Lyrical Assembly

12/15/2025

https://www.lyricalopposition.org/archive/advent-blue-christmas-service

On December 13th, Lyrical Assembly hosted its first-ever Blue Christmas Service at 298 San Bruno Ave in Brisbane, CA—a space that had been vacant for most of the year. The night marked not only the first service and event held there in a long time, but also Lyrical Assembly’s first gathering in ...

12/13/2025

📅 Saturday, December 13 at 5:00 PM
📍 298 San Bruno Ave, Brisbane, CA

This Advent season, Lyrical Assembly invites you to a Blue Christmas Service — a gentle space for those who are grieving, far from home, or carrying pain as we wait for hope and light. Together we’ll pause, light candles, and sing songs of comfort.

Songs by Luna Jenn
Led by Ashley Budelli

Footage from Lyrical Advent 2024

12/12/2025

Luna Jenn performs "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," marking the beginning of Advent 2024 with the theme of Hope. This special perfomance captures the essence of the season, inviting reflection and anticipation for the coming of Christmas.

🎶 Song: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel📅 Date: December 1, 2024🕊️ Theme: Advent: Hope

Experience the beauty of this timeless hymn through Luna Jenn's unique interpretation. Whether you're looking to deepen your spiritual journey this Advent or simply enjoy the melodies of the season, this video is the perfect companion for your December evenings.

🔔 Subscribe and join us on this Advent journey of hope, peace, joy, and love.

04/19/2025

Start your day with reflection, connection, and nature.

Join Lyrical Assembly, Lyrical Opposition today for a guided hike at Mt. Davidson, led by Ashley Budelli.

Meet us at 39 Dalewood St., SF at 10:30 AM on April 19.

04/12/2025

Lyrical Opposition artist and Program Director will be at . 🎤
____

👑 KINGDOM CULTURE 👑

⏰ April 11-12, 2025
📍 Glad Tidings Church, 1280 Webster St.

Register Now through the LINK IN BIO or comment ‘REGISTER’ and we’ll send the link to you!

03/31/2025

“Something special is returning... Save the date:
April 13th, 2025. San Francisco. More soon!
”

03/31/2025

Day 9: Examen

Jeremiah 17:7-9
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else. It is perverse -who can understand it?

Reflection
The prophet Jeremiah mirrors the first Psalm when he paints a compelling picture of all who put their trust in Yahweh. This promise of blessing assures the reader that no matter what the world might throw at us, we who lean on God shall not only survive but also thrive. Our lives will bear fruit in a parched land. What a remarkable promise. Jeremiah’s hopeful words, however, take a seemingly precipitous turn, a “yes but” of jarring proportions:” The heart is devious above all else…” The season of Lent mirrors to us our abject need for deliverance, and discernment for how to live Christlike.

Spiritual Practice: Examen
The practice of examen (also known as the “examination of is a way to consciousness”) can help provide direction for believers. The examen is useful to incorporate reflecting alone and learning to hear Creator in daily life.

Two Questions to consider.
1. When did I give and receive the most love today? When did I give and receive the least love today?
2. What was the most life-giving part of my day? What was the most life-thwarting part of my day?

Prayer
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:6-12

03/30/2025

Day 8: Silence is Golden

Psalm 23:2-5
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Reflection
One of the temptations that the current moment brings is to withdraw and fall silent. It is not the kind of withdrawal that Jesus calls us to - a retreat from the bustle that leads to prayer and renewal. Rather, it is a retreat driven by despair that leads to self-preservation and numbness. Some forms of silence can be “golden” as the old expression goes. But there is another form of silence, shrouded in darkness, that wastes away our bones. It is the darkness of tombs of our own making that leaves us impotent to walk with Jesus in a world in need of hope.The beauty of silence invites us to quiet our minds and be in the present with Creator. Instead of praying, to speak, pray to listen. Silence can be practiced to empower to create the change that needs to happen.

Spiritual Practice: Silence
Set a period (5 mins minimum) in which you don’t speak and isolate yourself from sounds, possibly in nature. Notice what you are thinking. Notice what you are feeling.What revelation is Creator sharing with you?

Prayer
Second Lazarus
by Madeleine L’Engle

O come, dear Lord, unbind: like Lazarus, I
Lie wrapped in stifling grave clothes of self-will.
Come give me life that I to death may die.
I stink: the grave of sin is worm-filled still
Despite our turning from its rottenness,
Unwilling to admit that we are bound,
Too proud to mention our begottenness.
Come, open sin’s sarcophagus. I’m wound
In selfishness, self-satisfaction, pride,
Fear of change, demands of love, greed,
Self-hate, sweet sins that come in fair disguise.
Help me accept this death and open wide the tight-closed tomb. If pain comes as we’re freed,
your daylight must have first hurt Lazarus’s eyes.

03/29/2025

Day 7: The Upside-Down Kingdom

Scripture: “Blessed are the ones who walk humbly, who grieve, who hunger for what is right.” (Matthew 5:3-6, FNT)

Reflection:
Jesus’ Kingdom lifts the poor, heals the brokenhearted, and invites outcasts to the table. Lent reminds us that God’s power is made perfect in weakness.

Spiritual Practice: Generosity
Give something away today—money, time, or encouragement. Ask, “How can I embody the generosity of the Kingdom?”

Prayer:
Great Spirit, shape my heart to reflect Your kingdom—where love reigns, where the last are first, and where justice flows like a mighty river. Soften the places in me that resist Your ways and break the chains that bind me to the Empire’s false promises. Teach me to walk in humility, to serve with joy, and love without condition. May my life be a living testimony of Your reign, and may my every word and action reflect the beauty of Your Shalom. Strengthen my hands to build what is broken, open my heart to the cries of the oppressed, and steady my feet to walk in Your good road. Amen.

03/27/2025

7 Last Poems!

Experience a night of music & spoken word. Inspired by Lent & Holy Week, featuring powerful poets & live music.

🗓️ April 13 | , SF
⏰ Doors 4 PM | Show 5 PM
🎶 &

FREE event-don’t miss it! Tag a friend & spread the word!

03/27/2025

An Workshop Retreat. Co-sponsored with and 

How did Jesus respond to political power and social injustice? What were his reactions to violence and oppression? And how are we called to respond to our own current political and social moment? In Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace During Holy Week (Herald Press, 2002), Jason Porterfield guides his readers on a gripping biblical journey through the final week of Jesus’ life, demonstrating how Christ consistently and creatively found ways of fostering peace despite violence, mistreatment and oppression. Join New Testament scholar Dr. Michael Barram for group bible study, followed by a response from local pastors and poets, for an eye-opening and hope-filled time of fellowship and breaking of bread.

Co-sponsored with Lyrical Opposition and Kairos San Francisco

About the Presenters
Michael Barram, PhD is a professor in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California. In addition, he is a member of and regularly teaches at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. As a biblical scholar, Barram’s work focuses on the formative function of biblical texts for moral and economic reasoning—and on the emerging subfield of biblical interpretation known as missional hermeneutics.

Rev. Matthew Tejuco serves as Program Director of Lyrical Opposition, a local faith-rooted arts organization that provides opportunities for young musicians, poets and spoken word artists to advocate for justice through their craft. Ordained as a pastor, Matthew served for many years at a large multiethnic congregation in San Francisco’s Outer Mission. He currently serves as a development manager for Rise Preparatory School in the Bayview district.

Other Details
Free parking is available. Optional lunch afterwards.

LOCATION
San Francisco Christian Center, 94112