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Archive for the 'Songs We Sing' Category

Music for Pentecost and Pride — June 2022

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 […]

Posted in: Songs We Sing

“Come, Come, Whoever You Are”

“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 […]

Posted in: Songs We Sing

Build a Shelter / Let It Rest

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 […]

Posted in: Songs We Sing

Music for Eastertide 2022

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 […]

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“Down to the River to Pray”

“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 […]

Posted in: Songs We Sing

“Wade in the Water”

“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 […]

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Music for Lent 2022

Greetings, beloved song leaders and voices of the congregation,  Here is the menu of music for the 2022 Season of Lent. Gathering Song: “Lament for Zion” -or- “John Bell Kyrie” Candle Lighting Song: “Here is Bread for the Hungry Soul ” Table Acclamation:  Lent Table Acclamation  AND Holy, Holy, Holy      Prayer Song: Any […]

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Songs for Advent 2021

Hello Song Leaders, Advent is here, and it brings a new menu of musical selections! Gathering song: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”  Each week, we’ll sing a different verse: Nov. 7: Verse One Nov. 14: Verse Two Nov. 21 Verse Three Nov. 28 Verse Four Dec. 5 Verse Five Dec. 12 Verse Six Dec. 19 […]

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Songs for Fall 2021

Dear Song Leaders, Behold, the songs for fall of 2021! Gathering Song: September 12 through October 4  “Till The Moon Is No More” October 10-November 1 “Like the Willow Weeping” Candle-Lighting Song: “The Journey of a Thousand Miles” Table Acclamation: Fall Table Acclamation (Shelton)” Offering Song: “Amen” Final Hymn: September:“God Calls You Good” October:“I Met […]

“I Met A Stranger on the Road”

“I Met A Stranger on the Road” is a hymn with words by David Bjorlin, set to a traditional Scottish tune and arranged by John Bell. You can hear a recording of it here. The sheet music is here.

Posted in: Songs We Sing