One of my
favorite things about being a Cantor is planning! I love choosing new music and
hymns that complement the readings for Sunday and help us focus on the seasons
of the church year. You can see how excited I was about planning in this
Facebook post from a year ago:
A lot can happen
in a year – but who could have guessed a global calamity like Covid-19 would
make even the simple act of planning so difficult?
Choirs can’t even meet to rehearse; so how can they gather on Sunday morning to lead the church’s song? How do I plan choir music for this situation?
Then there are the cries from social media platforms and the news outlets. I
know you’ve heard them too:
To be honest, I’m proud of the church and how we’ve responded – and not just at St. Mark’s. We (all the church) immediately learned new technologies and moved our services online while our members joyfully welcomed us into their homes. At St. Mark’s, Pastor Daniel Locke got “trickier and trickier” with each new service. Who will ever forget this powerful sermon that honored our feelings and also caused hope to spring up within us?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3wGk7pZJkg&t=514s
One benefit of on-line worship (for me) is that I can visit lots of Sunday morning
worship services and see what my colleague/friends are up to. I haven’t just
heard great music, but some very fine sermons too. One of my favorite services
came from Norway where the liturgy (very ably sung by the Pastor) was
accompanied by the church’s cantor on an accordion! I was deeply moved. You can
view that service at the following link. It’s in Norwegian, but don’t be surprised
if you know exactly what is going on – at least most of the time.
Yes, the choirs are mostly absent, but not in all cases. Some churches, through the use of choral scholars (masked and socially distanced), have still provided high-quality choral music. Others have used smaller groups and soloists. Organists and pianists proclaim the gospel through preludes and postludes while praise bands lead people to sing in their homes. The church’s song, though perhaps stifled, has persevered.
So, where is my planning for St. Mark’s now?
I haven’t
ordered new music for the fall, or even for Christmas – but that doesn’t mean we
won’t have a choir.
For the Sundays we are able to meet in the house of the Lord, I have a plan for
choir rehearsals that looks something like this:
▪We’ll have “virtual” choir rehearsals in addition to our Wednesday
night meeting because our time together will be reduced.
▪We’ll wear masks during rehearsal. Choir members will be
asked to warm-up on their own and be ready to sing as soon as they enter the
choir room.
▪We’ll practice for 20 minutes, then take a 20- minute
breathing break OUTSIDE so people can distance and remove their masks.
▪We’ll meet in the nave for a final 20- minute rehearsal,
still with masks and lots of distance between singers.
▪With a 40-minute rehearsal (instead of the usual hour and a
half) we’ll only be able to work on music for the coming Sunday instead of
working 4 -5 weeks like we normally do.
Our St. Mark’s
Ringers will rehearse every week – socially distanced and wearing masks, of
course. If we are scheduled to play on a Sunday where church will not be live,
our music will be pre-recorded for inclusion in the on-line service. (BTW, we
have room for two more ringers. Let me know if you’d like to play!)
Even these
plans are flexible. We may need to make changes based on CDC guidelines and
guidance from government officials.
Some day we will have a vaccine against Covid-19 and we’ll be able to gather, speak, and sing freely while standing next to each other. We’ll shake hands and hug our neighbors as we say, “The peace of Christ be with you.” Until then, the church’s song still goes on, proclaiming the good news of God’s love to all the world.
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