Vamping
“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life, bringing peace, abolishing strife.”―Kahlil Gibran.
Once a week, I played harp duets with a highly talented harpist who tolerated my missed or absent notes and tried to teach an old harpist new tricks and fingering. One year, Pam also taught me an unfamiliar word: vamping. She said, “I will vamp you in.” She plays a brief series of chords before I start my part of the piece. I definitely like the word. Vamping. It means we play a simple chord or beat, usually as we wait for someone else to start—and then perhaps keep quietly playing the background chords as the other player takes the melody.
I think this best describes a meeting with a spiritual friend. I may ask a simple question, such as, “Where did you see God in your life today?” I may then repeat the question when the subject seems to change. Often, I keep saying prayers that the Holy Spirit will guide us. These prayers are my chords.
Vamping also describes the ministry as a deacon. Deacons see needs in the world and then tell others in their congregation. We then support and lead others into that ministry, as they become passionate about it as well.
Our job is to stay connected to the beat as we listen for the rhythm and melody of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us and those we work with. We remain in the background and support and undergird the person we are with. We keep the beat going, listening and praying to hear and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, guiding and directing both of us.
