First steps

 First steps 1994

Gathered as "The Women's Group," we seekers began to study and worship together at  St. Mark's 

With permission from the Rector, we worshipped regularly in the Lady Chapel with an inclusive language liturgy.  The Reverend Paulette Schiff presided and, since I was studying organ with the organist, Wesley Parrott, she asked me to offer music.  To encourage feminine voices, I looked for hymns by women in the Episcopal Hymnal 1982.  There I found less than 10 hymns with music by women, a few more with words, harmonizations, or descants by women.  In all, far less than even 10% of the over 720 hymns in the official hymnal.  We had to look further.