(First time here? Read the Introduction for more info.)
(Also, I changed my blog so that links are now bright blue instead of the green they were before. There are links to scripture passages as well as music and the links will open in a new tab, so you can click on them without losing your place on the blog.)
Welcome to the last Sunday in September! Can you believe it? I can't.
Opening Hymn: I Sing the Almighty Power of God H-398
This is one of my favorite hymns. I know two different (though similar) tunes for this hymn and I like them both equally. I chose the hymn for this Sunday because of the Psalm reading from the Lectionary - Psalm 146. It's a Psalm of praise to God so I wanted to open the service with a song of praise to God. Verses 4 and 5 of the Psalm text say, "Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help, whose hope is in the Lord their God, Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them." The weather was just glorious here in central Texas for the past week, and any time the weather is nice, I find myself drawn to nature and the beauty of God's creation. So this hymn seemed like a perfect fit:
1. I sing the almighty power of God, that made the mountains rise,
that spread the flowing seas abroad and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;
the moon shines full at his command, and all the stars obey.
2. I sing the goodness of the Lord, that filled the earth with food;
He formed the creatures with his Word, and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye,
if I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky!
3. There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes thy glories known,
and clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from thy throne;
while all that borrows life from thee is ever in thy care,
and everywhere that I could be, thou, God, art present there.
Sequence Hymn: All Who Hunger G-589
If I'm honest, the Gospel reading this week is not one of my favorites. It's Luke 16:19-31, when Jesus tells a story of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus who lived at his gate. The two men both pass away, and the rich man is in Hades when he sees Abraham and Lazarus. I think the reason I'm not wild about this passage is because growing up Baptist, this story was often used as yet another "scare-'em-out-of-hell" tactic. I won't go into too much theology here (there are others who are more well-equipped than myself in that area), but now when I read this passage, I think less about the afterlife part of the story and more about the two men while they were alive. Why didn't the rich man offer any help to Lazarus? What pain and suffering do we ignore around us every day? How would the afterlife story be different if the rich man had shown compassion to Lazarus in life?
I don't have the answers to any of these questions, but it got me to thinking about the different kinds of hunger - literal and figurative. So I selected "All Who Hunger." You may recognize the words from a few weeks ago, but this week I went with a slower, more worshipful rendition. I think it's important for us to remember, as the Church, that we can often ease both literal and figurative hunger in our world. We just have to be open to seeing it before it's too late. This is echoed at the end of the Epistle reading from 1 Timothy 6:6-19.
Offertory Anthem: Deep Within by David Haas
This week the choir is singing a beautiful anthem, Deep Within. At the end of the Gospel passage, the rich man asks if Lazarus can go back and warn his family so they can avoid the same fate. Abraham says, "They have Moses and the prophets, they should listen to them." The rich man insists that they would listen if someone came back from the dead to warn them. (Pause: this indicates to me that not only did the rich man know Lazarus, but his family was also aware of who he was. Why didn't anyone help him?) Abraham replies, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
I think one thing Jesus might be getting at with this story is that we should be a force for good, not just because he said so but because God's law has been planted "deep within" us.
Side note: "Neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." Is this foreshadowing? Jesus was a pretty amazing storyteller, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was. Food for thought.
Communion Hymn: Father, We Thank Thee Who Hast Planted H-302
This hymn continues along the same lines: "Father, we thank Thee who hast planted Thy holy name within our hearts." It also refers to creation and things God has literally planted: "Thou, Lord, didst make all for Thy pleasure, didst give man food for all his days." This, of course, harkens back to the themes we sang in the opening hymn.
Recessional: Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above H-408
We started with praise, so I wanted to end with praise as well. I think that the opening hymn and this recessional serve as sort of musical bookends to the service. They're similar both in lyrics and music and both relate well to the Psalm passage. Sometimes when dealing with heavier themes (like that in this week's Gospel passage), it's important to remember that God is God. In the Creed we recite every Sunday, this comes first: "I believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen." This hymn ends with, "Cast each false idol from its throne, the Lord is God, and he alone: to God all praise and glory!"
Feel free to share your thoughts with me on how the music and scriptures connect. I sincerely hope this adds to your worship experience and, as always, I hope to see you on Sunday!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Sunday, September 22
(First time here? Read the Introduction for more information)
Well, we're done with themed Sundays until November. However, the scripture readings for this week kind of present a theme of their own.
Opening Hymn: Christ for the World We Sing H-537
The Old Testament passages this week (Amos 8:4-7 and Psalm 113) speak very strongly to me of social concern. In the verses from Amos, the Lord vows not to forget the deeds of those who "trample on the needy." In the Psalm, the Psalmist praises God for taking the weak out of the dust and lifting the poor from the ashes. With that in mind, the opening hymn this week practically selected itself: Christ for the World We Sing.
"Christ for the world we sing
The world to Christ we bring
With loving zeal
The poor and them that mourn
The faint and overborne
Sinsick and sorrow-worn
Whom Christ doth heal"
Sequence Hymn: O Jesus, I Have Promised H-655
In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells a story of a rich man and a shrewd manager. The manager is about to be fired so he lessens the debts of others so they will welcome him into their homes when he loses his job. Jesus ends the parable by saying, "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No one can serve two masters, for you will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
For the Sequence hymn, I chose "O Jesus, I Have Promised."
"O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end
Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my friend
I shall not fear the battle, if Thou art by my side
Nor wander from the pathway, if Thou wilt be my guide."
I hope that we can all think of this as our own promise to follow and serve Christ above all else. This is another tune that has been set to a variety of lyrics so I couldn't find a recording or video of this tune with these words. But here is a nice organ rendition of the tune.
Offertory anthem: I Will Joyfully Sing by Mary McDonald
This week the choir is singing, "I Will Joyfully Sing" which is a lovely little song of praise. The beginning of the Psalm reading this week says, "Hallelujah! Give praise, you servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be blessed from this time forth for evermore. From the rising of the sun to its going down, let the name of the Lord be praised." Compare that to "I Will Joyfully Sing" which says:
"I will joyfully sing in the morning, I will joyfully sing all the day
I'll sing praises to Thee in the morning, for the Lord is the strength of my day.
I will lift up my eyes in the morning, for the Lord will not turn me away
I'll sing praises to Thee in the morning, for the Lord is the strength of my day."
Communion Hymn: Let Us Be Bread G-585
In Amos and in the Psalm, the scriptures tell of God's mercy towards the poor and down-trodden. Since we are God's representation on earth, we must extend this mercy toward others. "Let Us Be Bread" is a musical conversation between Christ and his people.
Refrain (this is us as The Church speaking)
"Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord
Broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord."
Verses (Christ speaking to us)
1. I am the bread of life, broken for all. Eat now and hunger no more.
2. You are my friends if you keep my commands, no longer servants but friends.
3. See how my people have nothing to eat. Give them the bread that is you.
4. As God has loved me so I have loved you. Go and live on in my love.
I really love how this ties everything together. In the first verse, Christ offers Himself to us. In the second verse, He tells us that if we obey His commands, we become friends instead of servants. In light of the Gospel passage, I find this very beautiful. We can't serve two masters, but if our one master is Christ, then we aren't merely servants but companions. In the third verse, Jesus reminds us that there are others who are hungry and we should meet their needs. This can be both physical and spiritual. In the last verse, Jesus reminds us of the love of God, bringing the message of the song full circle.
Recessional: Rise Up, Ye Saints of God! H-551
Now that we've been reminded by the Gospel who our true Master is, and shown by the Old Testament that the needy require our compassion, let's "Rise Up!"
"Rise up, ye saints of God! Have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings."
Feel free to let me know your own thoughts on how the music and the scriptures connect. I hope this adds to your worship experience on Sunday. See you there!
Well, we're done with themed Sundays until November. However, the scripture readings for this week kind of present a theme of their own.
Opening Hymn: Christ for the World We Sing H-537
The Old Testament passages this week (Amos 8:4-7 and Psalm 113) speak very strongly to me of social concern. In the verses from Amos, the Lord vows not to forget the deeds of those who "trample on the needy." In the Psalm, the Psalmist praises God for taking the weak out of the dust and lifting the poor from the ashes. With that in mind, the opening hymn this week practically selected itself: Christ for the World We Sing.
"Christ for the world we sing
The world to Christ we bring
With loving zeal
The poor and them that mourn
The faint and overborne
Sinsick and sorrow-worn
Whom Christ doth heal"
Sequence Hymn: O Jesus, I Have Promised H-655
In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells a story of a rich man and a shrewd manager. The manager is about to be fired so he lessens the debts of others so they will welcome him into their homes when he loses his job. Jesus ends the parable by saying, "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No one can serve two masters, for you will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
For the Sequence hymn, I chose "O Jesus, I Have Promised."
"O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end
Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my friend
I shall not fear the battle, if Thou art by my side
Nor wander from the pathway, if Thou wilt be my guide."
I hope that we can all think of this as our own promise to follow and serve Christ above all else. This is another tune that has been set to a variety of lyrics so I couldn't find a recording or video of this tune with these words. But here is a nice organ rendition of the tune.
Offertory anthem: I Will Joyfully Sing by Mary McDonald
This week the choir is singing, "I Will Joyfully Sing" which is a lovely little song of praise. The beginning of the Psalm reading this week says, "Hallelujah! Give praise, you servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be blessed from this time forth for evermore. From the rising of the sun to its going down, let the name of the Lord be praised." Compare that to "I Will Joyfully Sing" which says:
"I will joyfully sing in the morning, I will joyfully sing all the day
I'll sing praises to Thee in the morning, for the Lord is the strength of my day.
I will lift up my eyes in the morning, for the Lord will not turn me away
I'll sing praises to Thee in the morning, for the Lord is the strength of my day."
Communion Hymn: Let Us Be Bread G-585
In Amos and in the Psalm, the scriptures tell of God's mercy towards the poor and down-trodden. Since we are God's representation on earth, we must extend this mercy toward others. "Let Us Be Bread" is a musical conversation between Christ and his people.
Refrain (this is us as The Church speaking)
"Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord
Broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord."
Verses (Christ speaking to us)
1. I am the bread of life, broken for all. Eat now and hunger no more.
2. You are my friends if you keep my commands, no longer servants but friends.
3. See how my people have nothing to eat. Give them the bread that is you.
4. As God has loved me so I have loved you. Go and live on in my love.
I really love how this ties everything together. In the first verse, Christ offers Himself to us. In the second verse, He tells us that if we obey His commands, we become friends instead of servants. In light of the Gospel passage, I find this very beautiful. We can't serve two masters, but if our one master is Christ, then we aren't merely servants but companions. In the third verse, Jesus reminds us that there are others who are hungry and we should meet their needs. This can be both physical and spiritual. In the last verse, Jesus reminds us of the love of God, bringing the message of the song full circle.
Recessional: Rise Up, Ye Saints of God! H-551
Now that we've been reminded by the Gospel who our true Master is, and shown by the Old Testament that the needy require our compassion, let's "Rise Up!"
"Rise up, ye saints of God! Have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings."
Feel free to let me know your own thoughts on how the music and the scriptures connect. I hope this adds to your worship experience on Sunday. See you there!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Sunday, September 15th - Proper 19 - Welcome Sunday
(First time here? Read the Introduction)
This ended up being kind of a strange week as far as the music selection process goes. I picked several options for each hymn slot and ran them by the choir and it turned out that none of them were familiar. So with their help, we picked some more familiar hymns and here they are!
Opening Hymn: All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly
This Sunday is Welcome Sunday, or Invite-a-Friend Sunday. This hymn is set to the tune "Holy Manna" which has been the tune for many hymns. The second verse is what led me to select it for Welcome Sunday:
All who hunger, never strangers, seeker be a welcome guest
Come from restlessness and roaming, here in joy we keep the feast
We that once were lost and scattered, in communion love have stood
Taste and see the grace eternal, taste and see that God is good
Even if we have no guests on Sunday (though I hope we do), this still applies to any regular Sunday. We come together to observe communion and are no longer lost and scattered. In God's love we are all welcome.
Sequence Hymn: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
The Gospel passage this week is Luke 15:1-10. My favorite part says:
Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'"
The choir and I selected "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," which is a lovely hymn. The second verse says, "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God. He to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood."
This works both for the Gospel passage and the Welcome theme for Sunday.
Communion Hymn: Gather Us In
We gather together at church as a community, and we gather around the communion table as the worldwide Church. This hymn is a call for all kinds of people to come together as one in Christ. Listen to it here.
Recessional: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
We decided to go with something upbeat that would more than likely be familiar to everyone, regardless of religious background, so we settled on "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."
Sorry for such a short (and late) entry this week. Hopefully next week will be a return to normal. Thanks to the choir for helping me with hymn selections this week!
Hope to see you on Sunday!
This ended up being kind of a strange week as far as the music selection process goes. I picked several options for each hymn slot and ran them by the choir and it turned out that none of them were familiar. So with their help, we picked some more familiar hymns and here they are!
Opening Hymn: All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly
This Sunday is Welcome Sunday, or Invite-a-Friend Sunday. This hymn is set to the tune "Holy Manna" which has been the tune for many hymns. The second verse is what led me to select it for Welcome Sunday:
All who hunger, never strangers, seeker be a welcome guest
Come from restlessness and roaming, here in joy we keep the feast
We that once were lost and scattered, in communion love have stood
Taste and see the grace eternal, taste and see that God is good
Even if we have no guests on Sunday (though I hope we do), this still applies to any regular Sunday. We come together to observe communion and are no longer lost and scattered. In God's love we are all welcome.
Sequence Hymn: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
The Gospel passage this week is Luke 15:1-10. My favorite part says:
Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'"
The choir and I selected "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," which is a lovely hymn. The second verse says, "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God. He to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood."
This works both for the Gospel passage and the Welcome theme for Sunday.
Communion Hymn: Gather Us In
We gather together at church as a community, and we gather around the communion table as the worldwide Church. This hymn is a call for all kinds of people to come together as one in Christ. Listen to it here.
Recessional: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
We decided to go with something upbeat that would more than likely be familiar to everyone, regardless of religious background, so we settled on "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."
Sorry for such a short (and late) entry this week. Hopefully next week will be a return to normal. Thanks to the choir for helping me with hymn selections this week!
Hope to see you on Sunday!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Sunday, September 8th - Proper 18 - "Rally Day"
(First time here? Read the Introduction for more information)
Sunday's Theme: Commitment
This is going to be a good one; I love all the music and I'm very excited. As you'll know by the end of this post, commitment is a very personal theme for me.
Opening Hymn: Take My Life and Let it Be VF-133
I know I heard it before, but I remember learning this hymn when I was in children's choir in about the 5th grade or so. We learned about the writer (Frances Havergal) and ever since then, this hymn comes to mind when I think of commitment and dedication. However, I noticed something strange when I was searching for a video of this hymn to post here - I think of this as an upbeat song and usually sing it and play it as so, but all the recordings I found (save for one cheesy karaoke version) were more slow and meditative.
I like this hymn for a Sunday that focuses on commitment because it pretty much covers all the bases: take my life, take my moments, take my hands, take my feet, take my voice, take my lips, take my silver and my gold, take my intellect, take my will, take my heart, take my love, and take myself. If you can't commit all of those to God, surely you can at least commit one. I know how common it is for churches to play up the "silver and gold" part of commitment, but as the choir director, I'm more interested in the "take my voice" part. So if you're looking to get committed at church this fall, we can always use your voice in the choir!
Sequence Hymn: The Summons G-510
I first heard this hymn about two and a half months ago, the first time I was in attendance at St. George's. It's really beautiful and continues with the theme of commitment.
"Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same
In your company I'll go, where your love and footsteps show
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me"
I feel that this song speaks for itself this week, so I won't clutter it up with my own clumsy words. Here it is, if you want listen.
Offertory Anthem: Make Me a Servant
Fair warning, this is a long story. And it may seem irrelevant, but I promise, I'm going somewhere with it.
The summer before my senior year of high school, I attended a workshop for church musicians. I was mostly interested in the handbells workshop, but I also attended a session for pianists. The leader of the session introduced us to some college-level music theory concepts and I was hooked. Right then and there, I decided I would teach music theory at the college level. It felt like I was meant to do it - destined to do it. I auditioned and was accepted to the music program at Wayland Baptist University and began my journey towards my goal. I had it all planned: four years of undergrad, two years for a Master's, then the PhD.
When I aced all my theory classes in undergrad, it just seemed to seal the deal. I entered the Master's program at Texas State in 2006 and felt like I was climbing a few more rungs up the ladder. But that's when I hit a snag. I was doing well in my classes, but I wasn't enjoying it anymore. I went into music theory because I wanted to teach it. In undergrad, I loved tutoring because I got to watch other students try to solve a problem and rather than just giving them the answer, I could help them tweak their problem-solving process. It was wonderful. But in grad school, I was finding out that teaching was considered secondary and that my primary focus should be research. I wrote my thesis on using familiar music to teach college freshmen basic theory concepts, and came up against a good deal of criticism from the other professors. They said I shouldn't "stoop to their level". I guess what I called "teaching," they called "stooping." I was almost through with my Master's degree when I went for an interview at the University of Massachusetts for their Doctoral program. There was a man there who was considered one of the leading minds in teaching music theory and I had reviewed his textbooks for my thesis. If I wanted to focus on teaching, who better to study with than a man who literally wrote the book on it? But even he said that I couldn't focus on teaching.
I was crushed. I decided to put off the PhD while I sorted things out. It was heartbreaking. I thought I was meant to do something and then I couldn't do it. Not that I lacked the ability, but that the thing I thought I was pursuing didn't even really exist. I felt completely lost.
That's when the music director at my church quit and they asked me to step in. I said no. They asked again. I said I couldn't give them any guarantee of a timeline because I was applying for jobs outside of the area. They said that was fine, so I stepped in. The choir did a cantata for Christmas and it went pretty well. Then we did a cantata for Easter and it went really well. I found the feeling I had been looking for in grad school. I wrote a song called "You'll Go with Me" (you can hear it here, if you're interested) but the first verse sums it up pretty well:
"There's a bend in the road, I don't know where it leads
But I know wherever it goes, You'll go with me."
For 7 years, I knew (or thought I knew) exactly where I was going, so it was terrifying to suddenly find myself on a different route. But I realized that one thing about my journey hadn't changed, and that was Who was by my side the whole time.
During the first few months I worked for my church, the choir sang "Make Me a Servant" by Benjamin Harlan. One line stood out to me at the time: "Make me a servant, Lord. Give me a willing heart, ready to go, ready to stay." I was ready to go. I was ready to go at any time. But I was not ready to stay. I ended up making that my prayer and I had my choir sing this anthem once a year since. I asked the Lord to make me ready to stay, and it led me to where I am now. So even though the lyrics are already related to commitment, it has personal meaning to me. This anthem symbolizes my own commitment. I commit to aiding others in worship. I commit to presenting the best music that I can with what I have. I commit to being ready to go. I commit to being ready to stay.
(Listen to "Make Me a Servant")
Communion Hymn: Let Thy Blood in Mercy Poured H-313
A fairly straight-forward selection - the refrain says, "Thou didst give thyself for me, now I give myself to thee."
Recessional: Here I Am, Lord
This hymn title was thrown around when Kevin and I first discussed Rally Day. This is always a favorite and it just ties the whole theme of commitment together. God asks "Who will go?" What will your answer be?
I hope this adds to your worship experience on Sunday. I hope to see you there!
Bonus Video!
I love movies and I have a movie quote for nearly every situation. There's a delightful film called "The Trouble With Angels" which features Haley Mills as a trouble-making teen at a Catholic girls boarding school. In a pivotal scene in the movie, the Reverend Mother tells of her days before she became a nun when she was an apprentice to a designer in Paris. Mary (Mills) asks, "How could you give all that up?" The Reverend Mother smiles to herself and says, "I found something better."
I still love music theory and I geek out about it a lot. But if someone ever asks me how I could give that up, I think my response would be the same as the Reverend Mother's.
You can watch the scene here
Sunday's Theme: Commitment
This is going to be a good one; I love all the music and I'm very excited. As you'll know by the end of this post, commitment is a very personal theme for me.
Opening Hymn: Take My Life and Let it Be VF-133
I know I heard it before, but I remember learning this hymn when I was in children's choir in about the 5th grade or so. We learned about the writer (Frances Havergal) and ever since then, this hymn comes to mind when I think of commitment and dedication. However, I noticed something strange when I was searching for a video of this hymn to post here - I think of this as an upbeat song and usually sing it and play it as so, but all the recordings I found (save for one cheesy karaoke version) were more slow and meditative.
I like this hymn for a Sunday that focuses on commitment because it pretty much covers all the bases: take my life, take my moments, take my hands, take my feet, take my voice, take my lips, take my silver and my gold, take my intellect, take my will, take my heart, take my love, and take myself. If you can't commit all of those to God, surely you can at least commit one. I know how common it is for churches to play up the "silver and gold" part of commitment, but as the choir director, I'm more interested in the "take my voice" part. So if you're looking to get committed at church this fall, we can always use your voice in the choir!
Sequence Hymn: The Summons G-510
I first heard this hymn about two and a half months ago, the first time I was in attendance at St. George's. It's really beautiful and continues with the theme of commitment.
"Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same
In your company I'll go, where your love and footsteps show
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me"
I feel that this song speaks for itself this week, so I won't clutter it up with my own clumsy words. Here it is, if you want listen.
Offertory Anthem: Make Me a Servant
Fair warning, this is a long story. And it may seem irrelevant, but I promise, I'm going somewhere with it.
The summer before my senior year of high school, I attended a workshop for church musicians. I was mostly interested in the handbells workshop, but I also attended a session for pianists. The leader of the session introduced us to some college-level music theory concepts and I was hooked. Right then and there, I decided I would teach music theory at the college level. It felt like I was meant to do it - destined to do it. I auditioned and was accepted to the music program at Wayland Baptist University and began my journey towards my goal. I had it all planned: four years of undergrad, two years for a Master's, then the PhD.
When I aced all my theory classes in undergrad, it just seemed to seal the deal. I entered the Master's program at Texas State in 2006 and felt like I was climbing a few more rungs up the ladder. But that's when I hit a snag. I was doing well in my classes, but I wasn't enjoying it anymore. I went into music theory because I wanted to teach it. In undergrad, I loved tutoring because I got to watch other students try to solve a problem and rather than just giving them the answer, I could help them tweak their problem-solving process. It was wonderful. But in grad school, I was finding out that teaching was considered secondary and that my primary focus should be research. I wrote my thesis on using familiar music to teach college freshmen basic theory concepts, and came up against a good deal of criticism from the other professors. They said I shouldn't "stoop to their level". I guess what I called "teaching," they called "stooping." I was almost through with my Master's degree when I went for an interview at the University of Massachusetts for their Doctoral program. There was a man there who was considered one of the leading minds in teaching music theory and I had reviewed his textbooks for my thesis. If I wanted to focus on teaching, who better to study with than a man who literally wrote the book on it? But even he said that I couldn't focus on teaching.
I was crushed. I decided to put off the PhD while I sorted things out. It was heartbreaking. I thought I was meant to do something and then I couldn't do it. Not that I lacked the ability, but that the thing I thought I was pursuing didn't even really exist. I felt completely lost.
That's when the music director at my church quit and they asked me to step in. I said no. They asked again. I said I couldn't give them any guarantee of a timeline because I was applying for jobs outside of the area. They said that was fine, so I stepped in. The choir did a cantata for Christmas and it went pretty well. Then we did a cantata for Easter and it went really well. I found the feeling I had been looking for in grad school. I wrote a song called "You'll Go with Me" (you can hear it here, if you're interested) but the first verse sums it up pretty well:
"There's a bend in the road, I don't know where it leads
But I know wherever it goes, You'll go with me."
For 7 years, I knew (or thought I knew) exactly where I was going, so it was terrifying to suddenly find myself on a different route. But I realized that one thing about my journey hadn't changed, and that was Who was by my side the whole time.
During the first few months I worked for my church, the choir sang "Make Me a Servant" by Benjamin Harlan. One line stood out to me at the time: "Make me a servant, Lord. Give me a willing heart, ready to go, ready to stay." I was ready to go. I was ready to go at any time. But I was not ready to stay. I ended up making that my prayer and I had my choir sing this anthem once a year since. I asked the Lord to make me ready to stay, and it led me to where I am now. So even though the lyrics are already related to commitment, it has personal meaning to me. This anthem symbolizes my own commitment. I commit to aiding others in worship. I commit to presenting the best music that I can with what I have. I commit to being ready to go. I commit to being ready to stay.
(Listen to "Make Me a Servant")
Communion Hymn: Let Thy Blood in Mercy Poured H-313
A fairly straight-forward selection - the refrain says, "Thou didst give thyself for me, now I give myself to thee."
Recessional: Here I Am, Lord
This hymn title was thrown around when Kevin and I first discussed Rally Day. This is always a favorite and it just ties the whole theme of commitment together. God asks "Who will go?" What will your answer be?
I hope this adds to your worship experience on Sunday. I hope to see you there!
Bonus Video!
I love movies and I have a movie quote for nearly every situation. There's a delightful film called "The Trouble With Angels" which features Haley Mills as a trouble-making teen at a Catholic girls boarding school. In a pivotal scene in the movie, the Reverend Mother tells of her days before she became a nun when she was an apprentice to a designer in Paris. Mary (Mills) asks, "How could you give all that up?" The Reverend Mother smiles to herself and says, "I found something better."
I still love music theory and I geek out about it a lot. But if someone ever asks me how I could give that up, I think my response would be the same as the Reverend Mother's.
You can watch the scene here
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