Singability: Moderate
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STLT#248, O We Believe in Christmas
Um…yeah. Wow. Okay. Um… hooboy. I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Not because I’m in awe or enraged, but because, well, wow… someone actually turned this into a song? Like, for us to sing? You see, I sing these words and what I hear is a minister trying to explain to… Continue reading
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STLT#223, Rock of Ages, Let Our Song
I’ve been staring at the screen, sipping coffee, for longer than is entirely comfortable, feeling empty and lacking in anything of substance – humorous, snarky, historic, theological, musical, or otherwise – to say. Perhaps in a different time and place, when there is a sense of pride in who we are as a nation, this… Continue reading
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STLT#222, Mi Y’Malel
It is apparently old folky week here at the Far Fringe… because I first learned this song a million years ago through a recording by The Weavers: Yessiree, that’s Pete Seeger on the banjo, along with the incredible Ronnie Gilbert on lead vocals, along with Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman. I remember once in my… Continue reading
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STLT#221, Light One Candle
The first time I remember knowing who Peter, Paul, and Mary were, I was about 8 and was watching my brother and his first wife singing the song “Lemon Tree.” Karen had long chestnut brown hair and a rich alto voice, and while I often associated her with another alto brunette named Karen – Karen… Continue reading
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STLT#220, Bring Out the Festal Bread
I am such a geek. After singing this hymn (and loving it), I looked to see who wrote the lyrics, and I wondered to myself, in the pattern of our Universalist forebear Hosea Ballou: Do I love this lyric because Mark Belletini wrote it, or did Mark Belletini happen to be the person who wrote a… Continue reading
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STLT#217, O Sing Hallelujah
I’m glad my voice is back, so I could sing this hymn. I love it, and just as there are those who long for Christmas carols throughout the year, I sometimes wish this hymn could be used outside of the Days of Awe. I also wish it was less… draggy. It’s meant to be sung… Continue reading
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STLT#215, Praise to the Living God
Confession time: I did not actually sing this today. It’s not that I don’t like this hymn – I do. It’s that I have laryngitis and I physically can’t. That laryngitis – and the accompanying cold – is also why this is so late: I turned off the alarm so I could sleep. The good news… Continue reading
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STLT#197, There Are Numerous Strings
It’s Disconnected Thoughts Day here at the Far Fringe! Disconnected Thought number one: the words and melody were written by Rabindranath Tangore, whose poetry we also find in Your Mercy, O Eternal One and Now I Recall My Childhood. That we also now have one of his melodies here I think is cool. Disconnected Thought… Continue reading
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STLT#194, Faith Is a Forest
Shelley Jackson Denham is a denominational treasure. This hymn was commissioned by the hymnal commission, and wow, did she deliver. I know some might avoid this one because it’s an unfamiliar tune, but trust me when I say that (a) it’s not that difficult – although you definitely don’t want to just spring it on… Continue reading
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STLT#192, Nay, Do Not Grieve
I’m of several minds with this hymn today. My first thought: I wish I knew the tune, commissioned for STLT and written by Libby Larsen. It might make a more meaningful connection to the lyrics possible. As it was, I was plunking out notes on my phone’s keyboard for all three verses. My second thought:… Continue reading
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