ST. ANNE'S CHOIR PORTAL
Choir Room Norms
The foundation of how we approach our life together.
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WE PRAY before and while we make music. Don't forget why we're here. We are ministers of the church of God. All of our talents, gifts, and contributions are given to us by God. We always thank God for those gifts and ask the Holy Spirit to use us to accomplish God's work through those gifts. We will always begin our time together with prayer. If you feel moved to offer a prayer, you are encouraged to do so!
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WE ARE DEDICATED AND COMMITTED. We all have different lives, different schedules, different priorities. Every person does not have to be at every single service and rehearsal. Every person does need be dedicated to our beautiful ministry. Give yourself time to grow, learn, practice, know and pray the music. Come whenever you can and let the director know when you can't. Be present when you are here. Realize that your contribution is important, no matter how small or large you think it is. Live into your role as a minister of the church.
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WE ARE A COMMUNITY. The choir is a community...we spend much more time together than most people at church do. Getting to know one another is important and encouraged. Celebrating one another's joys and praying for one another and lifting one another up in our times of concern is equally as important as singing.
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WE RESPECT ALL EQUALLY. Some of us have sung or played in theaters, halls, and cathedrals, and some of us only in basements, cars, or the shower. Regardless of our varying levels of expertise, we are a choir TOGETHER and must lift each other up and help one another along regardless of how or where we learned to love music. Likewise, there may be people in our group that we like more or less than others; regardless, we respect the contributions of all. **A COVID-SPECIFIC NOTE - We also respect the variety of feelings, limitations, and cautions we each bring regarding COVID...if you're not ready to be singing at church, know that we respect that and that your place is still here when you reach a time where you feel more comfortable**
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WE RESPECT THE MUSIC. We don't need to love every piece we sing or play together, but we should always respect the music for what it is and honor the work of God through the composers and lyricists. A piece of music that one person doesn't like very much might be a piece that is life-changing for another person.
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WE ARE OPEN. Open to old and new. Old hymns and new music, traditions and new ways of doing things, tenured and new members, etc. We're always open to where the Holy Spirit wants to take us.
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WE LET THE MUSIC MOVE US. Music evokes strong feelings in all of us. If a piece of music reverberates through you, I welcome and encourage you to sway to it, bounce to it, move to it, close your eyes during a particularly moving section, etc. There are certain points of body posture that are important to caring for and getting the most out of your singing voice (standing/sitting up straight, breathing correctly, etc.) and there are certainly times when it is more appropriate to have a solemn posture or presence; But for the most part, when we let the music move us, you can hear it in our music. I encourage you to look up the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir on Youtube (Here's a link: https://youtu.be/5g0c4YeABTs ) and see the joy those young people put into their music and how it radiates in their song. It's infectious. It's visible in their smiles and their movement while they sing. Let the Holy Spirit move through you.