“…the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment — what to say and what to speak.” John 12:49
The History of New Lectio Divina
By God’s Grace I have enjoyed decades of a career focused on the speaking voice and the spoken word.
“The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary a word
that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens
my ear that I may hear….”
While acting professionally, I have served as the voice coach for 100s of professional and academic theatrical productions across the country.
In 1994 I met Andrew Wade, former Head of Voice at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Spending a 1997 sabbatical in Stratford-upon-Avon, I learned actor-training practices which foster a “close speaking,” resulting from a “close listening.” These methods make 2-dimensional, flat text on a page into topography with mountains and valleys. As a Va. Tech student enthused after a workshop with Wade, “You made that speech a pop-up book!” Andrew Wade’s words attest to the power of language:
“Today trust in language is fragile.
Perhaps ‘Prayer’ for many people is
the most sacred and direct understanding
of the power of language. Kate Burke’s
own life journey and experience, coupled
with her considerable skills as a Voice
Teacher put her uniquely placed to lead
this work. She has passion and compassion
for language…”
—Andrew Wade, former Head of Voice, Royal Shakespeare
Company, 1990-2003.
Words are heard, understood and felt because they have been proclaimed. All people proclaim the truth of their vocations, whether they be clergy, professionals or craftspeople.
I have fostered the art of proclamation by giving thousands of private lessons to actors, clergy, sales professionals, individuals with clinical disorders, and over 20 commentators with the Charlottesville, Virginia NBC affiliate, Channel 29.
Harold Wright of NBC29 recommended me to John Chandler of the VA Baptist Mission Board, who asked me to provide 2 intensive, day-long workshops to a small group of Baptist clergy. The focus was voice, text, and podium skills. For the first time I conducted a text immersion session using Royal Shakespeare Company techniques. The result was heartfelt and holy proclamation, deep Christian fellowship, and a strong bond of belief, confirmed by Rev. Chandler’s testimonial:
“I have watched Kate Burke lead groups in
a masterful and even holy manner. Her
comprehensive mastery of her field and her
own spirit impart a kind of calm to
participants. I am deeply impressed with how
she enables even frequent readers of the
Bible to experience the presence of God in
the Scriptures in fresh and deep ways. I commend
her without reservation to help people engage
with the God of the Bible.”
—The Reverend Dr. John P. Chandler, Ph.D., Virginia Baptist Mission Board
Rev. Bruce Hunter, another workshop attendee asked me “to do with my congregation what you did with us today.” I wasn’t ready at that point, but after a 5-month sabbatical and intensive work on dramatic text with groups in 8 countries, I hungered for more text immersion experiences.
While viewing a Bible Study DVD I had a revelation. The featured speaker, Beth Moore, chose small segments of Scripture, illuminating them until they hit home. I recognized that God has given me a different gift – the ability to facilitate the proclamation of whole passages of Scripture, making them jump off the page immediate and new. God has called me to use my knowledge of Shakespeare and my deep response to language, not to enhance the actor’s message to an audience, but the believer’s message to God’s ear.
I approached Bev Wispelwey, Board Member of Theological Horizons, centered at the Bonhoeffer House in Charlottesville. Together we orchestrated my first session: “From Your Mouth to God’s Ear: Speaking Scripture from the Heart.” One attendee sent in her response to the invitation, saying “I’m not sure what the experience will be Friday, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Another participant said this:
“Kate Burke’s workshop on dealing with
a text knocked me over. I tried to
anticipate what she would do. How
wimpy was my expectation! Who knew
that we would be marching around,
calling out, using our whole selves
“just” to read a text. And for all
these years I thought that you read
a text with tongue, teeth, throat,
lungs, and air. Kate changed that!…
I was happy to submit to whatever she
thought would be good for us. Wow,
did she deliver!”
Asked what the reading seemed like before we started work on it, Karen Marsh, Head of the Theological Horizons Foundation, answered “A wall.” Scripture and Shakespeare are such revered texts, so rich with meaning and so dense with resonance, readers can hesitate to plunge.. A process for “entering” and connecting to the text can draw a reader/speaker in more quickly and deeply.
The following participant, no stranger to “entering” Scripture, wrote this description:
“I felt myself strangely and
wonderfully stirred as I was
reading Scripture after Friday’s
experience with you…When I reflect
on the Lections in preparing a
sermon I often do something very
similar to what you had us do. But
now the experience is far richer and
sometimes even physically moving as
my body, mind and spirit all respond
to the words…You have given me the
impetus to speak the words aloud, to
experience the sounds, silences,
cadences unnoticed in silent reading.
Thank you for your wonderful gift
to me.”
—Rev. Claire Wolterstorff, Episcopal Priest
Dedications
Profound gratitude to my generous parents John and Katherine for their faith formation and the gift of an excellent education.
To Margaret McQuaid Provost, the embodiment of God being the most infallible sign of the presence of God.
To Pat Carroll and Bettye Kissell, my first teachers.
To Fred Syburg whose wisdom stays with me decades later.
To Greg Bostwick and Virginia Hahne who awakened my ears and my mouth.
To Arthur Lessac who taught me the properties and possibilities of American English.
To Andrew Wade who showed me how to respond to words.
To Bev Wispelwey and Karen Marsh who supported my vision and hosted my first (and subsequent) sessions.
And to my husband Jim who worships with me.