Homecoming, at long last! After two and a half years of mostly virtual church, we are moving into a time of mostly in-person worship. Last spring, as a few people started coming to church, I heard people crying. I was crying! Experiencing the resonance of our sanctuary reminded us of what we had lost during our months of virtual services--not only in music but in the warmth of physically being together. This year we are gathering in a new but familiar way. For those who cannot be with us in person, there will still be a virtual option, but the focus will be on the experience within the sanctuary. Kudos to our technology folks.
July and August mark a shift into “Summer Slowdown” where we let go of weekly choir rehearsals and music participation in Sunday services. This is a time to cut back on planning and practicing, to try out new music with no set agenda, to explore without a schedule. The usual hustle and bustle give way to longer and warmer days with sunshine, gardens, and diversion.
There are just three worship services in June before we finish out the formal church year. Throughout this year, the Chalice Choir has been rehearsing on Tuesday evenings and singing for church services.
WELCOME TO MAY Such an exciting time of the year as we enter warmer days of growing light and new beginnings. On May 22 we will celebrate Music Sunday with a special worship service called “Considering Music.” You can read more about this service in our calendar line-up of Sunday descriptions. The “music department” is very busy preparing and practicing for a program that we hope will be thoughtful and nourishing for us all. We are also thinking forward into June when we will celebrate Rev. Sarah’s retirement on June 11. She has been a stalwart supporter of our music
“Over my head, I hear music in the air…There must be a God somewhere.” This African American spiritual is one of my favorites, dating back somewhere between 1750 and 1875. It is set as a five verse “zipper” song in hymn #30 in our grey hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition. The verses tell the story: I hear music; I hear singing; I see trouble; I feel gladness; I see angels. Indeed, music is happening in the air these days with plenty of birdsong coming from the sky and bushes. I listen to the dialogues of our feathered friends, and the
Welcome to March: month of wind and women. I’m not sure where that takes us. Historically, March has always been windy, just as women have struggled to be recognized as serious musicians and composers. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and practicing and pondering “music as cooking.”
Music is a pillar of our community at UU Middleboro. We strive to build a musical community, whether that’s congregational or choral singing, sharing a musical offering, or participating in a musical workshop or activity. We invite our members to explore a variety of musical styles, to focus on excellence rather than perfection, to support Sunday Morning worship, and to carry our ministry out into the world. For more information, please contact Susan Hotchkiss at music@uumiddleboro.org.
The Chalice Choir is open to all and sings every other Sunday, making room for other solos and ensembles to share their musical offerings on alternate Sundays. Tuesday evenings are set aside for choir rehearsal from 7:00-8:30. Sunday morning is set aside for musicians to prepare for worship. As needed, we form Caring Choirs to visit members and friends who are shut in and would like to hear or sing music from our UU hymnals and songbooks. Larger Caring Choirs participate in programs for nursing homes, shelters, and community events. December caroling is always a popular activity. We support music
Installed in the chancel, we have an historic Woodberry & Harris tracker organ, circa 1890. The original manual pump was replaced with a motor when Middleboro Main Street was wired for electricity. There are two manuals (Swell and Great) plus a 27-note pedal board, and the mechanism is fully mechanical. The organ was most recently refurbished by Andover Organ Company in 2014 and is listed in the Organ Historical Society Database. In the spring of 2019, the church purchased a new Mason & Hamlin baby grand piano. This piano was hand-made in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and produces state-of-the-art depth and quality
Get ready for a special treat on Saturday evening, November 6, at 7:30 when we host “A Concert of Negro Spirituals and Art Songs” by bass-baritone Oral Moses and pianist Jakari Rush. This concert is part of a tour funded through the Massachusetts Cultural Council that has been postponed twice due to the Covid pandemic. We are delighted to be able to offer the concert virtually, filmed live from our Sanctuary. The Zoom link will be available Friday, November 5, on the church website. Our church musicians, singers as well as instrumentalists, are practicing hard to share music on Sunday mornings.
