What happens when you put an ancient wisdom text in conversation with a modern country song? 

The Book of Ecclesiastes begins with a poem describing how there is “nothing new under the sun.” According to the narrator, Qohelet, in a world where everything repeats and yet nothing endures, there is no ultimate meaning to life. In her song “One Little Song,” folk singer-songwriter Gillian Welch acknowledges that this might be true, and adds a wistful note: “there’s gotta be a song left to sing, everybody can’t have thought of everything.” Both Welch and Qohelet propose answers to this dilemma, and what they suggest might surprise you. 

Join us for a service of poetry and song, and a celebration of the human impulse towards creativity and pleasure in the face of existential angst. 

Casey Stainsby (she/her) is an aspirant for Unitarian Universalist ministry, studying part-time at the Vancouver School of Theology. She also serves the Canadian Unitarian Council as the Youth and Young Adult Program Manager. Casey recently moved back to Vancouver, where she grew up, after having lived in both Montreal and Victoria. She is passionate about building intergenerational communities that can see us through the apocalypse. 

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