Singing Together

FROM THE ASSISTANT ORGANIST & CHOIRMASTER

Last week I spent a couple of days at the American Guild of Organists Regional Convention in Tulsa. It was fun to make a few new friends and see lots of people I have known for many years.

While I was there I had dinner with a couple of Houston friends who I had worked with on a national AGO convention in 2016. One of those friends, 83 year-old Ralph, told us of his harrowing experience during the pandemic. He spent almost an entire year in and out of the hospital with multiple surgeries and some very scary moments. The thing that really got him through the difficult times were hymns that he sang, sometimes out loud and often just in his thoughts. “Come Down, O Love Divine,” “Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart,” and “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” were a few of the hymns that Ralph mentioned to us. Perhaps you too can remember moments when the words or music of a hymn comforted you in a difficult time. I certainly do.

Hymn singing is one of the most powerful, formative activities that we participate in at church. Singing hymns is a way that we can join together to praise God. It is the embodiment of the praise that lives inside of us as Christians. Singing together unites in ways that no other activity can. Through songs of our faith, our identity as a body of Christ is formed and strengthened.

Some pastors might not want to admit this, but I’ve heard people tell me that they don’t remember anything about the sermon, but they hummed the tune of the hymn or anthem all week. Marilyn Keiser, my teacher at Indiana University who served on the 1982 hymnal committee calls hymns “the congregation’s take-home package.”

When a loved one passes away, hymns are carefully selected that were meaningful to the departed and will help loved ones cope with their grief. It’s almost impossible to imagine Christmas Eve without singing “Silent Night” or Easter morning without “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” In her book “All Things Necessary”, Marti Rideout says, “hymns express emotion and hold a wondrous power to heal, convert, strengthen, and embolden the faithful.”

When Evan and I were talking earlier this year about how I might be helpful while he was away on sabbatical, I asked if it might be possible to do a series in adult forum on hymns. He was very encouraging about the idea and passed the information to Samantha who asked me to take the weeks in August to do such a series.

I’m excited to share what I’ve learned over the years as I have played hymns for many congregations and studied hymn texts and tunes. I hope you will plan to join me to learn more about the rich topic of hymnody. We will meet at 10:00 on Sunday mornings in the Parish Hall. Here is what you can expect:

• August 6, 2023
  Understanding the Hymnal: Texts, Tunes, Meters, Selection and much more

• August 13, 2023
  Hymns in a Historical Context

• August 20, 2023
  Hymns in a Changing World: Themes of Inclusion, Social Justice and Peace 

• August 27, 2023
  Let’s Sing! A Short Hymn Festival in Celebration of the Power of Music

By the way, if you think you’re not a singer, come anyway! You might learn something about that person that sits behind you in the pew and has a beautiful voice. Who knows, you might find your own voice that has been with you all along. I hope to see you there!

Carol Nave
Assistant Organist & Choirmaster