I just want to bang on the drum all day...

One week today, Deanna and I will be heading off to Peterborough for the AWARE conference - us and a hundred Anglican women, singing and having a great time. Preparation has been a bit 'hurry-up-and-wait', but I feel we're in a good place now.

Today, we ran almost all the songs for the weekend - 4 worship sessions, 1 Communion service, and 1 Taize service. Deanna will be leading on guitar, we're both singing, and I'm the Percussion Queen, playing shakers, tambourine, and djembe.

One of the things the ladies have asked for is a 'parade' into the Communion service. Basically, we're going to gather outside 30 minutes before the service, and sing the African song "We are Marching" as the ladies process to the chapel. I'll be playing my djembe to lead us, and I'm hoping lots of spontaneous clapping, harmony, and dancing erupts.

Must bring comfortable shoes!

Gaithers in Hamilton

I wanted to write last night, but we got home so late, there was only time for tea and pajamas!

Last night, Dad and I worked Gordon Mote's product table at the Gaither show in Hamilton. We drove out a few hours before the show, just in time to have pie (I've never seen a Swiss Chalet line-up literally trailing down the street!) and pay too much for parking.

I met Gordon and his manager, Bob, at Stamps-Baxter a few years ago, and it's always great to see them - good, cool people. Working the table was fun, and there's no one friendlier and happier than Gaither fans at a show.

It's been a few years since I've seen a Gaither show, and I have to say - we had a great time. Our seats were prime - 3rd row, almost center - so we could really see the music happening. There were some amazing acoustic sets with Buddy Greene, Gordon Mote and the Isaacs, sometimes with all of them playing together. Really - amazing!

The show contained some lovely vocal performances by Karen Peck, Charlotte Ritchie, and Gene MacDonald. There was also an wonderful moment with Lynda Randle. I know she has a great voice, but I've never really understood the extreme devotion of her fans. Well, partway through "Sparrow", she noticed someone in the front row to the right of us. I couldn't see the person, but he or she must have doing sign language. Lynda noticed, and every time she turned to that side of the audience she looked directly at that person and signed the lyric of the song. She didn't do it any other time or in any other direction. It was so obvious that she was reaching out to a specific person, that other people in the audience started looking around to see who she was looking at. It was a beautiful moment of an artist in a venue of thousands reaching out and connecting with one person. Extreme devotion explained.

Tonight was also my first time seeing the new GVB. Michael English is still out, so Reggie Smith filled in! I know Reggie through Stamps-Baxter, and he sang on 'Real Big Fan', so it was so cool to see him! The group sounded great, but loud. The only complaints of the night were the volume and the cold (I think the ice is still down in the stadium).

Oh, one more lovely moment - during the 'homecoming' part of the show, Bill pulled a chair to the front of the stage, sat down, and sang a song by himself. His voice cracked and warbled and did everything else a 'good' voice shouldn't do, and yet it was one of the most moving parts of the show. Why? Because he communicated the message of the song. Beautiful!

So overall - good music, good show, good pie!

Double Rehearsal Night

Tonight, I did a 2 hour rehearsal with the Praise Team, and 30 minutes later, another 2 hour rehearsal with the Chorale (I'm subbing in for the alto again.)

Both rehearsals were great, but I just have to brag on our Praise Team rehearsal. We have Brian joining us on drums for the next few weeks, and it just lifts everything! We were rocking and grooving and doing all the things that make rehearsals awesome - creating, arranging, and really making music.

I love what I do!!!

SARK and the Dream Boogie

Yes, an odd sounding blog title, but not if you know SARK.

Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy is a vibrant, inspirational creativity teacher. She's an artist and writer, and all her books are published written in her own handwriting and accented by her bright watercolours. Most men, and probably some women, would probably find her flaky, but I love her free spirit and carpe diem approach to life.

Tonight, I attended a free tele-class with SARK! "Dream Boogie" is an 8-week course designed to put your dreams into action. I used the time to focus on our plans for a music company, and came away very excited and encouraged!

The technology was the coolest thing - at 9pm, we all called a phone number and were able to hear SARK & her assistant, Trisha, lead the first part of the class. This new technology was incredible because it actually allowed us to interact as if in a live lecture. Throughout the class, SARK would lead polls. We would punch a number on the phone for our response, and within seconds, all the results would be tallied.

Then, we broke up into small groups. Yes, on the phone. At the sound of the tone, I was suddenly on the line with 3 other ladies. We had 15 minutes to share our dreams and encourage one another. At the end of the small group time, Trisha switched the line again so we were back in the lecture setting. At the end, Trisha removed the mute button on our mics so we could all (several hundred of us?) could sing Happy Birthday to SARK. It's a little hard to describe, but very, very cool!

Life is too short...

Last week, a young man from our church passed away. He was young, kind, and healthy, and shockingly killed by hidden heart disease. A few days later, a Stamps-Baxter friend passed away. He was older, and had dedicated his life to singing Gospel music and loving his family.

I've been avoiding my blog.

Somehow, telling you about a great rehearsal, or the fact that I'm subbing in for the Chorale lead, or my new site seemed unimportant, trivial.

Saturday morning, I attended the young man's funeral. As I sat in the pew, I grieved for both men. I grieved yet again for my own Steve. I cried and ached for the people around me and in the States who are hurting so much.

I felt helpless - what can I offer my friends who are in so much pain?

And a few answers came to mind:

I can sing.

I can pray.

I can offer a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, the few lessons I've learned from my own experiences of grief.

And I can learn.

I can learn from the best of these men - to be generous and loving to my family - to live each day to the fullest - to make music with my friends - to live my life with honour, respect, holiness.

Such basic lessons, but in the day-to-day dealings of traffic and bills and taxes and issues, we forget.

Life is fragile and short.

So, live joyfully - love abundantly - sing boldly - and never miss a chance to walk in the rain, smile at a baby, dance to your favourite song, or indulge in fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies...

Hair we go again...

A year and a half ago, I had a very dramatic hair cut. I grew my hair an extra 9 inches and donated the cut ponytail to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths - a program that creates free wigs for cancer patients who lose their hair in chemotherapy.

After much debate, and a hair consultation from my cousin, Laurel (whose salon runs an annual hair donation day) I've decided to grow and donate my hair again.

It's long now, but over the next few months, I'll wash it, condition it, and care for it as it grows another 5 inches.

By mid-summer, it'll be driving me nuts, but it's all worth it.

It takes 6 donations to create one wig, so my donation isn't enough. If you have long hair, or you know someone who may be interested in donating their hair, you can find more information at Beautiful Lengths. The program runs in both the USA and in Canada.

Easter at St. John's York Mills

Alleluia - He is risen! The Lord is risen indeed - Alleluia!

If you went to church this morning, there's a good chance you heard and said this ancient Easter greeting. I love Easter, because Easter is when it all comes together. Without Easter, Jesus is simply a great man or a great prophet. But with Easter, Jesus is Lord, Saviour, Messiah, Prophecy Fulfilled!

Our morning started with an early rise. This was the Sunday we added 2 vocalists, a percussionist, and all new sound equipment. Gerald and I went over to the church last night to set up the equipment, and it made a huge difference for this morning! We all met at 8am so we could have a full hour's rehearsal before we had to head into the church for sound check.

The church was full (as most churches are on Easter) and it felt amazing to hear all those voices, see all those happy faces, and see the crowd of children gathering up front for the children's focus. Our music was a good mix of hymns and praise songs. Having the extra voices and percussion helped lift everything to a new level.

After the service, Gerald and I went home to our backyard, felt the sunshine on our faces, and breathed a sigh of relief. Holy Week is awesome, but it was a lot of work. 4 services, 3 rehearsals, 2 churches, and 1 new sound system - and I decided to launch my new site this week. Crazy busy, but wonderful, uplifting, and profoundly moving.

Tomorrow, we'll rest, relax, and gear up for the next phase!

Happy Easter!

Allison's April Articles

This month, I'm blessed to have 2 of my own articles online, and a mention in someone else's article.

My SoGospel News article talks about the new site, the free song download, and an interesting piece of family trivia. You can read that article here.

My SGM Radio article discusses a ministry lesson I received while shopping for magazines. You can read this article here.

Awesome songwriter-musician, Andrew Donaldson, mentions "Hymns in the Key of Grace" in a recent article about contemporary hymn writers. You can read his article here.

Always nice to have something to read on a Saturday afternoon...

The new site is up!!!!

I'm soooo excited right now!!!!

The all new AllisonLynn.com is live!!!

I'll write more about it tomorrow, but please head over for a visit when you can.

For April, we're offering a FREE song download! To get your free download of "At the Cross," please visit the Store.

And just in case you couldn't tell - I am sooooo excited!!!!

Good Friday at All Saints

We gathered this morning in the quiet of the All Saints sanctuary to prepare for our Good Friday worship. The normally chatty community allowed the silence of the space to calm them. These are people who carry heavy burdens - coming to the cross and laying those burdens down is vital.

The service opened with prayer and scripture readings, punctuated with moments of silence. The clergy and community read the Passion from the Gospel of John, and I followed it with an acapella rendition of "Were You There." More silence, and a long section of prayer. A wooden cross was brought up through the congregation, and we read prayers in a meditation on the cross. After a hymn and a final prayer, Gerald and I sang "The Good Tree." More silence.

Solemn, holy, and moving - a beautiful way to celebrate and honour Good Friday.

Maundy Thursday

Holy Week is always crazy for church people, and today was the busiest of them all. For Easter Sunday, we're having 3 new people join the team - 2 vocalists and 1 percussionist. On top of that, we have all new sound equipment to accommodate the new members, and today, we had our one and only rehearsal to try and pull it all together.

After 2 hours of learning new tech, new songs, and new parts, we had a short break before this evening's Maundy Thursday service. Today is the day we celebrate the Last Supper and the institution of Holy Communion. A little internet research earlier this week revealed that "Maundy" comes from "Mandatum novum" or "new commandment," referencing John 13:34, when Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

If you've never been to a Maundy Thursday service before, it can be very powerful. Our service tonight included music, communion, prayer, and foot washing. The foot washing is always amazing and personal. The music was moving - including Gerald's song, "The Good Tree" - and the prayers were meaningful. At the end of the service, the altar area is stripped to prepare for Good Friday. We exited the church in darkness and in silence.

Holy Week is busy, but I guess the challenge is to be deliberate in taking and cherishing these moments of silence and stillness.

Lessons from a Magazine Store

We spent yesterday afternoon enjoying the sunshine in one of our favourite parts of Toronto - the Annex. For the uninitiated, the Annex is cool, vibrant, and artsy. It's the home of the Fringe theatre festival, Tafelmusick Baroque Orchestra, and rock mecca, Lee's Palace. And on any day, you can wander through countless bookstores, cafes, and tea shops to find interesting people and stimulating conversations.

One of our favourite stops is the magazine store near Bathurst. We usually stick to the music section, but yesterday, I looked to see if they had any Christian magazines - ideally, something related to Christian music. I found my titles hidden in the Literary section, and thus the lesson began.

Of the 14 titles that could be considered 'religious' or 'spiritual', only 3 contained any sort of Christian association. One was evangelical, one Catholic, and one was on sacred history, Christian and otherwise.

Now, I make no judgement on the lack of Christian content in this store. Obviously, the store owner is doing what any wise business person should do - choosing products that reflect the purchasing needs of their clientele.

But as a Christian musician working in Toronto, it does provide some insight into the community and its demographics.

Is there a need for the Gospel in the Annex? Of course - we all need the Gospel.

But the insight provided by the magazines allowed me to contemplate the following questions:

- How would the Gospel be received in this part of town?
- Would people object to the message? Be offended? Be intrigued? Not care?
- Could I use my creativity to present the Gospel in this community?
- How can I be a witness to Christ in a way that won't be seen as preachy or Bible- thumper-ish?
- Many of the other magazines in the store speak to a community that is intelligent, well-read, well-informed. How do I share the Gospel in a way that will not be seen as condescending, insulting, or cliche?

I don't have answers to these questions right now, but I do think it raises questions for all us in music ministry. If we are truly called to take the Gospel outside the walls of the church, first we need to learn about our community, and then we need to learn how we can share the Gospel in a way that will not be taken as manipulative or judgmental.

I'm not saying we change the message, but sometimes, we must be creative and open in the method.

The challenge begins...

Palm Sunday

It's times like this that I'm sooo Anglican!

Today, we kicked off Holy Week - my favourite week of the year. It's that week when we really feel like we're walking with Jesus - into Jerusalem, through the trial, at the cross, and finally, the wonder of Easter morning!

Our Palm Sunday service started outside with a few songs lead by djembe, tambourine, and shakers. Inside the church, we were joined by the handbells for the hymns. The highlight of the service was a dramatized reading of the Passion, punctuated by a few short songs. One of the songs we did was the spiritual, "Calvary." Gerald and I actually recorded this song on my first EP, "It is Well with my Soul." We used to sing it all the time, but we haven't sung it for years! It was awesome to jump in again and rediscover the song.

Because this is such a crazy week, we decided to have an extra rehearsal today, which lead to a long, but good, afternoon. With so much 'church stuff' going on this week, I really wanted to attend the service tonight. I just needed that quiet time to sit in the pew and prepare my head and heart for this week. I needed it for my own personal spiritual journey, but also to prepare myself for leading worship throughout the week.

I feel ready. Well, as ready as anyone can ever feel...

Book Review: "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" by John Maxwell

I've mentioned several times how much I love "Talent is Never Enough" by John Maxwell. When I saw he had a new book coming out, I knew I wanted it, and then I was super excited to find out I could get a copy for review!

"Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" speaks to the problem many of us feel on Facebook and other online social communities. Everyone is shouting out information, but ultimately, if you don't connect with someone, who cares?

As Christian musicians, we can sing loud, send out tweets, and stick Jesus fish on our car, but if we don't connect with people, are they really going to hear our message?

John did an interesting experiment with this book. He actually posted pieces of the book online while he was writing it, and invited people to send them his feedback. Not only did he quote individual stories throughout the book, but he literally thanked every person by name in the back of the book. Don't you think all those people feel a connection to the book? Brilliant!

The book is written to help people with connecting on 3 levels: one-on-one, small groups, and in front of an audience. Obviously, I'm reading this through the eyes of a performing musician and worship leader. I feel like this book continues the work I started with the Elijah Conference a few years ago. How do I go from simply performing to actually connecting with the audience and offering something of value to them?

John starts with the principles through which we can connect with others, and taking a "it's more skill than talent" approach, leads us through the steps we can follow to help increase our ability to connect with people in both grand and intimate situations. Each chapter has a great summary and application exercises. I would recommend this book to anyone in leadership, but especially to those of us in ministry. Our message is so important, and if all we're doing is shouting at people, they may miss the message altogether.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

On Eagle's Wings

This afternoon, I sang at the funeral of a friend's husband. Years ago when I walked through my own time of grief, this friend counseled me and inspired me to lean on my faith. To be able to be there now in her time of grief was a true blessing, and one more reason why it's good to be home.

I sang "On Eagle's Wings" - a song of hope and encouragement. It's a song I love to sing, but more and more, the singing has become the secondary goal. As I prepared for today, I thought about the lessons I've been learning from John Maxwell's "Everyone Communicates - Few Connect." As much as I want to sing beautifully, my main goal today was to truly connect with those gathered in the church - to give them this message of hope and encouragement - to let them know that, wherever they are in their faith, wherever they are in their grief, that God is with them, caring for them, loving them.

After all, we can always use a little extra hope.

I hope they felt it.

St. John's Double Header

As I mentioned a few days ago, Gerald and I were handling all the music today at St. John's. We decided to get to the church as early as we could so we could have a nice relaxing start to the service. As we were doing our sound check, I thought, "Isn't it funny that no one is setting up the screen?" Well, tech issues were in the air. The slides (which thankfully, I didn't have to prepare) were not working. The slides cover all the songs and all the prayers.

In moments like this, I'm so thankful that Gerald and I have a lot of theatre and improv experience - craziness just doesn't throw us. Instead of using the opening songs as a sing-along, we invited people to use them as songs of reflection. Our opening hymn wasn't in our current hymnal, so we made a last second switch to "Seek Ye First". We haven't done that song for at least a year, but it had the chords in the hymnal, so it was an easy choice. The offertory, "Amazing Love," was a trickier piece as it's also not in the hymnal. So, I fed the lyrics to the congregation, line by line. I invited those who know it to sing loud and help us lead, and wonderfully, it worked!

Communion became songs of reflection, and thankfully our last song, "How Great Thou Art," was in the hymnal. The response from the congregation was very positive, to both the music and our leadership. I think people respond well in an "we're all in this together" atmosphere.

This evening, we had Monika join us for the Gathering service. We opened with "Holy is the Lord," "Open the Eyes of my Heart," and "Worthy is the Lamb" (Hillsong). It was so beautiful to have Moni's harmonies with us! It always amazes me how we can choose songs, the clergy chooses the sermon, and God somehow ties it all together. By the time we closed with "They'll Know We are Christians by Our Love," we had all been blessed by a message of relationship and transformation.

I like the evening service. It's casual and challenging, and people always bring good treats to snack on!

I first met Tinker...

... in the same way most Stamps-Baxter students met Tinker - as a school greeter in the Nashville airport. His gentle manner and Southern charm welcomed and encouraged all of us as we found ourselves in the sometimes overwhelming atmosphere of shape-notes and convention singing.

When I started to work for the school, I learned that Tinker had a true servant's heart. No job was too small, too trivial, too menial. He was a silent worker, there when you needed him. And he never missed a chance to tell a good story or enjoy a good laugh.

But here's my favourite story about Tinker: My first year at Stamps-Baxter, the school held a bluegrass festival. Students were invited to join the band to sing or play a favourite song. Shaking in my sandals, I stepped up on stage with a copy of my own song, "I Call Out Your Name." I was thrilled to sing the song with a real band of real musicians. But the highlight came when I sat down in the audience. Tinker leaned over and asked if he could have a copy of my song. I was humbled and honoured that someone would like my song enough to take it home with him.

I don't know if he ever sang the song again, but that little bit of encouragement stayed with me.

This weekend, we lost Tinker. We lost an encourager, a gentle soul, a true servant.

Heaven gained a great bass singer.

We'll miss you, my friend.

"Making music with my friends..."

Only the Gaither fans in the crowd will recognize today's post title as a quote and not a cliche.

This week, Monique is in Ottawa enjoying Beaver Tails, so Gerald and I are in charge of musical leadership for 2 services this Sunday. Since we've been knocked out by colds over the past few weeks, I've spent the better part of this week planning all the music.

We're going to have a great Communion service in the morning with a healthy mix of hymns and praise songs. For the evening service, Monika is going to join us on vocals. She came over tonight for tea and rehearsal. We're doing lots of harmony over Gerald's guitar grooves - really looking forward to it!

Now that we're coming out from under our flu-ish cloud, it's nice to be getting stuff done. My new site is close to complete, and I've also signed up for a trial on Sonicbids to help with bookings. We still have an opening for Good Friday, if you need special music at your church that day.

Oh, and I'm reading "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" by John Maxwell. I got it through Thomas Nelson's book review program, and I just found that it's not going to be publicly released til the end of the month. I have it before anyone else! I am so in the loop! I don't know what that loop is, but I'm in it!

Out from Under my Cold!

Last weekend, I got knocked out by a terrible cold. I still sang both services Sunday morning, but spent the rest of the day and following few days sleeping, coughing, and trying not to be too cranky.

I'm still tired and coughing, but I finally felt productive today! Here are a few cool things:

- My new site is coming along wonderfully! Can't wait to launch in a week or so.

- My new SoGospelNews article is up. "Do You Have a Maintenance or Mission Ministry?" You can read the whole thing here.

- I was recently interviewed for SGM Radio, and you can read that interview here.

- Things have come together for the Tin Pan North Christian Songwriter Night! We've booked St. John's York Mills for our venue, and all our writers are in place. Now, to sell tickets!

- Monique is away March 21, so I've been choosing music for Gerald and I to play. We're doing both services, so it'll be a fun and busy day!

And if you're in or near Toronto, here's something to think about: Our praise team will be playing our Maundy Thursday service next month, which means we're free on Good Friday. If your church is within reasonable driving distance of Toronto and you'd like special music for your Good Friday service, please leave me a comment with your contact info, or contact me via Facebook.

Spring Sally Sites

This afternoon was so sunny and warm that I actually spent an hour outside gardening! Okay, I pulled the dead plants out of the snow and put them in the composter, but still - gardening!

I've had a wonderfully productive day of booking and catching up on my long To Do list. The highlights:

- Things are moving forward on the Tin Pan North Christian Songwriter Night (Friday, May 28, 7:00pm). The venue and artists are almost confirmed!

- The last weekend of June, our awesome Grammy nominated friend Sally Barris is coming up for a weekend of gigs and hanging out. We've already booked her for church on Sunday, June 27 and the Moonshine Cafe on Monday, June 28. I'll have more details in my newsletter and on my...

- New website! I'm getting a new website! We'll be launching it some time this month! Can't wait!

Lots of good stuff happening! Feels like spring to me!