Beloved Friends-
The words below are from an article I wrote over 15 years ago when I was still a new priest. As I read them today in the context of our worship life together at Trinity- and amidst all the hurdles we have faced coming close to two years now, they make me smile even more and strengthen my conviction that music builds sacred communities.
We have a fabulous music ministry here at Trinity with Chelsie Cree as our gifted Choir Director, Grace Mauk and Brian Buckner as our amazing Accompanists, Melissa Toth, Kim Buehler, Michael Barlos and Bradley Baker as our dedicated Choir Section Leaders and a growing and diverse collection of singers of all ages and backgrounds making up our beautiful Trinity Choir. For nearly 2 years we have been kept apart (with a few exceptions) and yet, we have found a way to keep singing, and maybe even more importantly a way to welcome new people into our community fostering wonderful relationships. Thursday night choir, even on zoom, for one hour each week has become a true balm for so many of us.
One day we will indeed be back to the world of singing side by side in the same room. But until then, I want you to know that I am so very proud that we have trusted the power of God’s love to do a truly new thing with and for us through Trinity@Home.
With each new year we continue to expand our range of what we offer and remain committed to stretching ourselves always pushing the musical boundaries exploring what it means to offer music to the glory of God.
So, if you have been thinking about joining choir, or sharing instrumental gifts, now would be a great time to step forward and give it a try by contacting Chelsie at Chelsie@trinitytoledo.org ! Know that in that sharing there is always a double blessing; you will bless us as well as finding the joy of making a joyful noise in a community that truly (and gratefully) cannot keep from singing!
May you never forget that you are loved,
Lisa
The importance of music in building a faith community
I was 5 years old when I learned about the importance of music in church. It was my first year in the very youngest choir in the First Presbyterian church and I was given a solo verse in The Friendly Beasts. Through those few measures of singing all alone within that very supportive community I experienced a sense of belonging and purpose, and I knew I would want to come back again and again.
It was through music I was invited fully into the church and it is still through music that I find my way back week after week, year after year. Whether it is listening to a small group of stalwart singers in a struggling church trying to do their best with no choir director or piano, or the elegant sounds of a cathedral organ and choir, it is in those moments that I experience the in-breaking of Christ among us most emphatically.
Even more so do I experience what it means to be the body of Christ when we all are gathered into the divine and holy moment of making music together. It is from the moment we start our times of worship, the fabric we weave together as we prepare first to listen and receive the Word, and then move to the Table and prepare to make Eucharist together. And then, finally, it is music again that completes our time together by sending us out into the world to do and be the work that Christ has blessed and given us.
Music has long been thought of as a “universal language” and nowhere is that perhaps truer than in the church; the church that has been deemed as the only organization that exists primarily for those who are not yet members!
Music is often the topic of discussion in church leadership groups and the most common “dilemma” involving the style and “flavor” of music desired by the membership. Sadly, what is often forgotten in these very real debates is that some of our most important conversation partners are not yet with us; those who have not yet found their way into this irresistible place we call our spiritual home.
To that end, we may best be served by spending time remembering and wrestling with questions about mystery, invitation and inclusion. What kind of music feeds the soul and captures the imagination of those outside our walls? The brilliance of this answer is that there is no one right answer! But it is in attending to that question that we will embrace the power and promise of music to invite, engage and enliven the lives of our members as well as those who dare to cross the threshold and give church a try.