{"id":2130,"date":"2013-03-12T10:24:16","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T14:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stlydias.org\/blog\/?p=2130"},"modified":"2017-08-29T12:24:39","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T16:24:39","slug":"prayer-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/prayer-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"Songs We Sing \u2014 Prayer Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Squeezebox is a place for our Song Leaders, as well as congregants, to learn the songs we sing at St. Lydia\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At Saint Lydia’s our prayers begin and end with a song that the song-leader chooses from a list of options. \u00a0Below, you’ll find links to recordings of those songs made by our own Heather Young, who sang them to us all the way from her new home in Seattle. \u00a0(Thank you, Heather!!!) \u00a0Note that some of the recordings include helpful notes for performance.<\/p>\n

Because the prayers at Saint Lydia’s take place when we are all sitting around small tables, the song leader can’t rely on visual cues to let the rest of the congregation know when to listen, when to begin, and when to end. \u00a0That means, as you practice these songs, it will be useful to think about how to use your breath and note lengths to guide the congregation. \u00a0Heather has given useful tips in this regard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shine On Me
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

A tune that Emily learned from her pastor, Dr. Brad Braxton, and she’s shared it with the congregation at St. Lydia’s. \u00a0The piece was recorded in the late 1920’s by Blues and Gospel performer Blind Willie Johnson. \u00a0You can listen to a snippet of his recording here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I Will Guide Thee<\/a><\/p>\n

Rachel brought us this piece, often sung by her friends the Peter and Mary Alice Amidon, folk singers in Vermont. \u00a0You can hear Peter’s choral arrangement of this piece\u00a0here<\/a>. \u00a0The song is a variation on an 1873 hymn called “Precious Promise”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I Must Tell Jesus<\/a><\/p>\n

Emily brought us this hymn from her time at The Riverside Church, where it was sung as an anthem. \u00a0It’s a variation on a hymn of the same name written by Elisha A. Hoffman in 1893.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All Shall Be Well
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Emily wrote this setting of Julian of Norwich’s famous text, “All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What We Need Is Here
\n<\/a>This piece was written by students in the Episcopal\/Lutheran student group at MIT, and taught to us by their priest, Amy McCreath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tar a Thighearna<\/a><\/p>\n

A piece by our friend,\u00a0Ruth Cunningham<\/a>. \u00a0It\u2019s published in the volume,\u00a0Music By Heart<\/a>. \u00a0The piece is a simple, beautiful melody, which encourages improvisation from the congregation. \u00a0We sing it during prayer at St. Lydia\u2019s, and on Good Friday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Come, Bring Your Burdens to God<\/a><\/p>\n

A lovely song from Kenya taught to us by our musicians in residence, Paul Vasile<\/a>. Paul always reminds us that the line, “Jesus will never say no,” does not imply that all our prayers will be answers, but simply that Jesus will never say to to carrying our burdens with us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Soul Waits<\/a><\/p>\n

A beautiful song by our own Debbie Holloway. \u00a0It’s singing suggests the rhythm of breath and is not only great as a prayer song but as an introduction to meditation and contemplation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fear Not the Pain<\/a><\/p>\n

A stanza of What You Cannot Hold<\/em>, from Rilke\u2019s Sonnets to Orpheus, I, 4<\/a>, set to music by Rachel Pollak Kroh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don’t Be Afraid<\/a><\/p>\n

By John Bell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Squeezebox is a place for our Song Leaders, as well as congregants, to learn the songs we sing at St. Lydia\u2019s.   At Saint Lydia’s our prayers begin and end with a song that the song-leader chooses from a list of options. \u00a0Below, you’ll find links to recordings of those songs made by our own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[43],"tags":[56],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2130"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3297,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130\/revisions\/3297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stlydiasliturgy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}