Music Notes

As always, Christmas has proven to be a wonderful time at SUMC, especially for music. In spite of a pretty nasty ice storm, the children did a marvelous job in their pageant this year, “The Unfriendly Beasts,” thanks to the direction of Sara Lamb with help from Maggie Wilkinson. The contemporary worship team incorporated a number of great Christmas tunes into the early service, the bell choir sounded wonderful, and the chancel choir sung phenomenally. As I sit and think on the past month of music at SUMC, I thank God that I have been able to be a part of it.

As we look to the new year, I am always reminded of a fresh beginning. We read in the Bible that it is not only at the new year that we can have a new beginning, but each day. God’s mercies are new every morning. There is grace enough for all that we encounter each day, and all that God has planned for us in this coming year. What an amazing God we serve – not a God of just a second chance, but a God who gives us hope renewed day by day. I hope that in this new year, we will be reminded of God’s grace to us each and every day as we live our lives worshipping Him.

As I sit and write this, I can hear the sounds of my four-year-old nephew playing downstairs. He and his family are visiting for Thanksgiving. As many of you may know, he has a rare autoimmune blood disease, and Pastor Russell has mentioned him in prayer on numerous occasions. It is wonderful to see him, and to see that in spite of intense chemotherapy treatments, he is just as active as any four year old boy can be. And although I do not have children of my own yet, and cannot fully appreciate the role of a parent, it certainly pains me to think of him suffering with this illness.

I can’t begin to imagine how God must have felt sending His only Son here to earth at Christmas. True, it was a joyous occasion, where angels sang and Heaven met Earth in a way that had never or will never happen again. God became a baby—helpless and fragile. God became one of us, sending Jesus to live as a man. I’m sure it pained him, as God knew what would lay ahead for Jesus. The pain, agony, and torment that Jesus would have to endure, and even moreso, the separation they would experience when Jesus died on the cross. The amazing thing about it is the reason all of this occurred.

God did it for us. Christmas is all about recounting and celebrating the love that God had for us in sending His most prized thing – His son. I’m sure it pains parents terribly to see one of their children suffering, and it was truly a sacrifice for God to send us His Son. Yet the ending of the saga has not yet finished. As we recall the first Advent, we know that God will once again come to earth, but this time not as a helpless baby to live and die a brutal death, to be raised again in a miraculous way. This time, He will be coming as a mighty King, and the pain and suffering that we experience in this life will be forever removed, and we will forever be in God’s presence. That is truly something about which we can sing, as the angels did long ago, “Glory in the Highest!” So this Christmas, let us not just look for Jesus in the manger, but let us anticipate His coming once again in all of His glory.

As I reflect on a season in which we are reminded to give thanks, my thoughts are drawn toward worship. Many of the Psalms are filled with songs of thanks, encouraging us to “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.” (Psalm 137:1). In passages like these we are reminded of things not just tangible and material for which we can give thanks, but the blessings of a relationship with God.

Worship is really an act of thanksgiving, whether we are singing a song of praise, praying, or just sharing an encouraging word or thought with a friend. Just as we give thanks, or send a note of thanks to someone who has given us a gift, worship is an act of response. We love because God first loved us. We respond in worship because God has blessed us and desires to be in a relationship with us. He loved us and loves us more than Himself, which is why Jesus came to die in our place – not because we deserved it. That’s the good news of the gospel. It is that good news that should elicit a response from us in worship and reverence – not just in a song or prayer, but in how we live our lives – a response to God’s gift to us. That is something for which we will be thankful and praising God not just during this season, but eternally, as we stand before His throne in Heaven.

If you are able to come to the contemporary service at some point this month, you will notice two new songs that we are singing. I think they both really point to where we should be in our worship of the Lord. The first one is entitled Draw Me Close to You, and it is really a prayer in song. We will sing about how we need God, God’s presence, love, and healing in our lives. The chorus states “You’re all I want; you’re all I’ve ever needed.” So often we go after other venues and other things to find fulfillment and meaning, when all along, the One whom we needed is just waiting for us to turn to Him and welcome Him into our lives.

The second new song is entitled “Every Move I Make.” It is a great, fun song, reminding us that no matter what we are doing, we should do it all with God and for God. Every move we make, every decision and choice in our lives, should be considering what God wants us to do, and how we can show His love and grace to a world that is so much in need of it. A key verse we’ll focus on is Acts 17:28, where Paul states: For in him we live and move and have our being. We include God in our decisions not out of patronage or convenience, but because we belong to God; we have our very being in Him.

Whether praising God through contemporary worship songs, or through great hymns of the faith, it is always important to take a moment to reflect on what we’re singing. In order to worship God with all of our heart, mind, and strength, we should know what we are singing. I challenge you this month, in either service, to take some time and really look at the words of the songs. What is behind them? Are you worshipping with your whole mind as you sing? Try singing something as a prayer to the Lord, and let your heart speak to the heart of God.

September marks a unique milestone for SUMC. We celebrate our 125th anniversary on Sunday, Septmber 13th. To mark the occasion, we will have a number of musical highlights in the program, including the gifts of individual members, the chancel and children’s choirs, the bell choir, and music from our contemporary service worship team. It will truly be a grand service.

It reminds me of various points in the Bible when God encourages people to remember and commemorate things. Particularly with the people of Israel in the Old Testament, God set up various holidays and days of remembrance when people could focus on the wonderful things God had done. One of the ways the people were called to remember these occasions was through singing. One such occasion was after God had brought the Israelites through the Red Sea. Moses and Miriam led the nation in a song, declaring, “I will sing to the Lord for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” (Exod. 15:1) Not only did the people sing this song and celebrate God’s victory at that time, but the song was a way for them to carry on the memory of God’s mighty acts to future generations.

So it should be in our lives, as well. God has done great things in our lives as individuals, and in our corporate life as a congregation. What could be a better way to remember this than to sing of God’s faithfulness, and offer remembrances of the good things God has done than with music? So our anniversary is not about anything we have accomplished on our own, but about remembering what God has done for our church. We can sing and offer praises because His presence has been with us in the past, is with us now, and He has promised that it will be with us to the ends of the age.

It is hard to believe that the summer is already here. Some of you may be taking the time this summer to come to the contemporary worship service. I just wanted to take an opportunity to update the congregation on what has been going on with this service, and to encourage you to come at some point. At the beginning of the summer, the worship team from the contemporary service had our first retreat together at Fern Hollow Nature Center. It was a time for reflection on our role in leading the congregation in worship through music, as well as a time to think about what we can do to improve our musical and technical skills. We came up with a mission statement, which emphasized the role we have to lead others in worship and share with them the love of Christ as we all grow together in our relationship with Christ. It was a great time of sharing and growth among team members as we explored what it really means to worship.

One highlight I have had from the contemporary service is seeing how the young people of SUMC have responded to the music and are actively involved in worshipping during the service, and even at rehearsals that their parents attend. Some have even approached me, wanting to help participate in leading, which is wonderful. I praise God that we can use music to reach our children, and nurture them as they begin their walk with God. We will be blessed to have four of our children leading the service on July 12th.

It is my hope and prayer no matter what service you attend, that the music ministry at SUMC helps bring you before the throne of God in worship – encountering a loving and faithful God in Spirit and in truth.

The month of June signals the beginning of Summer, and the end of the season for the choir. It has truly been a great year for music at SUMC, and the choir has taken on some challenging music, from portions of Handel’s Messiah, to stretching themselves with a unique procession down the aisle during the international celebration. I have heard a number of comments from those in the congregation about how good the choir has been sounding, and I would like to echo those sentiments. I take very little credit, as I have a great group of committed singers to work with, who take their task seriously, and are always striving to improve. They do a marvelous job.

Our last Sunday singing will be June 7th, at the St. Matthews AME Zion Church. On Ash Wednesday, when St Matthews joined us for a joint service, their choir director and I agreed to do something jointly the next time we met together. So, on the 7th, our choirs will be singing together. Everyone involved is looking forward to this, and I hope that you will be blessed through the music that we provide. I also hope that you will be blessed with a little picture of Heaven. In John’s Revelation, one of the visions he witnessed was a scene in Heaven where people from every tribe, tongue, and nation were before the throne of God in worship. Whenever we come together in worship with those whose cultural background is not our own, we are catching a little glimpse of this. Why wait until Heaven? We can worship God together starting now, and marvel at the creativity and wonder of God.

Today I started my annual Spring Cleaning. I don’t know about you, but I like to clean, and during Spring Cleaning at my house, I like to give everything a thorough cleaning. Some people, including my wife, think that this is a bit odd; but just give me a dusty room, a mop and a broom, and I will have a great day. Windows, floors, even the garage – I like things to be orderly and neat. I’ve also been told that this will no doubt change once I have children. I don’t know if it’s just the fact that I can see results when I am done working, or if it feels like I am doing something productive, but I enjoy the process of cleaning.

I do know, however, that I am not alone in liking things to be clean. In fact, I am in very good company. David, in Psalm 51, cries out in a repentant song to the Lord, asking to be given a clean heart, after having committed adultery and plotting a murder. As we draw close to God in worship, we are often confronted with our own inabilities, sins, and shortcomings as we recognize God’s holiness. The stain of guilt can sometimes leave us feeling dirty, unworthy, and shameful. The great news of the gospel, though, is that God likes to clean, too. Scriptures tell us that God desires to take our sins, which stain us like scarlet, and make us as white as snow – clean! It is God who, through the Holy Spirit, chooses the sinful place of our hearts, and sets up house there.

So if any of you are getting some cleaning done this Spring, know that you, too, are getting a thorough cleaning. As we invite God into our hearts, as we worship with every area of our lives, not just in our singing and music, but even more importantly with our whole mind, body, heart, and soul, He takes those places which are dirty and filled with sin, and replaces them with those things that are good and noble. Talk about an extreme home makeover!

The Lord has risen, indeed. We know this not just because of the Sunday in which we celebrate His resurrection, but because we serve a living God. The same Jesus who rose from the dead is the one to whom we can come with our prayers, with our joys, with our sorrows and thanksgivings, and with our praise. How joyous to know that we serve a God with power over the grave—that though we face trials and difficulties in life, the ending has already been written in Christ’s victory over death.

Easter would be an excellent time for you to invite friends to church, and perhaps between the music that we are planning, the message from Pastor Russell, and ultimately by the work of the Holy Spirit, they will be touched, continue attending, and most importantly start on their journey with the Lord. April brings not only the week of our Lord’s Passion and triumphant resurrection, but a number of other exciting events for music at SUMC. On the last Sunday in April, we will be celebrating internationally, with food after the service, ethnic clothing, and music from various parts of the world—it’s a week you won’t want to miss!

I’d like to again give a special thank you to Sandra Lane. For some time now, she has been the director for the youth choir, and this 2008–2009 season was her last year in that position. I know we have all enjoyed the children’s singing under her leadership, and that we have seen our children grow not only in their love for music and singing, but in their devotion to God, as well. Thank you Sandra, for your hard work and dedication! Sara Lamb will be filling this vacant position for the next season, and is more than qualified to do an excellent job with the children. I look forward to working with her as we share God’s gift of music with and through the children of the congregation.

February was certainly an exciting month at SUMC. The new contemporary service started with a bang, with great attendance, good fellowship, and a wonderful opportunity to worship the Lord. Many thanks go out to all who helped to get this off the ground, from musicians, to planners, to Audio-visual help.

March brings to us a season of Lent, where we recall the 40 days that Jesus fasted, and during which we prepare our hearts to remember his Passion. The first song the choir is singing during the month will be “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked.” This is a poignant representation of Jesus’ life on earth, as we “walk” with him through His birth, earthly ministry, and death on the cross. I thought the anthem was particularly appropriate for Lent, as we remember the steps that Jesus took in preparation for His sacrifice for us. But this idea is not, and should not, be confined to Lent. As followers of Christ, we are called to actually follow. This requires action. It requires walking where He walked, in His footsteps. Jesus calls us, as His followers, to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Not only during Lent, but every day of the year, we are to actively go where He leads. He calls us to make sacrifices—our journey on earth is not on a street paved with gold, but one with potholes, bumps, cracks, and detours. Jesus told us that, just as the world rejected Him, they would neither understand nor accept us. But regardless of what we encounter, we are called to be faithful as we walk where He walked. The best part of it is knowing that He has not only walked these steps before, but that He continues to walk with us on our journey.

February has brought something new and exciting to Sewickley United Methodist Church: a new Sunday morning worship service. The 8:30 Contemporary Service, beginning February 1st, offers something new for SUMC members, as well as those in the community. With a focus on more modern praise and worship music and a different format of the worship service, the contemporary service will definitely enhance the music ministry at SUMC. I encourage you to come and check it out at some point during the month of February.

I’d like to share some of my thoughts and personal experience on contemporary worship. I am an organist and love traditional church music, having grown up in the First Presbyterian Church, downtown, where the organ was played very well and the choirs always did an excellent job. Yet, when I was younger, and through my college years, I felt somewhat distant from God during worship. I enjoyed the hymns, but I could not connect personally. While in college, I started attending churches that had more contemporary music, and I found that this was really helpful for my relationship with the Lord. I felt that the music was something to which I could connect, and I was free to sing with more passion and conviction. I even got to a place where I no longer enjoyed singing traditional hymns and church music because it felt so dry to me in comparison to the newer music.

That being said, my “worship pendulum” has swung back toward the middle since those years. Not only can I appreciate the emotion and passion that come along with contemporary music, but I also heartily enjoy the grandeur, majesty, and solid Biblical message of hymns and traditional church music, as well. I can use both to express my thanks to God, and to give Him praise and honor.

I share these thoughts because some in our congregation may wonder why we are even having a new service. Our traditional service is certainly worshipful and is enjoyed by many, as it serves their spiritual needs. But others may desire a different format in which to express their praise and thanks to the Lord. I have learned that God does not care how we worship—with what instruments or with what songs, but He looks on the heart. In John, Jesus told the woman at the well that God is looking for those who will worship in spirit and in truth. With sincere and grateful hearts, let us come before our Lord and Savior, whether with the organ and choir, or with guitar and drums. It is my hope that either within the contemporary service, or traditional service, you will feel drawn closer to God through the ministry of music, wherever you are in your walk with God, and however you best express your praise to Him.