Shekinah: "God's presence" as women's a cappella at EMU

Photo by Jason Hostetter

Shekinah members (l-r) Katie Derstine, Joanna Souder, Anna Dintaman, Andrea Kniss, Olivia Hunsberger, Heidi Bowman, Melinda Steffy, Amanda Maust, and Jenny Hartwig lead worship in University chapel November 24. The independent women's a cappella group, along with Hannah Kratzer and Liza Heavener (not pictured), has been performing at EMU and other area venues since Fall 2003.

In Hebrew, "Shekinah" means "God's presence among God's people." But since Fall 2003, "Shekinah" has taken on new meaning for members of the EMU and surrounding communities: namely, "women's a cappella."

The independent female singing group, comprised of 11 former and current students at EMU, was formed last September almost by accident. Now just over a year old, Shekinah is taking steps to clarify its purpose and goals as an ensemble.

In early 2003, Katie Derstine had been wishing for a women's a cappella group, but had not yet acted on the idea. So when campus pastor Brian Martin Burkholder asked her to provide music for chapel, Derstine was pleased to receive 11 enthusiastic responses to her e-mailed request for female singers. However, she said, "it was just a one-time thing."

But according to Burkholder, "Shekinah was so good that folks realized that [the group] was a gift to EMU and potentially the larger church."

Once Derstine and company began receiving requests to sing at area churches and other venues, they needed a name. Ever since, as Derstine put it, things have "snowballed" for Shekinah.

Now a senior, Derstine has taken most of the leadership responsibility up to this point, which includes selecting music, leading weekly rehearsals, coordinating schedules, booking performances, and organizing recording and CD sales. "Shekinah is my baby," she says. "I don't mind doing that kind of behind-the-scenes work."

Two weeks ago, the women sat down to discuss goals for leadership, commitment, professionalism, and musicianship within the group. Eager to incorporate the leadership talents of other group members, Derstine took the opportunity to delegate out some of the responsibilities for next semester.

A meeting of this type was a first for Shekinah since the group's formation, and Derstine found it to be "deeply moving and therapeutic." The women shared both joys and challenges they've encountered as members of Shekinah.

"We have a very talented group of musicians," said Derstine, "and so far we've kind of taken that for granted, and said that we're 'good enough.' But now we're starting to push beyond that, to become as good as we can be."

Additional rehearsal time, more intentional memorization of music, and group cohesiveness are goals that she hopes will "push us to a higher level of musicianship, and will make for an even more meaningful experience for our audiences."

Not that the experience has been less than meaningful for Shekinah or her audiences thus far, according to Melinda Steffy ('03), one of the newest additions to the group.

"A lot of our music resonates very powerfully with the people who hear it, and with those of us who perform it," she said. "The words and music and, in some cases, the memory of a song create an experience where something at the core of a person is moved. It has very little to do with the musicians and much more to do with the mysteries of music and spirit."

For Junior Jenny Hartwig, making "beautiful music" with Shekinah is "one of the highlights of my week."

One of the challenges Shekinah has faced is being compared to Sons of the Day (SOTD), a male a cappella group led by EMU alumni Matt Hunsberger and Clay Showalter that formed at about the same time last year.

The groups have had a few joint performances, but this is becoming more difficult since SOTD charges a set fee for most of their performances. Although Derstine says the comparisons are understandable and can be "flattering, because SOTD is an immensely talented group of men," she wants people to know that the two groups are very different. SOTD is a professional group; Shekinah is a ministry.

In some respects, she said, "Shekinah has really followed in the footsteps of Full Table." Full Table was an EMU men's a cappella group in existence from 2000-2002. Derstine bases this comparison on the more relaxed nature of the groups and the way each developed. She feels fortunate to have Matt Hunsberger and Clay Showalter (former Full Table and current SOTD members) still in the area to offer guidance based on their experience managing a cappella groups.

Campus Ministries and Church Relations at EMU have promoted Shekinah in the broader community. According to Burkholder, although the group is independent, EMU wants to support Shekinah in order to "encourage student participation in worship and leadership development for the church."

Burkholder added that he was "glad to see Shekinah mature from a group that offered 'special music' to a group that leads worship."

The nature of Shekinah and the young age of the women, said Derstine, make long-term planning difficult. As members of the group come and go (due to cross-culturals, graduation, marriage, etc.), auditions are held to balance out the missing voices.

The group will shrink slightly to 10 members in the spring; Sophomore Sara Hershberger will join when Hartwig and Sophomore Liza Heavener leave on cross-culturals.

Shekinah has two more performances this semester: Thursday, Dec. 9 at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community's "Celebration of Lights," and Friday, Dec. 10 at Eastern Mennonite High School's Christmas banquet. Recent performances included a benefit concert at JMU for Harrisonburg's Free Clinic, University chapel services, and worship services in Chesapeake, Va. and Harleysville, Pa.

Shekinah's repertoire includes folk hymns, spirituals, classical church music, and some secular pieces. The group also has a website: www.shekinah.htmlplanet.com, with schedule, biography, CD, and other information. Anyone outside the group interested in maintaining the site should contact Derstine.