Category: Music

Call for Love (a Shaker song from 1839)


You may need to boost your volume a little in order to hear the description I spoke at the beginning. Rev. Kim bought a book of Shaker hymn tunes. One of these she asked me to arrange for the choir to sing today, Mother’s Day. The Blessed Mother, in the Shaker tradition, was the founder of the Shaker sect. There’s another phrase you my hear with is “love, love,” which is, the best I can tell, a term that means the same as agape, or divine love. The song, as it was passed down by Mother indicates where people should dance–they believe that dancing was prayer–and where people should speak in tongues (they called it “shout”). I picked a bunch of words that relate to motherhood, like Work, Song, Fatih, Peace, Care, Hope, Love, Joy, Dance, Soul, Life, Home, Dream, Heart, and the choir in certain passages are to intone words of their choice from that set of words, randomly.

The Open and Affirming Anniversary, March 10, 2024

In celebration of the 25th anniversary as an Open and Affirming Church, Lakewood/Trinity United Church of Christ publicly redeclared the enthusiastic welcoming of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons into the full life and ministry of the church in today’s service. To demonstrate this wide open welcome to those who have often found church to be a hostile and hurtful place, a gay pride/transgender flag was raised on the church grounds. Metro Inclusive Health and Equality Florida also gave presentations on their work in our community as part of this special commemoration. Many thanks to all who attended this important event and a special thanks to the Outreach Committee for all that was done to make it happen!

                       “Hope will never be silent.” Harvey Milk

One City Chorus at the Palladium – March 3

Beauty in the WorldOne City Chorus in Concert
Jon Arterton, conductor
Tim Burnaman, piano    Caroline Schweinert, drums
with special guests Jon Arterton & James Mack
 
Sunday, March 3, 2024   4:00 PM
The Palladium   253 5th Ave. North, St. Petersburg
Tickets $25/ $20 in advance
https://mypalladium.org/events/one-city-chorus-presents-beauty-in-the-world-feat-jon-arterton-james-mack/St. Petersburg’s famed One City Chorus has been presenting annual concerts at the Palladium since their beginning in 2017. Their performances have been described as “joyous, uplifting and beautifully sung” by Creative Loafing. Their audiences agree – their concerts are marked by standing ovations. This year’s concert will undoubtedly continue the tradition. It will feature special musical guest artists, singers Jon Arterton and James Mack, the chorus’ founders. The concert will also feature three songs by members of the chorus: Clyde Moreland’s “She Stands for Me,” Tim Burnaman’s “How We Doin’ Dr. King?” and Arterton’s “Sometimes You Gotta Make a Wave.”  Burnaman also serves as the group’s accompanist.

One City Chorus was founded by Arterton and Mack in the fall of 2016 with the belief that singing in a group builds community and leads to better understanding among people. The chorus seeks to make the world a better place by singing songs about social justice, civil rights, diversity and equality. They have been honored with a Best of the Bay Award for “Best Voices Raised Together in Song.” St. Petersburg’s poet laureate, Gloria Muñoz alluded to the chorus in her poem “Of Flowers” read at this year’s State of the City Ceremony with these words: “For each hateful word, a song of peace from One City Chorus proves there is beauty in the world. There is love, love, love!”
 
Arterton holds a Master’s Degree in choral conducting and voice from The New England Conservatory of Music. He was the founder and vocal arranger of The Flirtations, the proudly gay a cappella group seen on HBO and in the film Philadelphia. Mack was a voice major at Memphis State University and served as a choir director before moving to NYC to begin a career in men’s fashion. The two began singing together in 2002 and were married in Massachusetts in 2015. Together they produced a CD titled Legally Married and the Sky Didn’t Fall.