Minutes

Sacred Harp Singings: Minutes and Directory (the Minutes book) is published annually by the Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association.

Minutes are submitted by secretaries of singings and compiled by an editorial committee.

There is a $15 per singing day fee for listing singings in the book. This fee is usually taken up as a collection among attendees.

Please note that starting in 2021, Minutes books are not provided to singings. Please see below how to order a bound/printed Minutes book. An online PDF version of the Minutes book is available for download at no charge.

The Minutes book includes:

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The US price for the 2022-2023 book is $9.00 plus tax and shipping. Note: The book is shorter than usual due to the effects of Covid-19. The price is estimated to be $10.00 in future years.

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Visit the online search page to browse or search in all minutes since 1995.

The statistics page lets you explore how often individual songs from the 1991 Edition are sung.

The online song indexes offer detailed information about songs in The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition.

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Submitting your minutes

Please see the directions for submitting minutes in the opening pages of the minutes book for the most recent year (which you can download above).

Also included there, you will find directions for how to submit minutes electronically (by e-mail).

Sample Minutes Submission

Below is an example of correctly-formatted minutes. It will help us very much if you can read the written instructions, and then match the writing style, punctuation, and format of this example as closely as possible.

Note: this example represents a 2-day singing. For any multi-day event, please include a heading introducing each day, as shown. For single-day events, these extra headings are not needed.

As a reminder, please paste your minutes directly into the body of an e-mail (rather than sending an attachment). We will add all formatting (fonts, bold, italic, etc). Click here or download the 2019 Minutes book, above, to see how these sample minutes appeared when published.

Alabama Sacred Harp Musical Association
Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham, Alabama
November 23-24, 2019

Saturday, November 23

The 120th session of the Alabama Sacred Harp Musical Association met
at Jefferson State Community College, Eugene Fitzgerald Student
Center, on the fourth Sunday and Saturday before in November.  The
class was called to order by Tom George leading 31b.  Daniel Lee
offered the opening prayer.

Leaders: Danny Creel 155 (for Lucy Heidorn); Linda Thomas 52t; Elene
Stovall 171; Cheyenne Ivey 176b; Daniel Lee 77b; Linda Sides 182; Pam
Nunn 192; Rodney Ivey 189; Bridgett Hill Kennedy 168; Nicholas
Thompson 186; David Ivey 464; Cindy Tanner and Sharon DuPriest 269;
Louis Hughes 314; Jeannette DePoy 448b; Bea Aaron 456; Jim Neal 405;
Judy Chambless 472 (for Judy Mincey); Tom Booth 475; Tim Gregg 371;
Samuel Sommers 502; Robert Handel 440; Karen Rollins 274t (for Richard
Mauldin); Christopher Mann 27; Ellen Ray 312b; Samuel Williams 315.

RECESS

Tom George led 100 to bring the class together.  Leaders: David
Brodeur 322; Deborah Taube 344; Jeremiah Ledbetter 30t.  A business
meeting was held and the following officers and committee members were
elected or appointed to serve: Chairman--Danny Creel; Vice
Chairman--Mary Amelia Taylor; Secretaries--Elene Stovall, Linda
Thomas, and Ainslie Allen; Chaplain--Linda Sides; Finance
Committee--Rodney Ivey and Ken Tate; Locating Committee--Linda Thomas
and David Ivey; Memorial Committee--Richard Ivey, Shelby Castillo, and
Judy Caudle; Resolutions Committee--Nicholas Thompson and Ann Jett.
The business session was closed.

Leaders: Tim Morton 512; Anna Hinton 203; Linda Booth 166; Hubert Nall
129; Hazel Heinze 145t; Kathy Manning 337; Nate Green and Norma Green
350; Nathan Rees 212; Delone Cobbs 120; Mary Amelia Taylor 270; Jesse
Latimer 442; Justin Bowen 428; Ann Riley 146; Daniel Williams 387;
Eddie Mash 411; Ken Tate 547; Alex Makris 222; Virginia Eldridge 113.

RECESS

The class was brought back to order by Mary Amelia Taylor leading 35.
Leaders: Tim Taylor 546; Taylor Cook, Trinity Cook, and Tabatha Cook
159; Everett Ivey 153; Eli Hinton 455; Ainslie Allen 460 (for Lucy
Heidorn); Buell Cobb 275t; Lindy Groening 564; John Plunkett 232; Reba
Windom 208; Adrian Eldridge 150; Robert Chambless 343; Judy Caudle 421
(in memory of Aubrey Barfield); Karen Ivey 422; Jim Aaron 74b; Pamela
Minor 121; Lisa Bennett 412; Sarah Trumbore and Tom George 542;
Carolyn Thompson 362; Theresa Westmoreland 280; Andy Ditzler 486 (for
his dad); Susan Cherones 349; Jen Rymut 511; Erica Hinton and Lottie
Hinton 187; David Smead 180; Ann Jett 498; Ana Tighe 436; Leanne
Carter 128; Loyd Ivey and Lilly Underwood 47t; Stanley Smith 500;
Lauren Bock 83t; Jonathon Smith 423.  Linda Sides asked a blessing
before the meal.

LUNCH

The afternoon session began with Danny Creel leading 76b.  Leaders:
Jesse P. Karlsberg 396; Samuel Wright 568; Cassie Allen 197; Kelsey
Ivey 214; Louise Yeager 480; Dylan Feezell 438; Richard Ivey 317; Matt
Hinton 228; Vella Dailey 34b; Robert Handel 490; Meredith Turner 216;
Samuel Sommers 54; Tim Morton 204; Jim Neal 496; John Plunkett 495;
Samuel Williams 48b; Deborah Taube 49b; Justin Bowen 441; Daniel
Williams 123b; Loyd Ivey and Lilly Underwood 283; Ann Riley 318; Cindy
Tanner and Margaret Keeton 276.  Announcements were made.

Danny Creel and Mary Amelia Taylor led 45t as the closing song.  The
class was dismissed with prayer offered by Linda Sides.

Sunday, November 24

The Sunday session of the Alabama Sacred Harp Musical Association met
again at Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham, Alabama.  The
class was called to order by Danny Creel leading 42.  The morning
prayer was offered by Linda Sides.

Leaders: Linda Sides 215; Mary Amelia Taylor 432 (in memory of Aubrey
Barfield); Ken Tate 530 (in memory of Ottis Sides); Linda Thomas 81b;
Richard Ivey 310; Judy Caudle 167; Ann Jett 88t; Rodney Ivey 426b;
Nicholas Thompson 336; Elene Stovall 298; Shelby Castillo 348b; Sharon
DuPriest 434; Cindy Tanner 436; Ed Thacker 532; Pam Nunn 528; Daniel
Lee 411; Robert Chambless 225t (in memory of Norma Mincey); Louis
Hughes 512; Lisa Geist 273; Karen Rollins 354t; Jennifer Lee 377;
Shane Wootten 65.

RECESS

Danny Creel led 170 to bring the class back together.  Leaders: Butch
White 547; Margaret Thacker 426t; David Brodeur 449; Gavin Blakeley
196; Tim Gregg 541; Henry Johnson 398; Ellen Ray 297; Larry Ballinger
97; Rebekah Gilmore 228; Theresa Westmoreland 299; Anna Hinton 183;
Hubert Nall 313t; Kathy Manning 192; Cheyenne Ivey 172; Judy Chambless
209; Jeremiah Ledbetter 551; Sarah Trumbore 430; Eddie Mash 384.

The memorial lesson was conducted by Richard Ivey, Judy Caudle, and
Shelby Castillo.  Richard read the following list of names of the sick
and shut-ins: Velton Chafin, Judy Mincey, Lucy Heidorn, Kelsey Taylor,
Stella Couch, Coy Ivey, Jewel Wootten, Don Bowen, Tommie Spurlock,
Margaret Spurlock, Sonny Erwin, Jennifer Jones, Dennis George, Earl
Ballinger, and Richard Mauldin.  He led 134.

Judy Caudle read a devotional about prayer from the writings of
Charles H. Spurgeon.  Shelby Castillo read the following list of names
of the deceased: Ottis Sides, Ruth Daniel, Eugene Forbes, John
Beasley, Joyce Winfield, Wilda Holmes, Ruth Wyers, Jane Tate, Rozlyn
Greene, Rollan Edwards, Joyce Hubbert--Alabama; Charlene Wallace,
Robby Rivers, Susan Roberts, Norma Mincey--Georgia; Concetta
Branson--Oregon; Paul Luther Wilson--Minnesota; Aubrey
Barfield--Florida; Hugues Albanel--France.  Shelby led 403.  Linda
Sides closed the memorial service with prayer.

Leaders: Lindy Groening 395; Jen Rymut 200; Chita Blakeley 217;
Stanley Smith 271t (for Velton Chafin); Lauren Bock 315; Adrian
Eldridge 500; Kaitlyn Bailey 178; Ainslie Allen 542; Ana Tighe 506;
Alex Makris and Renae Makris 108b; Tom George 540; Jonathon Smith 125;
Matt Hinton 503; Vella Dailey 565; Nate Green and Norma Green 418;
Susan Allred 112; Andy Ditzler 501; Lisa Bennett 461; Nathan Rees 99.
Linda Sides asked a blessing before the noon meal.

LUNCH

The afternoon session began with Danny Creel leading 111b.  Leaders:
Jesse P. Karlsberg 189; Everett Ivey 37b; Reba Windom 142; Pamela
Minor 148; Cassie Allen 327; Eli Hinton 77t; David Smead 50b (for Judy
Mincey); Erica Hinton 309; Kelsey Ivey 30b; Virginia Eldridge 36t;
Greg Allred 36b; Susan Cherones 300; Buell Cobb 131b; Karen Ivey,
Meredith Ivey, and David Ivey 205; Wanda Capps 144; Lottie Hinton 276;
Allison Davis and Gresham Davis 373; Loretta Whitman 176b; Louise
Yeager 45t; Ana Tighe 548; Adrian Eldridge and Larry Ballinger 546 (in
memory of Darrell Swarens); Jen Rymut 550; Lindy Groening 303;
Jeremiah Ledbetter 122; Kathy Manning 400.

A business meeting was held in order to hear reports from various
committees.  David Ivey reported for the Finance Committee that
expenses were met.  He also reported for the Locating Committee that
the Alabama Sacred Harp Musical Association would meet again at
Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham, Alabama, for the 121st
session on the fourth Sunday and Saturday before in November, 2020.
Nicholas Thompson of the Resolutions Committee read its report:
thanking God for His blessings, thanking the officers and committee
members for their service, thanking the cooks for bringing delicious
food for sustenance, and resolving to meet again next year.  Elene
Stovall gave the Secretary's report stating that two hundred five
leaders representing thirteen states led one hundred ninety-three
songs.  The meeting was closed.  Announcements were made.

Danny Creel and Mary Amelia Taylor led 323t as the closing song.
Linda Sides offered the closing prayer, and the class was dismissed.

Chairman--Danny Creel; Vice Chairman--Mary Amelia Taylor;
Secretaries--Elene Stovall, Linda Thomas, and Ainslie Allen