We’ve stood on a lot of different stages over the last couple years, though they’re almost never ours. We tend to borrow them from our friends. The crowds gather and stand and wait for the songs. The band sends us instead. It’s a surprising privilege, scary at times. Usually, it’s just a couple minutes, just long enough to to mention hope, to say you’re not alone. It’s an honor to take the stage before the songs, because we believe in the songs – we believe in the things our friends have to say, the music that they’re making. And maybe it’s an honor all the more because the borrowing suggests that a band believes in us as well, that maybe we have something to say.
We’ve borrowed from Anberlin, Switchfoot, Bayside, The Almost, The Rocket Summer, and Copeland. Maybe you first found us at one of those shows, as the stranger on stage or the table in the back… We’ve heard that from a lot of people. We love those nights. We love being in the room with the music and the people and the sense of now and urgency.
The stage thing first happened three Cornerstones ago. July 2006 to be exact. i introduced Bradley Hathaway, Copeland and one other band that year. i’d met those guys before, Bradley at a birthday party in Orlando, Aaron on a long walk in Lakeland. The third band was the Myriad and i’d never met them prior to Cornerstone. i kept running into Jonathan from the band and we became fast friends. They played twice that year and i think i actually introduced them both times. i remember Jon playing in our green Title shirt, but with this long white scarf as well. It shouldn’t have worked but it totally did, as the band is completely unique and something like a theater show. They are truly great live.
We’ve run into The Myriad guys here and there since then, at festivals and shows along the way. They were with us for the start of the Switchfoot tour earlier this year, always warm and kind and smiles. They work hard, tour constantly. They travel by van to keep the costs low, so that there’s something to send back to loved ones on the west coast. The old songs were good and the new songs are even better. The live show is even stronger, which is saying a lot. We root for them.
And i’ve never forgotten their generosity back when all of this began, basically: “The show can wait. You have something to say. Go tell them.”
Well, we have something like a stage now. The numbers suggest a stadium. You helped build it, you lit the lights. This place is unique and so we all play all the parts. We are the builders, the sold-out crowd, the workers and just as much the talent. i’m writing tonight to return the favor to The Myriad, because there is a need among them.
Their drummer Randy Miller is fighting cancer. With him in this fight are his wife Kristyn and his children Connor and Gillian. There are immediate and on-going financial needs. Please read the initial band’s blog HERE. There is also an update HERE. Here’s how you can help:
A fund has been set up through The Stirring, a non-profit organization in Redding, CA. There are a few different ways you can send donations to the family. One is online at www.thestirring.org Located at the bottom right of the main page, you will see “ONLINE GIVING”. If you click on this link you will be directed to a secure page where you can set up an online giving account. Once the account is set up, you will see the “RANDY MILLER FUND” and be able to send secure donations to the family through this organization. Donations can also be sent in the form of a check to:
The Stirring
RE: Randy Miller
3468 Bechelli Lane Suite E
Redding, CA 96002
i’ve heard this community called “an army of grace”. i’ve been talking to Zach Williams this week and he keeps telling me that he’s blown away by the kindness and support of the TWLOHA community. Well, this is simply an invitation to meet a need. Maybe you’ve heard of the band, maybe you haven’t – it’s not really about that. Randy is a husband and a father and a friend. He is young and so we are hopeful that there is a lot of life left for him. We believe here that life is worth fighting for.
Beyond Randy’s need, i want to speak to the bigger picture as this is the first time we’ve ever mentioned cancer here. We know that like the issues we focus on, cancer is something that affects millions of people. It is a disease that presents enormous challenges and pain and questions for so many families. Many of you know this first-hand. Perhaps you’ve watched a loved one fight. We celebrate with those of you that have witnessed victory. We mourn with those of you that know what it’s like to lose someone to cancer.
Perhaps more than anything, we meet each other in the questions. We say that the questions matter, and we fight to find the answers. We hope together. We do the homework and try to find the best help possible. We meet the needs we can, because people need other people, because we’re all a people in need.
Randy, we’re with you and you’re in our prayers. You’re not alone.
Peace to you tonight.
jamie