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Rector's Reflection — 9 Pentecost, Proper 13
August 2, 2009
This really is a reflection because I have been reflecting on Heritage Sunday and the music we experienced, both last Sunday and throughout the month of July. No one who knows me would ever accuse me of being a singer or a musician, but that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate them both.
One thing I have always believed about liturgy is that it should be so well-crafted that it appears effortless... as though it just happens by the grace of God. If you remember the first Sunday in Advent back in 2008, you entered a church with an empty chancel and sanctuary. The altar wasn't set nor was the credence table. Altar Guild members and Flower Guild members began working quietly to place all of the things that contribute to a Sunday service, and when they were through, everything looked like it was supposed to look. It was only then that we could begin the service. And the service began with music—exactly what we celebrated in heritage month and on Heritage Sunday.
Music is so integral to our worship that it has its very own section in the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church: "It shall be the duty of every Minister to see that music is used as an offering for the glory of God and as a help to the people in their worship in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer and as authorized by the rubrics or by the General Convention of this Church..." (Canon 24, Section 1.)
I think the music of the church is as important in shaping Christians as are the rites of the Church. Indeed, I suspect everybody has a favorite hymn that has stuck with them for a lifetime, and that reflects their beliefs about God. I also suspect that almost nobody can recite the sermon that has done that for them. The wide variety of hymns that he then we experienced last Sunday and throughout July came from requests that you made... requests for hymns that both took you back and will move you forward.
Ironically, in the week prior to Heritage Sunday, we lost one of the great lights of church music, Dr. Horace Boyer. He is largely responsible for the hymnal "Lift Every Voice and Sing," as well as for contributions to many anthologies on music. He is the author of How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel. Those of you who went to Tent Meeting in August 2005, or saw the DVD, will remember him as the keynote musician who challenged all of us rather reserved Episcopalians to let our voices be instruments of praise... and mean it! A popular teacher and workshop leader, Boyer was famous for spending an equal amount of time explaining the culture behind the song as he did the mechanics of the singing, "because if people don't know why and how they're doing something, it's never going to sound right."
Most of our music today was arranged by Dr. Boyer. His contributions to the church are inestimable, and it is our loss that his voice has been silenced... at least here on Earth, because I know he's already doing workshops with the heavenly chorus! Read the words in the hymns, sing the words, and let them be a part of your offering to the glory of God this morning.
Susan+ |
