Music on Sundays, May 16, 2010

This past Sunday was Music Sunday, one of my favorites of our church year.  I had to miss this year.  I didn't get to hear our great musicians and that saddened me.  Fortunately, the beautiful music our choir and others shared can be found at this link.

Music Sundays remind me of the service our choir and musicians do for our church.  Participation in choir is definitely one of the biggest gifts someone can make to our church.  We'll never be able to count the number of hours that someone like Evelyn Payne has given to the church in her commitment to practice in the choir.  Choir members practice on Thursdays and Sundays, in addition to any time they may practice on their own at home.  All of this to provide us with an anthem, an offertory, a contemplative mood.  Other musicians offer gifts from their years of expertise on their instrument.  How long has Blake Taylor been playing the harmonica?  When did Kevin Pease first bang on a set of drums?  Count these hours, too, when adding up what goes into our worship service.

Some people contribute to our music programs in ways that are never heard.  Cynthia Heinrich serves as the Choir's librarian.  She makes sure that everyone gets a piece of music and everyone returns the one given to them.  And the guys who run sound (Yes, it's all guys at this point.  Any volunteers, ladies?) have another job that goes without much thanks.  It's a job that only gets noticed if done poorly--which is probably why you may not have noticed this team's work before. They do great work. 

And, of course, the music committee's work is unsung.  Music is one thing in our worship service and in our budget that we all seem to have visceral feelings about.  What sounds angelic to me may sound heathenish to you.  The variety of song experienced today should remind us that when it comes to music, we all have something different that provokes our spirit.  Our Music Director, Tom Sherwood, has made a commitment to encourage musical variety.  If you don't like a song, just wait.  Something you like (and something I may not like) will come along soon.  Support those who give their gifts at church.  Give thanks. 

Go out into the world. . .
G.