Bless this Food is a three-part round by James E. Clemens that can be used as a table grace or meal blessing. Find ideas for how to use it on the MMC blog.
"Bless this food and bless your people.
God be with us. Amen."
The piece can also be sung in Spanish, Japanese, and Korean.
The song is published in Table Songs: Hymns for Worship, available from the composer.
Here's a video of Marilyn Haskel teaching it at an MMC workshop in Ottawa, Ontario.
Paul Vasile wrote this song in December of 2015 at St. Lydia's Lutheran Church, and it's sweeping melody often elicits lush harmony when invited.
Written by John Bell as part of the St. Bride setting, this paperless response incorporates call and echo learning to encourage community participation. The melody rises and falls gently, inviting a quiet, focused energy. When learned well, the piece can be sung as a canon in as many as four parts (with groups entering each measure).
It could sung a cappella or accompanied by a drone instrument (a shruti box or a soft unison or open fifth on the organ) to support the community's voice.
"Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world,
grant us your peace."
Teaching note from Paul Vasile: Practice the response before worship and encourage the community to trust your gestures, even if they seem to be too soon. The overlapping parts generate energy and the confidence of the community will grow in time.
Copyright for the piece is held by GIA Publications, Inc. so you'll need a OneLicense membership to print the text or music.
Sheet music can be found in Singing In Community, our latest songbook published by Augsburg Fortress. The setting is also published in Come All You People, Singing the Faith, and the Iona Abbey Music Book.
This South African traditional song from the singing of the Mooiplaas congregation was transcribed and arranged by John Bell of the Iona Community.
To lead it, sing through it once or twice, perhaps reinforcing the shape of the melody with your hand. It's easy enough that folks will start singing with you quickly. Encourage harmony and add the leader part once the group is confident.
Swahili:
"Woza nomthwalo wakho,
Woza nomthwalo wakho,
Woza nomthwalo wakho,
Uyes’akasozathi hayi.
English singing translation:
"Come, bring your burdens to God,
come, bring your burdens to God,
Come, bring your burdens to God
for Jesus will never say no."
Copyright for the piece is held by GIA Publications, Inc. so you'll need a OneLicense membership to print the text or music.
Find sheet music for the song here. It can also be found in We Walk His Way.
Here's a recording of the song from The Iona Community:
This song is an example of teaching music for group singing without the use of books or projectors, recorded at the All Saints Company conference "Music that Makes Community," Los Angeles, October, 2008.
This song was composed by Kerri Meyer in San Francisco, CA. This video of 'There Is Enough' is taught by AnnaMarie Hoos, who learned it from Kerri Meyer. The melody was adapated from a Peter Mayer refrain, and Kerri Meyer composed the descant.
The lyrics are:
There is enough!
There is enough!
There is enough, oh,
Enough and some to share!
Sheet music can be found in Singing In Community, our latest songbook published by Augsburg Fortress.
Here's an audio clip of Kerri leading this song at the Musical Text Kitchen in San Francisco in October of 2014.
Here's a video of AnnaMarie Hoos leading this song at MMC at The Bishop's Ranch in January, 2015.
Sylvia Miller-Mutia created Come to the Feast at a Music that Makes Community gathering in January 2015. While created as a song for people to sing in procession to the table for communion, it is easily adapted to serve as an invitation or transition into any part of the liturgy.
"Come to the feast!
Come, one and all. Come to the feast."
Alternative texts:
Come, hear the Word...
Come, pray with us...
Go now in peace...
Here's a video of Sylvia leading her song at The Bishop's Ranch in Healdsburg, CA:
This contemplative, layered setting of Psalm 65 by psalmist Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan is a dialogue between two phrases in different languages.
Dumiyah
Tibi silens laus
Hebrew translation:
Silence
Latin translation:
For you, silence is praise
Richard's music is licensed through CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Be sure report use of the piece if you print the text or music for your community.
Sheet music for the song is available in the "Our Roots are In You" collection on the PsalmImmersion website.
Here's a recording of the song by Richard:
'Tar a Thighearna' was composed by Ruth Cunningham. The text in Gaelic is translated, "Come, Lord, come thou Being." Ruth and Ana Hernandez recorded it on Blessed By Light, one of their albums as the duo Harc.
Sheet music can be found in Singing In Community, our latest songbook published by Augsburg Fortress.
Here's a video of Rachel Kroh leading 'Tar A Thighearna' at Union Seminary in September 2015:
Here's a lovely recording of the song by Ana and Ruth.
Here's a link to a recording of Emily Scott singing the song and then making some suggestions for how to lead it paperlessly, from the resources Emily has been compiling for the song leaders at St. Lydia's in Brooklyn.
This is a gorgeous setting of an Orthodox funeral liturgy, written by Daniel Schwandt at our MMC Composers' Gathering in Brattleboro, VT in 2013.
Here's an audio recording of Dan teaching the song in Vermont right after he wrote it.
Here's the sheet music for this song.
Here's a work of art inspired by this song by Rachel Kroh.