The following was originally published as an article for the Summer 2015 issue of The Shield, a quarterly magazine of St. George’s Episcopal Church. Some modifications have been made for the purposes of this site.
The Table is a purposefully casual Anglican service of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville. I have been the music director since 2013, but have been a musician there since its inception. Our desire is to provide a Christian worship service that is intimate, authentic, approachable, and multi-generational. Like a family dinner, our hope is that the service can be both raucous and serious; a place to laugh and cry. But most of all, it’s a place to be welcomed; a place to have a place.
The Table Troubadours
I draw from a broad spectrum of music to facilitate the tone of the service. I’ve used everything from ancient plainchant, pop radio, modern worship songs, and original material. This variety is tempered by the unique sound we are discovering as The Table Troubadours – an acoustic-driven rhythm section with lots of sonic space for the people of God to sing the truth of God.
It’s a fantastic mash-up of charisma and liturgy.
People often ask how I choose songs for a given service. I don’t really know and if, come Monday morning, I’m staring at my blank computer screen thinking “now, what on earth are we going to sing this Sunday?” it wouldn’t be the first time. But I do have a routine that leans heavily on the church calendar and the lectionary as well as an attempt to balance well-known songs with new ones.
Leading music at The Table has been a tremendous growth opportunity for me. Having had my faith formed in Baptist and charismatic circles, I am just beginning to learn of the treasures within the Anglican liturgy. And I hope that by bringing my heritage to The Table, others can grow as I am.
