June 19th, 2013
Hello, Song Leaders! Here are some tips to help you prepare for song leading at a service.
If you are a first time trainee, listen to and learn one or two of the songs for the current season. (We recommend you wait until you’ve led a few songs during service before taking on the acclamations. Though the acclamations sound simple, they are slightly more demanding than the songs because of the back and forth with the presider.)
Pick a song that feels relatively easy to sing. That will allow you to focus on learning how to teach the song. The recordings of the songs often include specific teaching suggestions, and your rehearsal leader will help you with this during rehearsal.
As a trainee, you will be paired with a more experienced Song Leader, someone who can step in if you feel like you’d like a little more practice. That means you can relax and enjoy the process of learning the songs without feeling rushed.
If you are a trainee who has already led songs in a service and you are ready for more, listen to the acclamations (and if you want, see the acclamation preparation tips below).
If you are a veteran Song Leader, review the list of song options for each slot in the service so that you are familiar with the material. It always helps to brush up on the current season’s acclamation, too. (The previous season’s acclamation setting may still be in your ear, so listening to the current acclamation will help you absorb the new setting.)
If you are learning the acclamations . . .
You might practice starting everyone off on a drone, using a big gesture of invitation that will be visible to those on the far side of the room.
You might also read through the script and familiarize yourself with the lines that come right before your singing. The acclamations are a communal prayer, and the more seamless the transition from presider to song leader/congregation, the more everyone has a sense of praying together.
The lines are in a script, so you won’t have to memorize the acclamations, but a little familiarity with the cues always helps.
–Jacob Slichter
Find more Resources for Song Leaders and Song-leader trainees here!
June 19th, 2013
Squeezebox is a place for our Song Leaders, as well as congregants, to learn the songs we sing at St. Lydia’s.
Dear Song Leaders and Song-Leader trainees,
Thank you for taking on this important leadership role. Making music and singing together at Saint Lydia’s is one of the enjoyable and yet powerful ways we become a community when we gather. As Song Leaders, you help us rediscover what it means to be a community every time we sing.
Here are some links to various pages, resources to help you as you prepare and, if you are so inclined, to deepen your understanding and satisfy your curiosity.
Resources for Song-Leader Trainees
An Overview of the Service Music
Tips for Preparation (useful also for veteran Song Leaders who want to brush up)
For the curious and those who want to go deeper into the practice of song leading
What Song Leaders work on in rehearsal
The Spiritual Practice of Song Leading at Saint Lydia’s
Songs for Saint Lydia’s — How We Choose Our Repertoire
Song Leader Frequently Asked Questions
Enjoy these at your own pace and as your interests guide you. Remember that your biggest resource is always the growing community of Song Leaders and Rehearsal Leaders. We support each other and learn together.
Thanks again, and enjoy the wonderful world of Lydian song leading!
–Jacob Slichter
June 14th, 2013
Hello, Song Leaders! Here’s an overview of the music we sing at our services. This is especially useful if you are new to song leading.
The music of our regular dinner-church services falls into two categories—
Songs and Hymns, which we sing together as one group,
Acclamations, the moments when the song-leader cues the sung congregational responses to the presider.
A regular dinner-church service has four song slots:
A gathering song: what we sing at the very beginning of the service.
A lamp-lighting song: what we sing as we process into the dining area with candles. (These songs usually have lyrics about light, for example “Come Light of Lights” or “Evening Lamps Are Lit.”) Some people call this the “processional.”
A prayer song: the song we sing before and after we pray together, usually a slower song, more conducive to a prayerful mood.
A final hymn: what we sing at the very end of the service, usually a well-known hymn with harmony parts. This is the only piece that is printed on paper.
The Song Leaders choose gathering, lamp-lighting, and prayer songs for each slot in the service, based on a menu of selections posted on the Squeezebox portion of the Saint Lydia’s blog. (The final hymns are preselected.) The gathering and lamp-lighting song selections change from season to season; the prayer song options, a longer and ever-expanding list, do not change.
The remaining bits of music are acclamations, which come at various points in the service:
The drone and “Thanks be to God” and “Amen” we sing in response to the presider’s opening collect (right after the gathering song).
The first table acclamation — what we sing in response to the presider’s blessing of the bread.
The second table acclamation — what we sing in response to the presider’s blessing of the cup.
The drone and closing “Amen” we sing in response to the presider’s closing prayer (right after the final hymn).
Like the songs, the table acclamations change from season to season and are posted in the Squeezebox portion of the Saint Lydia’s blog.
–Jacob Slichter
Find more Resources for Song Leaders and Song-leader trainees here!
June 13th, 2013
Hello, Song Leaders!
Here are some answers to some of your most frequently-asked questions.
Q. What if I’m scheduled as a trainee but I really don’t feel ready to sing?
A. No problem at all. We will have you paired with a veteran Song Leader (and we have many veterans on standby). As a trainee, you are free to ease into the role at a pace that feels right for you. You can ask for all of the help you need, and if you don’t feel ready to lead song, you can ask the rehearsal leader to assign the singing to your Song-Leader partner. You can observe and take on song leadership when you feel ready.
Q. What happens at rehearsal and how much preparation is expected?
A. Rehearsals are a time when the Song Leaders, Deacon(s), Shruti-box Player, and Percussionist work through their various roles under the guidance of the Rehearsal Leader. The service has lots of moving parts, and rehearsals allow us to practice various points in the service so that they flow as well as possible. “Okay, let’s rehearse the beginning of the service through the end of the gathering hymn.”
It’s a fun, no-pressure environment, and you’ll quickly get a sense of the support all around you. You can help your teammates by putting in whatever preparation you can ahead of time. You’ll get more out of rehearsal that way. If you haven’t had time to prepare, no worries. Come to rehearsal, and the Rehearsal Leader will work with you and depending on how it goes, she might assign you a minimal role or ask you to observe during the service.
Song leaders and Deacons have reported that rehearsals have awakened a deeper sense of intentionality within them. They discover how leadership that holds the group’s learning lovingly, invites all to participate, and models shared authority makes the service into a deeply spiritual experience. The skills we practice during rehearsal are skills we take out into the world. For a more detailed picture, see What Song Leaders Work on During Rehearsal.
Q. What are those meetings that the Rehearsal Leader and Song Leaders, Deacons, and Shruti-box Players have after the service?
A. After the service, the Rehearsal Leader gathers the team for a quick “What did you notice?” session. These last seven minutes (and we usually use a stop watch to make sure we don’t go over the allotted time).
By asking, “What did you notice? What did you learn?” we cultivate a mindful attention to all of the things that happen during a service, big and small.
Here are the kinds of things we might notice:
“I noticed that I had no idea what pitch to start the prayer song on, but that another Song Leader nearby leaned over and helped me out. It was nice to be reminded of all the support I have around me.”
“I notice that this is not the greatest shirt to wear when song leading because it restricts the range of my arm motions.”
“I noticed that it might have helped to repeat the song a few times before splitting the congregation into halves and starting a round.”
“I noticed, when it was too late to stop, that I started the procession into the dining room before everyone had a lit candle. So I’m going to remember that next time.”
“I noticed that I had to sing louder when we got into a big circle because there were people on the far side of the room who seemed to be struggling to hear me.”
“I noticed how the group really loves to sing!”
Q. What if I make a mistake or space out when I’m leading a song?
A. It happens to all of us, so don’t worry. Mistakes are actually great moments for modeling grace for the whole congregation.
One thing that helps is to know that you can take things at your own pace. “Okay, hold on. I started on the wrong note. What is it? Can someone help me? Thanks! Let’s try again.” To speak those words with a loving and graceful self-forgiveness tells everyone, especially newcomers, that Saint Lydia’s is a place of mutual learning and support, not a competition where everything must be executed perfectly. By modeling grace and learning, we make a broad invitation to all.
Q. I love singing, but I don’t think I have the greatest voice. What should I do?
A. Song leading only requires singing the songs so that the words and melody are clear to the congregation. Furthermore, by offering your voice in leadership, you are saying something important to the group. “Everyone belongs here. It’s a place of learning, not an American Idol competition.”
Your Rehearsal Leader will help you feel more confident in your singing. Let your voice be heard and you will encourage and empower others!
Q. One of the Rehearsal Leaders has a gap between his front teeth.
A. That was not formed as a question, so we will not dignify it with a response!
Q. I have a song I want to teach the congregation (one that’s not on the menu of options). May I bring it in to teach?
A. See our special page on this: Songs for Saint Lydia’s — How We Choose Our Repertoire.
–Jacob Slichter
Find more Resources for Song Leaders and Song-leader trainees here!
June 13th, 2013
by Brenda Hillman
~~ & thus you entered
a forest of solitudes
where in this great
sense your life had
been pursued, till like
a shadow breaking off
a rising body, a
need hovered & grew.
Some lined feature of
another fate strives to
be met, sits low
& upright. Those qualities
which had been energy
or grace past pain
wove from the nerves
a nest or instinct.
Your calms are interesting.
Write to us during
this terrible government. A
universe coughs blue &
draws a twiceness from
the mitred now, while
your garden hand spells
the inexhaustible forms~~
–
Read at St. Lydia’s on Sunday, June 8 and Monday June 9, 2013
June 12th, 2013
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “Stuck in the Middle (With You)” on her blog, Sit and Eat. The text is Luke 24:45-53. For anyone who’s every been stuck in the middle of anything.
June 7th, 2013
by Robert Kelly
Once when I read the funnies
I took my little magnifying glass
and looked too close.
Forms became colors and colors
were just arrays of dots
and between the dots I saw the rough bleak
storyless legend of the pulp paper
empty as the winter moon
and I dreaded it.
I had looked right through,
when I wanted a universe
that sustains
looker and looking and the seen
forever, detail after detail
never ending. And all I had found
was between. But between
had its own song:
Find it in the space between—
it is just as empty as it seems
but this blankness is your mother.
-Read at St. Lydia’s on June 2 and June 3
June 7th, 2013
This asparagus and white bean salad was very popular last weekend, and super easy and quick to make! We used canned beans and served it with couscous, but it would be good with any grain or pasta. We’ll be saving this one for future use at dinner church for sure.
Ingredients
8 ounces dried white beans or 2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern or cannellini beans
Salt
2 bay leaves, if using dried beans
1 pound asparagus
1/2 cup tarragon leaves
1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large lemon, juiced, plus more to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
Preparation
1.If using canned beans, drain and rinse. If using dried beans, soak in plenty of water for 6 hours or overnight. Drain beans and transfer to a medium pot. Cover beans by 2 inches with water and add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the bay leaves. Simmer until just tender but not at all mushy, about 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending upon what kind of beans you’re using. Drain.
2.Break off tough ends of the asparagus. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a bowl with ice and cold water. Blanch trimmed asparagus for 1 1/2 minutes, or until just cooked through but still firm, then plunge them into the ice bath. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drain. Pat dry and slice diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces.
3.In a blender or food processor, combine tarragon, lemon zest, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, the black pepper and the lemon juice, and process until garlic is chopped. Pour in olive oil. Process until mixture is well blended and bright green, about 1 minute.4.In a large mixing bowl, gently toss together beans, asparagus and dressing. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
-Prepared with our help by Betsy, CJ and Mabel on Sunday June 2 and Monday June 3, 2013
May 31st, 2013
by Grace Paley
I was going to write a poem
I made a pie instead
it took
about the same amount of time
of course the pie was a final
drafta poem would have some
distance to godays and weeks and
much crumpled paper
the pie already had a talking
tumbling audience among small
trucks and a fire engine on
the kitchen floor
everybody will like this pie
it will have apples and cranberries
dried apricots in itmany friends
will saywhy in the world did you
make only one
this does not happen with poems
because of unreportable
sadnesses I decided to
settle this morning for a re-
sponsive eatershipI do not
want to wait a weeka yeara
generation for the right
consumer to come along
–Read at St. Lydia’s on Monday, May 27, 2013
