well. None of us are formed alone. Parents, friends, teachers, strangers, churches, disappointments, kindnesses, and acts of grace all leave something behind in us. We affect one another, and in the process, we become different people. The Christian life is not a zero-sum game where I must lose for you to win. Grace works differently. Compassion can create more compassion. Generosity can awaken generosity. One person's hope can become another person's reason not to give up. Perhaps that is part of the beauty of the Church at its best. We encourage, disappoint, forgive, challenge, and love one another. And somewhere within that complicated give-and-take, God is at work. Maybe I began learning that long ago, moving bottle caps through the Colorado dirt. The games get more complicated. The lesson remains simple: we help shape one another. As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 21:17 Blessings for Advent, Father Dave
