Sunrise: Songs for the Morning

Who I am

Thank you so much for considering my campaign! My name is Elise Massa, and I am a songwriter and music and worship arts minister at an Anglican church in Pittsburgh, PA. One of the treasures that I have encountered in the Anglican church is the Book of Common Prayer, specifically the fixed-hour prayer liturgies of the Daily Office. Over the past four years, I have written music to accompany the BCP Daily Offices. This campaign is for the first of four EPs, Sunrise: Songs for the Morning. The album is slated to be released November 2021, with limited physical copies available in December.

The Need

This project has already been backed by a few patrons, in particular my grandmother, Lila Hindmarsh who passed away in 2020. The greatest inheritance she gave me was a love for music and her continuous prayers. This album is dedicated to her. Now, I need $3,500 to break even and pay musicians, artists, publishing, and campaign costs. I pledge to not make a profit on your support. Instead, any funds raised over my goal will be put directly toward the ongoing production of the next three (3) Daily Office EPs:

• At Noon: Songs for Midday
• Sunset: Songs for the Evening
• Compline: Songs for the Night

The Artists

I publish a lot of "rough draft" albums on my Bandcamp page. I wanted these songs to reach their fullest potential, so I knew that I needed the help of kindred spirits. The Lord provides! Drew Elliot, frequent collaborator with Cardiphonia and Bellwether Arts, masterfully brought these songs to life in his studio. The album artwork was designed by Brianna Kelly. I could not have asked for better partners! With your support, I can honor them for their tremendous work.

Why the Daily Office? In jazz music, it is much easier to improvise with integrity when the foundations are in your core. I view one's prayer life in a similar way. In 1549, Thomas Cranmer compiled The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) as part of the English Reformation. Among other liturgies, the BCP contained the Daily Office, short prayer liturgies designed to reorient our minds to the Lord at fixed points throughout the day. While Cranmer's original BCP had liturgies for Morning and Evening, future iterations of the BCP include Afternoon and Compline (bedtime). The prayers are meant to be formative, not legalistic. The Daily Office has provided me with a springboard to express my personal prayers, and a resting place when I have no words to pray. During this pandemic in which every rhythm was disrupted, the Daily Office offered a steady cadence that anchored our family as the winds constantly shifted around us. We currently use The Book of Common Prayer (2019)

It's also worth noting that The Daily Office makes space for both written and spontaneous prayers. In this same way, some of the tracks on this album are word for word from the Daily Office text, while others are "spontaneous" expansions.

But why set the prayers to folk music? A few reasons: I am not a morning person. I am usually rushed, and I barely have time to shower let alone stop and pray. So, I started creating songs to accompany the Daily Office as a way to access the Office text (especially as I ran to catch my bus!) Also, my son has a hard time sitting still for spoken prayers, but he loves music! If he can memorize Carole King and the Okee Dokee brothers, surely he could learn the Daily Office through music! Finally, just as Cranmer chose English because it was the common vernacular to the people, I chose folk music as a common music vernacular.

Whether in the kitchen, commuting to work, or having a quiet morning, these songs are for you. I want to invite you into the beautiful cadence that I and others have found through the Daily Office. I pray that the Lord will use this EP to help you and others establish your own prayer rhythms as we learn together how to pray without ceasing for a world without end.

In his mercy,

Elise