Music at St Paul

Today worship changed a little more - this is our second Sunday of Virtual Worship. While live streaming is something we have done for some time, today was different. Today 3 choir folks came in to be our Trio for the duration of this time of virtual worship. 2 of these singers have husbands helping with the streaming technology - and the third is a young adult. I am using as few households as possible to keep the numbers as minimal as possible for our worship musicians. All of us have made a covenant to practice safe health practices - keeping safe distance from others, washing our hands frequently, sanitizing as much as possible when we cannot wash and not encountering others or other places any more than necessary. We are limiting ourselves so that we can not only go forward in our best health, but so not as to possibly pass something on to someone else; so that we can serve through our living and also in this way of music in worship. It is holy work that our world is doing. It

Online Worship Only! While I am not happy that we are all so very separated - I am thankful for everyone who is trying to work together to stay well, to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. Meanwhile, a very small group will gather Sunday, March 22nd to provide virtual worship for the St Paul and Aiken area community online.  https://www.stpaullc.net/live-broadcast I am so very thankful that Donna Derrick will join us for prelude and offertory tomorrow for this worship service. Donna makes music so well and she is bringing her dulcimer - and will sing. Everything she plays or sings comes from her heart - as an offering to God. She is a beautiful blessing to us!  I mention this, because Donna does this to help us launch our first Virtual Worship - you see there will only be a few of us there, and we will be working to keep a safe distance from each other, while connecting with each other, the online viewers and our Lord and Savior. It will be different, and it will be not wh

Online worshiping starts Sunday Not what I expected to be blogging about this week - but then again, I guess I have known things were getting less and less normal for several weeks. So our awesome musicians at St Paul and I have hit the pause button along with the rest of our community. We are walking with the Aiken Augusta area and keeping some distance - hoping to flatten the curve of the spread of this deadly virus. There is a song in there somewhere. But today, this made me think of a specific song by Marty Haugen - "Gather Us In" You can listen to it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruaV6pmFGAM As you review the lyrics below, consider how when we are scattered into our homes and some of us into our daily offices and fields - how are we gathered? We are gathered together in our hearts, our minds and our spirits. We can gather on the phone, through the internet and on our cell texts, messages and e-mail. Check back in - as we learn how to gather - from

Lent takes a turn... Today, Sunday March 15th - the Joyful Noise Ringers Handbell Choir rang during communion at 8:30 and 11:00 and played on our exit hymn. They rang "Acclamation in G minor" by Karen Thompson. This nice piece is full of tension - just like our lives are! The 8:30 Choir and 11:00 Choir sang "Lord Have Mercy" - Bach/Hopson. Our Hymn of the Day at both of these services was ELW 611 - "Have You Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" At 9:45 worship, Donna Derrick and Tim Chandler led our music, using the song "Indescribable" - for that is God's love for us! We communed at all 3 worship services, praying for all who are homebound, in isolation, need healing or assistance. We lifted our very world up to the Lord. Lent is re-turning to different things this year - Coronavirus 19 - Attendance is seeing more people using live streaming, and we made temporary changes in worship to keep all of us who are in the building together healt