Introducing “Morning Glory”
As we welcome summer, our outdoor services will frequently include opportunities to lead the congregation in song as a “pick-up choir.” I’ve never really liked that term, feeling that it suggests an inferiority or sloppiness. Still, you may hear it mentioned from time to time and you might wonder what it means exactly. Here’s a tongue-in-cheek guide to everything you need to know.
Typically at Edwards Church when you see people facing you and singing it is because they have prepared in advance and practiced with the rest of those singers beforehand. This is called a choir and their beautiful music makes you feel good all week, but it comes at a cost. They have to learn their music, rehearse specific parts, give up a few hours on an evening the week beforehand, and get up earlier than many others in the congregation in order to rehearse prior to the service. It’s a lot of work.
By contrast, Edwards Church’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians defines a “pick-up choir” as “a body of people, ranging in number from two to twenty, who love to sing on a Sunday morning without prior rehearsal and (in some cases) no prior knowledge of what they will be singing.” The entry in this venerable imaginary reference book continues, “Edwards Church’s Morning Glory, in place since 2021 and rebranded in summer 2022, is one-such pick-up choir. Morning Glory, as the deliciously punny name suggests, is known for its ability to sing praise to the almighty on Sundays at about 10:00 a.m., in both unison and self-guided voice parts, outdoors, among flowers and trees. They sing on a moment’s notice, with an ever-changing lineup of voices that never rehearses and, here’s the most amazing part of their brilliance: they do it all without a choir director.”
When you worship with us this summer and hear calls for either the pick-up choir or “Morning Glory” to come up front, that’s your cue to take a leap, and lead us in song!
Rick Seaholm
Commissioned Minister of Music