Here’s a brief selection from Gerhard’s sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity on Luke 5:1-11 (Jesus preaching to the crowd from the boat and the large catch of fish).

Peter’s small boat is a picture of the Christian Church.  For just as God’s Word resounds from Peter’s small boat is also how one hears Christ’s word in the Christian Church.  This makes Peter’s little boat much dearer and nobler than a great transport ship laden with gold, silver, precious stones, and other such perishable goods.

Just as a great haul of fish is caught here by the power of Christ’s word is also how many different peoples are gathered together into the Church by Christ’s Word.

. . .

The boat begins to sink; but, of course, since Christ is on board, it cannot sink completely.  Likewise, in the sea of this world, the Lord God knows how to protect His little ship against all danger, just as the ark, or ship, of Noah was preserved in the towering water of the Great Flood. (p.63-64)

What great comfort it is to be reminded of the power of Christ’s words — for it gathers and enlightens, forgives and sanctifies, and where there is forgiveness there is life and salvation.

Related posts:

1. Christ (or lack thereof) in the Sermon
2. Word & Sacrament – How Christ Makes a Christian

And what is Dan’s number 1 suggestion? “The real world has no Gospel and has no forgiveness. The best thing a church can do is preach the Word.” Thanks Dan!

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1. Let God’s Children Sing
2. Children & Worship
3. Ambrose, the Children, and Advent

And he is direct. Rule #11 of Elementary Rules of Liturgical Usage – “Churches are not carpeted.”

Dr. Arthur Just presented a paper at the 2008 Good Shepherd Institute – Confident Liturgy: Presiding with Hospitality and Grace that referenced Kavanagh’s “An Approach to Liturgical Style”. While Kavanagh comes from the Roman Catholic tradition and is looking at the role of the presider in the liturgy, I think portions of his list can serve equally well for church musicians.

1. Place yourself in the background.
2. Do things naturally.
3. Know the assembly’s liturgical tradition thoroughly.
4. Do the liturgy with directness and vigor.
5. Beware of particularizing the liturgy.
6. Beware of liturgical fundamentalism.
7. Do not over-ceremonialize.
8. Do not affect a loose informality.
9. Do not explain too much.
10. Strive for simplicity.
11. Do not get too relevant.
12. Learn to live with symbol.
13. Adapt culture to the liturgy rather than liturgy to culture.

For example, church musicians (and architects!) should take item #1 into account. How does the placement of the musicians serve (or distract) from the proclamation of the Word? Does a particular location put more emphasis on the musician rather than the message?

Or take item #3: I would expect a Lutheran musician to make different musical choices than a Baptist or Pentecostal musician. An introit, gradual, or psalm chanting/singing/saying might be foreign to a Baptist (and some Lutherans), but they offer an important insight and reflection on other parts of the Divine Service.

I don’t want to give the impression that this list is a LAW, but I do offer it as an opportunity to reflect on how we provide musical leadership in the worship service. Our actions and choices do make a difference.

Related posts:

1. The Liturgical Fruit Basket
2. Buszin on Church Musicians
3. Walter E. Buszin – Wise Counsel for Today

Wanted: One Outstanding Church Organist.
Music adds much to our worship, but musicians can be hard to find. Well, look no further.

The reality is that many churches have a difficult time finding an organist or even someone who can play the piano for worship services. Enter CPH. They have created Concordia Organist, a 31-CD set of all the hymns in LSB which can be used to accompany hymn singing. CPH is having an “essay” contest (though the Official Rules say it will be a random drawing) to give away a free copy of the Concordia Organist (retail value: $699 with an introductory price of $499) to a LCMS or LCC congregation.

On the plus side, the hymns are played by the very capable Paul Grime, Kevin Hildebrand, and Richard Resch of Concordia Theological Seminary on the wonderful Schlicker organ in Kramer Chapel. Any congregation would be blessed to have either of these organists and/or the Kramer Chapel pipe organ. (As an aside: I have to remind myself to not covet my neighbor’s pipe organ.)

However, I’m a little unsettled on the use of a CD as a hymn accompaniment in congregational worship. I understand that for some churches the Concordia Organist may be the only way that they can have a “church musician” for worship. Singing to a recording, though, lacks the vibrancy of the relationship between the musician and the congregation. On some Sundays, my own hymn playing will take on a new dimension as a result of the energy of the hymn singing. And conversely, the congregation’s hymn singing can be energized by skillful hymn playing. I would hope that these CDs are a last resort and not a substitute for a “live” church musician if one is available.

And we need not forget the possibility of a capella singing. You never know when the organ might “blow up” just before the service begins and “Let my prayer rise before You as incense” takes on an entirely new meaning as electrical parts are burning. Singing without accompaniment can add a new dimension to worship that is often hidden when there is always background music.

I suppose, though, that the moral of the story is to encourage our young people to pursue church music – either as a profession or avocation. Our churches are always in need of faithful musicians with a passion for the church’s song. If we had sufficient numbers of church musicians, a product like Concordia Organist wouldn’t have much of a market.

Related posts:

1. 2008 Organist Workshops
2. Kantor School (aka Organist Workshop)
3. The Lutheran Choir

CPH is continuing its series “Musica Sacra” with Volume 7 by Donald Busarow. The Musica Sacra series is a great way to get some easier and quick pieces to prepare that are interesting. I have all 7 volumes and I consistently use all of them, but especially the volumes by Hildebrand, Kosche, and Culli. Just to be aware, I’d guess that roughly half of the compositions in Volume 7 are reprints of previously published pieces. I’m thinking that by the copyright date they are from the Concordia Hymn Prelude series which CPH is now slowly retiring.

The other selection I ordered was Kevin Hildebrand’s “Five Easy Easter Hymn Settings for Organ” . I know Easter is over and I won’t be able to use this set for another year — BUT it has a lovely setting of Duke Street which is appropriate for funerals throughout the year.

If you’re in the market for some sacred music, give the folks at CPH a try. They have an abundance of resources — especially for the Lutheran musician. But if you want Paul Manz, Michael Burkhardt, or some of Robert Hobby’s pieces, you’ll need to head over to MorningStar Music.

Related posts:

1. Sneak Peak – New Organ Music @ CPH
2. Light of Christ – Organ Music Review
3. Church Music Workshops @ CTSFW

Related posts:

1. Let God’s Children Sing
2. Ambrose, the Children, and Advent
3. Church, Children, and Autism

Not surprisingly, with all the diverse activities and technology available to kids (and adults), piano lessons and playing isn’t always at the top of the priority list. For many, the piano is merely a piece of furniture. Alas. Playing the piano is a lifetime activity that promotes mental agility, dexterity, and is a source of relaxation and stress relief.

The accompanying video on the LA Times website shows several households and how the piano fits front and center in their lives. One had the grand piano in the living room and refused any idea of moving it to a piano room alcove. The other piano guy had a Yamaha upright in his bedroom — it wasn’t that big of a bedroom either. Talk about eat, sleep, and breathing piano — he practiced 3 or 4 hours a day.

My parents bought a studio piano two months to the day before I was born. My mother didn’t play the piano and my dad could play a little bit (although he much preferred in his younger days to play the alto sax). Every pastor’s house needs a piano, right? So the piano started out as a piece of furniture, but over the years became a musical instrument as I progressed from pounding to plodding to being proficient. It sits in my living room and I play it most every day. The piano tuner reminds me whenever he comes that I should never sell it because the sound is so great. The sound would be phenomenal with some hardwood or laminate flooring.

Is the piano going extinct? I doubt it. It may be less popular and prevalent than in previous decades, but there will always be those who play.

Related posts:

1. Children and the Organ

I recently discovered Southern Lutheran Kantor who has some thoughtful and extensive commentaries on a number of hymnic treasures – Including “Lord, Thee Will I Love With All My Heart.” This is a wonderful hymn to be sung at a funeral (particularly stanza 3). At most any funeral I will without doubt play an organ chorale prelude on it even if it is not sung.

Another blogger I follow is Vicar Josh Osbun at Holy Holy Hymnody. He has reviewed a number of Stephen Starke hymns. Josh has also tackled the questionable, bad, and ugly of hymnody — past and present. By the looks of it, he has an extensive hymnal collection.

If your church uses Lutheran Service Book or Hymnal Supplement 98, it’s likely you have become acquainted with some of the hymn texts of Stephen Starke. He has his own blog starke Kirchenlieder where he provides occasional brief commentaries, but generally just posts of some great hymn texts by himself and others.

Related posts:

1. O Sing of Christ
2. Higher Hymnody: The Gifts Christ Freely Gives
3. “There’s Just Too Many Hymn Stanzas”

As this was happening, someone walked by and jokingly said, “Chris, it looks like you might have some competition on the organ bench.”  Those words have been with me the last few days.  Not the competition part, but the part of nurturing our young people to consider pursuing church music vocations.

Several young girls have become “regulars” at the organ bench after the services to watch and ask questions about how the organ works.  You should see the thrill of one young girl when she played “Joy to the World” on the manuals for me after the service one Sunday.  Who knows, I may have a few budding organists in my midst.

I think children are drawn to the uniqueness of the sound, the physical dexterity to play it, and all the buttons, keys, and pedals.  Much like the Divine Service and its liturgies, the organ is foreign to popular culture.  But at the same time people, especially younger adults, are increasingly drawn toward worship opportunities not typically associated with popular and contemporary culture.

Watch out for those young organ enthusiasts.  Embrace and encourage their interest.  You might be helping to nurture a gift to the church at large.

Related posts:

1. A Liturgical and Outreach Oriented Church? Yes!
2. Ambrose, the Children, and Advent

Enjoy!

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1. Back to Blogging