Our Sing Along 250 Celebration had 80 visitors/members come and sing.  It was glorious!  

 

Our instrumentalists are on a roll.  I am so grateful for the dedication of our instrumentalists.  They come to church at 8:45 AM each week and they serve us!  Thank you!!

 

The Bullfrog Choir is on vacation!!   We did not have many Frogs come!  We will resume after summer and hopefully have an interest in having a CHURCH ADULT CHOIR.

 

I have been asked in May to start a choir, but we did not have people dedicated to coming to practice.  Music requires practice as a group.  Group singing and learning how to sight-read was my goal.  We had Gaby and Pastor coming, and Gaby’s parents came.  Luli came!  There were three other women members who came, but that is not enough representation for a choir.

 

We don’t need just women; we also need MEN!  Where are our singers?  I know they exist, but without practice we cannot do special anthems.

 

Please let me know when a good time for a choir rehearsal would be possible.   I tried Wednesdays 6:30-7:30 PM which was light outside and no problem with driving in the dark. As fall approaches, the night driving will come back.  We need a new time. A possible time for a 20-minute rehearsal would be after church on Sundays.  

 

I see the CHILDREN’S CHOIR for 15 minutes Sundays, and they will be first.  They seek me out when they are in church.  I don’t want to lose that interest that they have in music!  

 

Let’s see when a good time would be to meet for Adult Choir.  (Possibly meet for a month, prepare an anthem, and then take a break.)

 

Thanks for your consideration.  

   Donna

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Music Notes...                                         

 

Why Is There Music in the Divine Service? What Purpose Does It Serve?

Why is there music in the Divine Service? What purpose does it serve? Is it merely to entertain us or to stir our emotions?

 

Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions answer with a resounding no.

The primary purpose of music in the Church is to serve the Word of God. Music is never an end in itself; rather, it is the handmaid of the Gospel. Through hymns, psalms, canticles, and liturgical songs, the truths of Holy Scripture are Christ dwelling in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and proclaimed, confessed, and impressed upon the hearts of God's people. As St. Paul writes, "Let the word of spiritual songs dwell in you richly”. (Colossians 3:16). 

Everything in the Divine Service points us to Christ and His saving work. The hymns, liturgy, Scripture readings, sermon, and prayers all proclaim the same Gospel. They find their highest expression at the Lord's Table, where Christ gives His true Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins. Church music should therefore prepare us to receive these gifts in faith and help us confess with one voice the faith once delivered to the saints.

The purpose of church music is not to entertain or to create an emotional experience. The world offers endless opportunities for amusement and self-expression. The Church offers something infinitely greater: the gifts of Christ delivered through His Word and Sacraments. Music in the Divine Service supports and adorns these gifts; it never overshadows or replaces them.

Luther treasured music because it is a precious gift of God and a faithful servant of theology. He wrote that, after the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise because it proclaims the Gospel, comforts troubled consciences, strengthens faith, and teaches Christian doctrine in a memorable way. For this reason, Lutheran congregations have always been known as singing churches.

The redeemed sing because they have been redeemed. Having received God's grace through the Means of Grace, Christians cannot help but respond with songs of thanksgiving and praise. Our voices and our instruments are not offered to display human talent but to glorify the Triune God and to confess Christ before one another and before the world.

Music reaches its highest purpose in the Christian Church because it is the song of the redeemed. It serves the Word, confesses the faith, strengthens the faithful, and gives all glory to God alone.

2 Chronicles 5:13

13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever when the people lifted up their voices and sounded their instruments in praise to the Lord.”

 

            Donna

MUSIC AT ST. PAUL'S

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