One of the things I miss most in worship is singing together. We have been singing in our homes, or humming along to the hymns in the sanctuary for months and months. I miss the sound of all our voices combining. I miss the feel of giving full voice to powerful words about God. I miss sining old familiar hymns and remembering singing them as a child with my dad.
While some churches have gone back to congregational singing, the Center for Congregational Song is still advising that singing only happen if everyone is vaccinated, masked, and outdoors! Indoor singing should be reserved for a fully vaccinated and masked soloist. At 80% vaccinated we are able to sing indoors with masks. And while our county is right at 80% vaccination, as a state we are at 70% and nationwide we are at 54%. I’m not sure when we will once again be able to sing together as a congregation.
For Christmas Eve this year we will close our worship with Silent Night, sung outdoors. I am working with the trustees to create a covered space on the courtyard for this. We’ll also have a carol sing on Sunday the 26th in the courtyard. There will also be an indoor option for those who want to stay warm and just listen to the carols.
While singing is a crucial part of our worship and our experience of community we will continue to prioritize COVID safety practices, and work to be inventive and creative in our worship! Hopefully before too long we will once again be able to return to regular sining in worship and have our choir resume their ministry as well. In the mean time you are interested in providing special music for worship please reach out to our fabulous music director Caley Barstow through the contact box on the bottom of our website seportlandparish.org.
-Eilidh
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