Category: Music

Music in church

2/18/2020

Emily Aldinger

Lately my church has been evaluating the place of music in the Sunday service. Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject.
    Music is an essential part of any worship service; it is best addressed in the contest of worship.
    I come to church to worship in community, to open my mind, body, and spirit to God, to open my heart to love. Each part of the service does this for me; each is necessary for the service to be whole. I want to leave church feeling connected to God, loving my enemies, rejoicing in my friends and family, feeling gratitude, wanting to go out to God’s work, trying to follow Christ….
     All of the components of church music are important --prelude, postlude, choir, covenant, other performances, and hymns. It is music that binds together all the elements of the service—welcome, prayer of invocation, children’s moment, scripture, message, joys and concerns, events of the church, prayers….

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Here we come a caroling

12/21/2019

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Our church carol sing was last night. We set off to an assisted living facility to sing to two long-time members, one whose wife died this past June; then to the homes to several members who invite us in or wave and sing along from the window; next to an over 55 condo village. Final stop, our minister’s home for pizza.
This marvelous event has been organized for years by one of our members; people come and go, situations change, different stops appear on the itinerary. The event is clearly intergenerational; children who joined us as toddlers, showed up again, home from college. Some things change, some things stay the same. The message is constant: Jesus is born, love is expressed.

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God seen and heard~

4/30/2016

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Today I attended the memorial service for a dear friend at my church. Jean passed away at age 93, but she was watching and singing with us. It started this morning when one of her daughters, looking down onto the parking lot of her hotel, saw a gold charm in the shape of a heart with ‘Mom’ written on it. It continued as the choir sang Sanctus from Charles Gounod’s “St. Cecilia Mass’. Once again we were reminded that God is love, and God is all around us, to be seen and heard.

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A musical weekend~

12/14/2014

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When I attend a concert, I create the excellent possibility that I can get out of my head and into my heart. Yesterday I attended the Concord Chorus Concert featuring a healthy dose of Handel, along with “Dona nobis pacem” by Peteris Vasks, and some guitar pieces by my friend Dave McLellan. I went with my friend Cheryl and as we drove over we both agreed that we were pretty wound up. After the concert, our mind/body/spirit was calm.

Today that unwinding happened again, this time at the Annual Messiah Sing at my church. What a musical weekend. I should be set for the week.

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Listening to Constance Demby~

2/26/2014

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Yesterday a writer friend came for tea. We had a marvelous, conversation about life and about our writing. I was totally energized, but then, by 7, I felt incredibly sleepy. I couldn’t keep my eyes open to read, and yet it was too early to go to bed. I also felt very content and complete, and so I lit the candle my friend had given me, and sat in the chaise on ‘the deck’, listening to Sacred Space Music by Constance Demby. I usually keep the cottage silent, but last evening God seemed very present in the music.

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Hallelujah

12/9/2012

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Hallelujah. I just participated in the 39th Messiah Sing at Memorial Congregation Church. I’ve been doing this for the past fifteen or so years. Perhaps next year you will join us. It’s not about having a good voice, but about loving music and the experiencing the joy of singing with others.

A special Hallelujah goes to soloist Alison McLellan who grew up in our church. She was awesome, and by that I mean, filled with awe.

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Music in church

Here we come a caroling

God seen and heard~

A musical weekend~

Listening to Constance Demby~

Hallelujah

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