Sunday, October 1st - Stewardship Season and Songs of the Shakers

First things first - sorry for the lack of a post last week. I've been playing the piano for Rosh Hashanah services at a local Jewish congregation and it took up a lot of time last week. Shanah Tovah, everyone!

October is the month when we focus on stewardship at St. George's. It's not just about taking pledges of giving for the coming year so we can plan our budget, it's also a time to think about what we have and what we can do to benefit the church and our community. As I was planning ahead for music for the fall, I realized I had chosen two selections for the choir that were Shaker songs. After doing a little more research, I decided that our time of stewardship would be an excellent time for a series of Shaker songs. Subsequently, my blogs this month will include some information and stories about the Shakers. If you can find a copy of Ken Burns' documentary "The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God," I highly recommend watching it. I will be referring to it often in my blogs this month.

 We will begin our series of Shaker songs with what is perhaps the most famous one - "Simple Gifts" - but first, some background information on the Shakers.

Their official name was The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dances, they became commonly known as "Shaking Quakers" and eventually just "Shakers." The Shakers were founded by an English factory worker named Ann Lee. After receiving what she believed to be divine visions and guidance, she came to the New World with eight followers in 1774. They established the first Shaker community near Albany, NY. Ann was imprisoned for her pacifist doctrine but upon her release, she toured New England and persuaded more converts to Shakerism. At their height in the middle of the 19th century, there were more than 6,000 Shakers in 19 villages around New England, Ohio, and Kentucky.

75 years before the emancipation of the slaves and 150 years before women could vote in America, the Shakers practiced total racial, social, economic, and spiritual equality for all members. They believed in pacifism, feminism, freedom from prejudice, and joyful personal worship. They raised and educated orphans, caring for them like their own children. They lived in communal villages and remained celibate, devoting themselves to the community, their work and their craftsmanship. They believed God dwelt in the details of their craftsmanship and were renowned for their furniture, fabrics, and inventions. You can thank the Shakers for flat brooms, clothespins, and the circular saw, among other things.

From a distance, the Shakers may resemble the Amish, but unlike the Amish, Shakers were open to progress and technology. One village in New Hampshire owned one of the first automobiles in the state and rigged their community with electricity at a time when even the state capital was still burning gas. While many may blame the Shakers' commitment to celibacy as the reason for their dwindling numbers, it was largely a result of the industrial revolution. Once furniture, fabric, and other items could be mass produced and purchased more cheaply, there was less need for the industry of the Shakers. Their communities dwindled and there is currently only one remaining Shaker community in Maine. They even have a website.

The song "Simple Gifts" was written in 1848 by a Shaker named Elder Joseph Brackett. He only wrote one verse, though other verses have been added over the years. Another popular setting of the tune is the song "Lord of the Dance," written Sydney Carter in 1963. The tune was mostly only known in Shaker circles until American composer Aaron Copland used it in the ballet "Appalachian Spring" in 1944. Since then, the tune has been used and covered countless times and remains an enduring favorite. The tune is, like the Shakers themselves, simple and sweet and timeless.

"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
It will be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained to bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed
To turn, turn will be our delight, 'til by turning, turning we come round right."

This song makes me think of our annual parish retreat. For one weekend in November, I am away from my computer, from the television, from the hustle and bustle of Austin, and I live in community with my St. George's family out in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful Texas hill country. It's definitely a gift to live like that, even just for a weekend. And when we focus on our community and spend time in the presence of God, we realize there is no shame in bowing and bending our will to a greater purpose. If we could do that a little more often, we would definitely "come round right."

Amen.