Dancing in church

BY JONATHAN RILEY

Digby Courier

NovaNewsNow.com

The congregation of Digby’s Grace United Church will see an old Christmas story in a new light this Sunday.

Ivy Verhoeckx will interpret the Magnificat in dance during the church’s seasonal carol service on Sunday, Dec. 17.

The Magnificat or Song of Mary is part of the emotional and spiritual greeting shared by Mary and her cousin Elizabeth.

Verhoeckx’s dance portrays the blessings and prayers of the two miraculously pregnant women. While Verhoeckx dances, a reader will speak the words of Luke’s gospel story and Rev. Wayne Smith will play the Coventry Carol on piano.

Verhoeckx says while she is dancing she is attempting to pull the words and the music together from her inner core.

“It’s a different way of communicating the story to people,� she says. “We don’t always communicate verbally. For some people the dance can be as powerful as the words and for others it is just the icing on the cake.�

Smith says he was looking for someone else to help him tell the story.

“I knew I couldn’t adequately tell this story as a male. I couldn’t fully express the emotional ethos of two pregnant women.�

He says when he approached Verhoeckx with the idea, she surprised him by saying “Yes� right away.

“It just happens,� she says, “that I am on a personal journey and part of that is going back to what I know and finding a way to express myself that isn’t verbal.�

Smith says the dance/ story combo is a win-win for the congregation.

“Those who know and love the old story, still get to hear it, and those who are looking for something new, get to visualize the story differently and maybe reconnect with the emotion of the story in a different way.

“This is like our version of a multi-media presentation. We are always evolving and looking for new ways to communicate. It’s a work in progress.�

jriley@digbycourier.ca



THE MAGNIFICAT FOR DUMMIES

The Angel Gabriel had instructed Mary, soon to be the mother of Jesus, to visit her cousin for guidance. Elizabeth, old and supposedly no longer able to bear children, was also miraculously pregnant.

The meeting of the two relatives is both emotional and spiritual.

Elizabeth’s baby jumped in her womb at Mary’s greeting. Elizabeth then blesses Mary: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the baby in your womb.�

Elizabeth wonders why she should be honoured with a visit from the mother of God and adds to her blessing:

“Blessed is she who believes in the Lord’s promises.�

Which in turn inspires Mary’s joyous prayer, known as the Magnificat or Song of Mary.

It is called the Magnificat because that is the first word of the prayer in Latin. It means ‘magnifies’ or ‘glorifies’, as in “My soul glorifies the Lord.’

The Magnificat praises God for the honour bestowed on Mary and for kindnesses to His people.

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth can be interpreted as proof of her faith in the message of Gabriel.

The visit is often held up as an example of mentorship – the old mother steadying and reassuring the younger one.