IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: A version of this article originally appeared on ThoroldToday on Nov. 17.
'Music Mondays' have quickly become a touchstone for many of the parishioners of St. John’s Church in downtown Thorold.
Every week, Reverend Canon Katherine Morgan posts a video of her singing a hymn, in an effort to offer solace and comfort to others.
“I’ve sang all my life,” says Morgan, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “I didn’t publicly until recently but music has always been very meaningful to me.”
When the pandemic broke out in March 2020, and the world went into lockdown, Morgan was looking for new ways to keep in touch with her congregation.
“We were looking for different ways people could connect with their faith and connect with each other,” Morgan says. “We wanted to do a little something every day that people could engage with in their own time.”
Initially, Morgan created Facebook posts that were themed around every day of the week. There were Music Mondays, Time out Tuesdays, Wisdom Wednesdays, Thankful Thursdays, Fun Fridays, and Scenic Saturdays.
Music Monday started as a way to share a piece of music, but quickly morphed into Morgan singing hymns.
“We started sharing YouTube links of videos that we liked, some of our previous music,” says Morgan. “Once in a while I’d be brave enough to [sing].”
Morgan says that hymns have always been an important part of worship to her.
“I always was one of those loud voices, not always singing well, but singing loudly in church as a kid growing up,” she says. “We could all sing together and it didn’t really matter if you could sing or not. You didn’t necessarily have to be able to sing along. You just make a joyful noise.”
Even though she loves singing, it can still be daunting to do it in front of an audience.
“I sing in church, we sing hymns together—I didn’t very often sing solo,” Morgan says. “It looks brave but I’m only ever recording when I’m alone in the church. There’s never anybody. If I could be alone in the building that’s even better.”
Morgan says that the Music Monday posts are an easy way to share spiritual hymns that can give solace to people.
“There’s no music, it’s a capella—it’s done in such a way that people if they want to they can sing along to it,” she says. “The words are there. It’s nothing fancy. Most of the times what you see is what I recorded. Very rarely do I try to re-record. The more times you try to make it perfect, the more mistakes you make. Usually the first time works.”
The enthusiastic response to the videos has been unexpected.
“I’m always surprised,” Morgan says. “People will say: ‘That was my favourite hymn you sang last week,' or it’s something that people check in with. I’m just glad it’s something that people are engaging with and find meaningful.”
As lockdowns have ended and in-person church services have resumed, Morgan has scaled back the church’s Facebook posts, but Music Mondays are not going away any time soon.
Morgan thinks that music is an easy way to connect with others.
“It’s a very powerful thing,” she says. “Even if you can’t sing or can’t play an instrument, music is something that touches your soul, it evokes feelings, it evokes a response. It’s a great equalizer. We might disagree on a lot of things but oftentimes music can build connections.”
It’s safe to say that the pandemic has forced the church to find new ways to engage with the community through social media.
“We would have gotten here eventually but we kind of got pushed into it,” Morgan says. “It’s been a lovely way to engage. People aren’t coming to church every Sunday like they maybe did in the past. This finds ways for folks to engage, to live out their faith in an authentic way, and still offer their prayers and connect with the community as well.”
To listen to Morgan sing a few hymns, head over to the church’s Facebook page.
