Liesl Spitz shares 'Our Mother in Heaven,' a creative adaptation of a song from Southern Africa, at our Holy Week Retreat last February.

I’ve always been happier coming up with harmonies than singing solos. Until I stepped into St. Lydia’s Dinner Church in Brooklyn, it never occurred to me that my voice might be strong enough to lead a group. There I learned to lead song paperlessly. I relied not only on my voice, but my ability to connect with everyone in the room, to communicate with my body and my eyes, and most of all my willingness to be vulnerable. Leading song doesn’t require a “solo” voice— just practice, and an openness to learn out loud.

Paperless singing helped me to find my voice as a leader. It is not just a style of worship but a way of being church—a way that I could see myself leading as a pastor. Now a student at Yale Divinity School, my vision of ministry is modeling vulnerability that allows a congregation to live and participate in community with their full selves. Openness to awkward silences and wrong notes makes space for the Spirit to move God’s people toward worship—and community—that is all the more meaningful, honest and whole.

- Liesl Smith, seminarian