Where Sound Meets Silence

A Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

with Peter Johns and Zach Montasser

Thursdays | 10:30am | The Great Room, The Anchor House

Have you ever found your keys in the very place you’d already searched—again and again—only to realize your eyes had been told not to see?

Scripture can be like that. Words once alive with wonder can become so familiar that we no longer expect them to surprise us.

Lectio Divina offers a way to listen again—to return to sacred text with the openness of first hearing

Green Leaves for Later Years

What to Expect:

Each week, Peter and Zach guide a gentle rhythm of silence, Scripture, and improvised music for violin and piano. Within this quiet, gentle space, we reflect on the passage appointed for Sunday’s worship, trusting the Spirit to speak anew through word and sound alike.

We gather for about thirty minutes of prayer. Stillness, and reflection Those unable to attend in person are warmly invited to join online as the reflection is streamed live.

We will meet on the following Thursdays: January 8, 15, 22 & 29, April 9, 16, 22 & 29, and May 7, 14, 21 & 28 

Come and rest where sound meets silence, and the Word speaks in the hush between notes.

Where Sound Meets Silence Course Schedule

January

08jan10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

15jan10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

22jan10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

29jan10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

April

09apr10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

16apr10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

23apr10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

30apr10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

May

07may10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

14may10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

21may10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

28may10:30 am11:00 amWhere Sound Meets SilenceA Weekly Gathering for Sacred Listening

Rachel Sciretti Headshot

Meet Peter Johns

PETER JOHNS grew up in Norwich, England and has been involved in music from a young age. He graduated in 1993 with a Creative Arts degree in Music Composition and Performance, having also earned a minor in Contemporary Theater, from Nottingham Trent University in England. While there, he was the first music student awarded a scholarship to study Composition and Orchestration Vysoká škola múzických umení in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Peter moved from the U.K. to Texas in 1994 to work with the United Methodist Church in Lubbock. There he composed two major choral works and collaborated with the Contemporary Music Ensemble at Texas Tech University. He has been on staff at Chapelwood United Methodist Church since 2001 where he is the Music Director for the Contemplative Worship Service. His major works include two cantatas, two children’s musicals, a Tenebrae, and a requiem mass that was performed in 2009 at Rice University, Houston, and at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Waco in 2012, 2015, and 2024.

Last fall he released his second album of Contemplative Worship Songs that were all composed for use at The Center for Christian Spirituality at Chapelwood: Everything Belongs – Songs from the Center Volume 2. When not working, Peter can usually be found cooking something elaborate in the kitchen or hunched over an obscure German board game.

Rachel Sciretti Headshot

Meet Zach Montasser

Zachary has enjoyed a varied and fruitful career, exploring many musical styles and venues. He is an avid chamber musician, and performs in more traditional classical programming with organizations like Opera in the Heights, Theater under the Stars, and The Symphony of Southeast Texas. Zachary’s musical journey has taken him all over the world, from Chicago to Beijing, to Mexico City and Houston and New Orleans and Germany, etc. Currently, Zachary is pioneering a musical appreciation course called “Musicology LIVE!,” which endeavors to break down accessibility barriers to classical music through impassioned performance lectures. Check out more at www.musicwithz.com.