It's time to start practicing our June Song of the Month! 

St. Mark's children (and family and friends) will share the Song of the Month during the Offertory for "Computer Church" on Sunday, June 28th. 

We will meet in a "breakout room" during Zoom Coffee Hour to rehearse and pre-record the song on Sunday, June 21st at 11AM.  ALL are welcome!  Even if you feel too shy to sing, we need LOTS and LOTS of stuffed animals to serve as "back up dancers" (with the support of their human friends) for this song!  We'll also need a handful of children who are brave enough to sing just a few words of the song refrain, as well as a few older children/teens/adults who would like to play an instrument (guitar, banjo, or ukelele) and sing one of the verses (please let Sylvia+ know if you'd be willing to lead a verse!).  

Below you will find a video recording, as well as song lyrics, to help you begin learning and practicing the song at home!  (And here is a link to the lyrics  WITH CHORDS for musicians to play in the key of D) Enjoy! sylvia+

REFRAIN:
All God’s critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low 
some sing higher                                        
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands
or paws,
Or anything they got now.

VERSE 1:

Listen to the bass, it’s the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big t’do
And the old cow just goes moo.

VERSE 2:
The dogs and the cats they take up the middle
While the honeybee hums and the cricket fiddles,
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
And the old coyote howls.

REFRAIN: 
All God’s critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low 
some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands 
​or paws,
Or anything they got now.

VERSE 3:
Listen to the top where the little birds sing
On the melodies with the high notes ringing,
The hoot owl hollers over everything
And the jaybird disagrees.

VERSE 4:
Singin’ in the night time, singing in the day,
The little duck quacks, then he’s on his way.
The ‘possum ain’t got much to say
And the porcupine talks to himself.

REFRAIN: 
All God’s critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low 
some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands 
​or paws,
Or anything they got now.

VERSE 5:
It’s a simple song of living sung everywhere
By the ox and the fox and the grizzly bear,
The grumpy alligator the hawk above,
The sly raccoon and the turtle dove.

REFRAIN: 
All God’s critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low 
some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands 
​or paws,
Or anything they got now.

I am hoping that some of the children and  families from St. Mark's might be game to join us in sharing this song during online worship one Sunday in May!  We'll have a series of short (~15 minute) zoom "practice sessions" to practice this song (and maybe a couple others) every Tuesday and Thursday in May at 3PM MST.  Email me for the Zoom Meeting ID if you'd like to join us.  All ages welcome!  No pressure to sing "in church" if you don't want to...you are welcome to join the practice sessions just for the fun of it! 

As we did in February, this month we're singing a song that comes to us from the strong and brave  people of South Africa.  

First, we will sing these original words in Zulu:

Thuma Mina (3x)
Somandla

which means

Send Me
Almighty God

These words remind us of a verse in the bible in which the Prophet Isaiah chooses to answer God's call:

After we sing the Zulu words, we will sing our own verses in English.  We can adapt the words of the song to fit the prayers of our hearts.  Just listen to the leader's "call" and you will automatically know your "response."

Throughout March we'll sing this song in Children's Chapel, and as part of our weekly Lenten Wednesday night worship service (5:30-6:00PM in Stoney Chapel.)  

What do you need most deeply today?  How can Jesus meet your need?  Make up your own verses to this song and sing your prayer to God.  

In addition to offering leadership for our "Song of the Month", we will be looking to St. Mark's children to provide significant support and leadership for the music and liturgy for our Palm Sunday service (Sunday, April 5th.)  

Children and youth are needed to assist with 

• Procession of Palms (from Fish Garden into the Church) at the beginning of the service.  Children will help support the procession with movement and songs, including the refrain for Psalm 118 (Hosanna in the Highest) and the hymn, "All Glory Laud and Honor."  
• Passion Gospel Tableaux. As we did last year, we will illustrate the Passion Gospel with a series of tableaux (human sculptures.)   Between each sculpture, the congregation will sing the Taize refrain, "Stay with Me."  People of all ages are welcome to be part of this "Passion Play."  We will rehearse on Sunday, March 29th from Noon-2PM.  Lunch will be provided.​ More information, including a link to the script, can be found here. 

Taking time to help our children become familiar with these pieces of music will enable them to participate more fully in our Palm Sunday liturgy, and will help them enter more deeply into the Mystery of Holy Week .  

Our Song of the Month comes to us from the people in South Africa.  

You can enjoy a lively video here of people at the South African "International World Changers" conference  dancing and singing the song together in 3 languages: Ndebele, English, and Dutch.

We will sing the song in English, with one key word in Ndebele: Njalo (pronounced "Jalo"--the 'n' is silent), which means "Always."   

The people of South Africa have been through many challenges--apartheid, racial violence and segregation, poverty, HIV/AIDS.  This song and their example of faith and courage remind us that, as people of faith we ALWAYS pray, we ALWAYS give, and we ALWAYS praise God--in hard times and in happy times, alike. 

How will you pray? 
How will you give? 
​How will you bless both God and your neighbor TODAY? 

In the circle of the church year, January 6th marks the end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of the season of Epiphany.  Epiphany is a season of light and enlightenment.  

This month our Song of the Month is actually a medley of two gospel music favorites:

What does it mean to let our light shine? It means letting the creative, loving, life-giving light of God shine through us!  

• When does God's light shine most brightly in and through you?
• What burdens get in the way of letting God's light shine in and through you?  
• How might you lay aside those burdens, so that God's light can shine more brightly in and through your life?  

St. Mark's kids will share our December Song of the Month twice on Sunday, December 22nd--as the offertory anthem for our morning service (9:30AM) and as the grand finale for our Christmas Pageant (5PM, followed by potluck supper.)

The song can be found in the blue Hymnal 1982, hymn #92.  

The words of the refrain are:

ALL St. Mark's kids are encouraged to learn the REFRAIN and the FIRST VERSE of the song in preparation for December 22nd.

We'll do a simple dance along with the song, which you can learn and practice with us, below.

ALL St. Mark's children and youth are welcome to participate in the Christmas Pageant.  The pageant is a low-stress, high joy celebration for all ages. This year's pageant includes "speaking parts" for 4 principle narrators, a few small speaking parts, and lots of non-speaking parts. We also need lots of teens and big kids to help "shepherd" smaller animals and angels through the pageant!  You can read through a draft script of this years pageant here.   We will hold Christmas Pageant rehearsals in the church and fit children for costumes during the Education Hour (in place of Sunday School) from 11AM-Noon on Sundays 12/8, 12/15, and 12/22.  

I encourage you to find creative ways to integrate this song into your family's daily prayers this month.  Set aside some time to read or share a Nativity story, or to list all the blessings you can from the past day (or week, or year).  Then respond to the story and/or your blessings by singing the song refrain:  

As St. Mark's kids are growing more confident singing, we're able to begin exploring more challenging music!

The tune for this month's song comes from a traditional English folk tune called "Dance to your Daddy."  In honor of Thanksgiving, we're replacing the traditional lyrics with something simpler:

Of course, as always you can mix up the lyrics and make up your own verses at home to offer thanks for any of God's many blessings! 

What's especially fun (and a little bit tricky) about this song is that it's in a compound meter...that means that some parts of the song are in a triple meter (like a waltz) and some parts of the song are in a duple meter (like a march.)  If you wanted to count out the music, you'd count it like this:

With a song like this, adding movement to the music actually makes this song EASIER (rather than harder) to sing, because your body can remind you of the rhythm.  Go ahead and try it!  Nobody's watching you.  (Just don't be confused that I keep changing the lyrics on the video.  Just stick with "Give thanks to God." )

I encourage you to give it a try, then find some way to incorporate this song and dance of gratitude into your family's Thanksgiving celebrations this year!  

October is such a glorious golden month in New Mexico.  If your kids are anything like mine, they are already busy planning for Halloween.  In addition to offering ample opportunities for creativity and fun, our preparations for Halloween (and the constellation of related celebrations surrounding it--Dia de los Muertos, All Souls Day and All Saints Day) offer opportunities to explore other important aspects of our spiritual lives, as well. 

How do you and your family understand, experience, and embody the relationship

• between authenticity and disguises?
• between fear and courage?
• between the living and the dead? 

At St. Mark's, our celebration of the season is punctuated by a Dia de los Muertos Celebration (evensong, feast, dance, and ofrenda creation) on Saturday, October 26th and culminates in our All Saints Sunday celebration on Sunday, November 3rd.  

Our Song(s) of the Month celebrate our confidence in the continuity of life--of praise, worship, celebration, and relationship--between earth and heaven.  

These songs can be sung in sequence (one after the other)  OR they can be sung together in harmony. 

​ I wonder what the relationship between these two songs might have to teach us about the relationship between authenticity and disguises, fear and courage, life and death?  

The world outside us is noisy and busy.  Sometimes the world inside us is noisy and busy, too. 
When we come into church
we need to take time
To slow down
To quiet down
To get ready to come close to the Mystery of God
In silence
And stillness
And stories
And prayers

​This month's "Song of the Month" is a song that may already be familiar to some of you from St. Mark's worship or Godly Play classes.  The lyrics come directly from the Bible (Psalm 46:10).  The melody is by John Bell. 

​Below is  a recording of Father Christopher singing the song. 

And here is a recording of Johanna, Lucia and me singing the song as a round. 

In order to support children (and adults) at St. Mark's in "getting ready" to find stillness and  listen to God in worship, we've created an Altar of Preparation (see photo, above) at the back of the worship space.  This Altar of Preparation offers a variety of special objects and practices to help us get ready to pay attention and find God in the church and in our hearts.  

We hope that you'll take some time to explore these objects and practices yourself, and that you'll actively support the children in your life and in our church in exploring and incorporating these practices as part of their regular routine for preparing for worship.

The Icon
 
An icon is like a “window” we look through to see God. 
Greet the icon with a gentle touch or holy kiss. 

The Water
 
The water reminds us of creation.  All living things need water to live and grow. 
The water reminds us of washing.  Water makes everything clean and new. 
The water reminds us of baptism.  In Baptism we remember God saying,
 “You are my beloved child. With you I am well pleased.”
Gently touch the water with your fingertips. 
Then gently touch your head, your heart, your left and right shoulders with the water
Making a sign of the cross.   
Remember that God is here right now.  God is within you and around you
In your head and in your heart
On your left and on your right.

​The Oil
 
The fragrant oil reminds us of the Holy Oil used to anoint prophets, priests, and kings in ancient times.
The fragrant oil reminds us of the Holy Oil priests still use to anoint people for baptism and for healing.
The fragrant oil reminds us of the frankincense and myrrh the mysterious magi brought as gifts for the Baby Jesus:
Frankincense for God; Myrrh for Humanity
Place one drop of oil in the palm of your hand, and rub your hands together until it is warm. 
Bring your hands to your face 
and take three deep, slow breaths 
allowing the fragrance to fill you 
 

The Colors
 
The colored jewels remind us of the special colors
​that mark each day and season in the circle of the church year.
Hold a jewel in the palm of your hand.  
How does the color make you feel?
What does this color make you think of?
Where else can you see this color? In the church? In the world?
Why do you think this is the color for today?      

The Candles
 
The candles remind us that Jesus is the light of the world.
The candles remind us that God’s Word is a light for our path. 
The candles remind us that Jesus says “YOU are the light of the world.” 
Light a candle.  Watch the light. Say a prayer.

I think we too often forget (or deny, or ignore) the particular prophetic vocation of children and youth.  Perhaps because they are usually less exhausted, cynical, and jaded than adults, they are often the ones who can offer the fresh perspective, renewed energy, and restored hope that we all so desperately need if we are going to continue to do the work of building/revealing God's Kingdom on earth.  

Spend some time this month (if possible with a young person) reflecting on these questions:

• What change(s) would make our world (or church, or family, or school) a better place?
• Where do you signs of those good change(s) already in motion or happening? 
• What might we do to celebrate the good change(s) that are already happening?
• What might we do to create, add to, or support those good changes?