This is the same story, arranged for straight storytelling instead of chancel drama. It works very well as a staged reading with a group of readers.
A Christmas Sweeping Poem
A short performance piece to make room for Christmas!
Special liturgy for Christmas Eve
Includes a Blessing of the Manger.
A hymn for the First Sunday After Christmas -
In the Beginning Was the Word
In the Revised Common Lectionary, John 1: 1-18 is the Gospel text for the first Sunday after Christmas, years A, B and C - but not many hymns are based on this magnificent reading. This new hymn text is based on John 1 and on Phos hilaron, an early Greek evening hymn.
Ring Out, Wild Bells, To the Wild, Wild Sky! - A Hymn for New Year's Eve
Alfred, Lord Tennyson's hymn to the New Year is too good to leave behind! In this version, his text has been shortened up and a new verse of mine is added - three verses total, provided as bulletin-ready with the melody line for the traditional tune. The file linked above is formatted for a half-legal bulletin. The half-letter format is here. Ring out!
A Doorway Blessing for Epiphany
Blessing doorways with chalk - a simple prayer and blessing useful for churches and homes.
LENT, HOLY WEEK, AND EASTERTIDE
A very silly Shrove Tuesday skit featuring this heart-stirring song...
Shrive the shriven shrewish shroves
Shave the shaven shortish shroves
Cleave the cloven Clovis shroves
All in a paper bag.
Lent worship booklet
This booklet is included because we used different Penetential Orders for each Sunday in Lent.
Palm Sunday / Passion Sunday
This booklet includes the Jerusalem Readings, short readings that show what Jesus did between Palm Sunday and his arrest, which eases the Palm-Sunday to-Passion-Sunday transition in this Sunday's liturgy.
Songs for the Vigil
Over the last few years I've been working along on a project of preparing songs responding to the readings from the Hebrew scriptures that are read at the Vigil of Easter in Episcopal, Lutheran, and other liturgical churches. Generally I've started with a hymn text from the eighteenth century and reworked the text to reflect my take on the reading. You'll find in my final texts a preference for inclusive language and progressive theology, as well as considerable respect for the stories themselves.
I've set these texts to folk tunes or to tunes from the Sacred Harp tradition, because these are familiar tunes that can be sung with a melody-only accompaniment such as might be provided by a flute or violin. Most of the tunes are in the current Episcopal or ELCA Lutheran hymnals if a full score is wanted.
The Great Vigil of Easter
Finding and inventing music for the Great Vigil was one of our greatest joys. It had to be interesting, because the Vigil can seem long. It had to be simple enough for everyone to sing. It had to build the mysterious, shadowed joy that the Vigil honors. Most of our music is included in this version.
A Responsive Reading of Hippolytus' Easter sermon
This translation is from the website for Saint Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco. The text has been lightly adapted and arranged for responsive reading by Pamela Grenfell Smith, who makes no copyright claim on the text or arrangement. This text is often used as a Gradual reading for the Great Vigil of Easter.
THE FOURTH OF JULY, INDEPENDENCE DAY
A new verse for O Beautiful, for Spacious Skies
This is a bulletin-ready image file with all the verses including a new verse for a new century - "O beautiful for those who heal, who build and teach and mend..."
FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS, BLESSING OF ANIMALS, BLESSING OF PETS
Blessing of Creatures
Prayers and responsive readings for an outdoor blessing. A simple liturgy about our complex relationships with companion animals.
ALL SOULS, ALL SAINTS, THANKSGIVING
A worship booklet for All Saints
One of our most beloved liturgies. The naming of the dead at the start of the liturgy was accompanied by soft music on a Native American flute.
A re-worked version of Who Are These Like Stars Appearing
A hymn for All Saints - the traditional Schenck/Cox text has been shortened up considerably and edited to fit the haunting Saint Helena tune by Calvin Hampton, with one new verse by Pamela Grenfell Smith.
A re-worked version of When the Saints Go Marching In
A hymn for All Saints - this song is a beloved element of jazz worship, but the original hymn's words have gotten etched off by the power of the instrumentation. Here are three singable verses edited & expanded by P. Smith from traditional sources. No copyright is asserted for this work.
A new verse for I Sing A Song of the Saints of God
Adding some American saints - Sojourner, Harriet, Absalom, Jonathan and Martin.
November Psalm
"Mark now another journey around the sun
in this time of autumn's loosening -
leaf from twig, persimmon from stem, wild goose from nesting place..."
This Thanksgiving anthem with music by Joe Ridenour features words that lovingly note the changing season. The full score is here, no fee for use.
OTHER SPECIAL LITURGIES
Building Dedication
Special prayers for each room.
Installation of a New Rector and Celebration of Renewal of Ministry
This liturgy was modelled on the new structure in Enriching Our Worship, with questions, blessings, and gifts by different parts of the parish's ministry. A highly participatory liturgy!
An Instructed Eucharist
Written for Rite II of the Episcopal Church's 1979 Book of Common Prayer, this polyvocal set of readings gives voice to the emotional and relational processes that are happening during liturgical worship.
MISCELLANEA
Shepherd, Dancer, Poet, King - Teaching and Telling the Stories of King David
The Year B Revised Common Lectionary takes us through the stories of King David. When was the last time you tackled those? Something about a slingshot... and taking a bath on the roof? This workshop explores David's stories and introduces related books, songs and other resources for adults and children. This list of workshop resources was first presented at the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis' 2009 Under One Roof conference by Jennie Kiffmeyer and Pamela Grenfell Smith
Workshop materials - all are downloadable PDFs:
Synopsis of 1 and 2 Samuel
Bibliography - includes suggestions from participants
Audio and Video resource list
King David Stories for children
Teaching and Telling King David Stories to Children
Isaiah 55 set up to experiment with dance & Psalm 47 with clapping and hollering
Episcopal Hymns with Sacred Harp roots
Because there are times and occasions when liturgy needs that Sacred Harp sound.
Music to Die For!
To celebrate our choir director's seventy-fifth birthday, we joined with another church to present this All Saints concert of music reflecting on the meaning of death.
What Is The Difference Between Transformation and Change?
Our culture, our time and place, tell us that we are able to change ourselves - but I have come to believe that these attempts to change the self, adjust the self, fix the self - these attempts only get in the way of authentic transformation. And so - somewhat in the spirit of a field guide offering careful guidance on how to distinguish a long-billed curlew from a marbled godwit - here are my field notes on the difference between transformation and change. Puzzled by my handwriting? Here it is typed out.
