Welcome song leaders, voices of the congregation, and all who love to sing! Advent is here and so is our new menu of music for the season. Gathering song: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” Candle lighting song: “Honor the Dark” or “Walking Into Darkness” Table acclamation: Vasile Advent Table Acclamation Prayer song: Preference for “Yea, […]
“Walking into Darkness” is a song by Jacob Slichter, with words adapted from the poem “Love is a Stranger” by Sufi mystic and poet Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī as well as line from the song “What a Wonderful World,” (written by Bob Thiele and George Weiss and originally performed by Louis Armstrong). Here are the […]
“Honor the Dark” is a beautiful song in 4 parts, written and performed by Lea Morris. It’s a wonderful piece for advent and wintertime, featuring loving lyrics which embrace the warmth and power of darkness: 1. Honor the dark, honor the dark 2. Honor the darkness, honor the darkness 3. Honor the darkAs you do the lightReceive […]
Greetings Song Leaders and all who love to sing! Here is our list of songs for the fall. Gathering Song: Till the Moon is No More Candle-Lighting Song: Journey of a Thousand Miles Table Acclamation: Shelton Table Acclaimation (thanks Meave!) Regathering/Offering Song: Amen Final Hymn: Come Thou Fount Thank you for holding your community in song!
Greetings song leaders and voices of the congregation! Here is our menu of songs and hymns for Pentecost and Pride, June 2022. Gathering Song: “Come, Come, Whoever You Are” Table Acclamation: Summer Table Acclamation Prayer Songs: Build a shelter / Let it Rest or . . . Down to the River to Pray Or any […]
“Come, Come, Whoever You Are” is a beautiful setting of a Rumi poem by Unitarian Universalist pastor and poet Lynn Ungar. It can be sung in a round of up to four parts. Here’s a recording. And here are the lyrics: Come, come, whoever you are,wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving. Ours is no caravan of […]
Build a Shelter / Let it Rest is a beautiful prayer song with words by Pamela Grenfell Smith and tune by Conie Borchardt. Pamela writes, “This is a lyric about giving permission to rest from one’s own inner struggle and pain.” Here’s a recording. Note that the lyrics can change for new verses. Thus, “Build […]
Hello everyone! Here is the music we’ll be singing during Eastertide. Gathering Song: Kiev Alleluia Candle Lighting Song: Wade in the Water” Table Acclamation: Festive Table Acclamation Prayer Song: “Down to the River to Pray” Offering Song: “Duncan Alleluia” Final Hymn: April 3-18 “Now The Green Blade Riseth” (shruti on silver) April 24-May 9 “Jesus […]
“Down to the River to Pray” is a beautiful song first published in a 1867 collection of African American songs. It is classic of various American musical traditions, including African American spirituals and Appalachian music. You may recall this version by Alison Krauss from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? Here is a teaching […]
“Wade in the Water” is a powerful African American jubilee song, first sung by enslaved people in reference to the Israelites who escaped bondage in Egypt. Historians believe Harriet Tubman herself sang the song to encourage those escaping slavery to make use of rivers and streams to lose the dogs used by patrols trying to […]