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Many congregations, including most Community of Christ congregations, have a
group of people who volunteer their musical talents during the worship services.
It has been a pleasure to attend church on Sundays and be ministered to by the
talents and dedication of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Several years ago, though, I became increasingly aware of how much we as
musicians depend on each other if we are to bring deep levels of ministry to our
congregations. When my wife and I began attending a church with a piano and no organ, I
realized that I had a wide repertoire of organ music and knew how to lead
congregational singing with organ, but I had tremendous room for improvement
leading worship music at the piano. One option for me was to ignore my
deficiencies and resort to "prelude by the numbers" – turn to hymn X in the
hymnal and just start playing one and then another hymn until time
for the service to begin. I rationalized that I was a busy person and it
was the best I could do. Taking the easy road might provide background music for a gathering
congregation but does little to enhance their worship. Even more
importantly, though, if that is the way I provide prelude music, the
congregation also hears another message: the prelude at church is NOT part
of the worship experience and is unimportant to continuing spiritual
preparation. When I fail to consistently "study to show myself approved," I lower
the worship experience on MY assigned Sundays, AND condition the congregation to
accepting a lesser level of worship for future weeks, even when my fellow
musicians do their best to set an appropriate spirit. If I don't do my
part, it will be even more difficult for my colleagues when it is their turn to
serve. As musicians, I believe we should meet together periodically and have
a frank conversation: What is our vision for music as part of the worship
experience? This is not about whether we are gifted and able to play
difficult music. This is about our preparation to offer even the simplest
of music with prayer and dedication. In addition to building a shared
vision and commitment to service, our meetings together can provide an
opportunity to share repertoire at appropriate difficulty levels and
learn from each other about how we help the congregation to meditate, sing, and
pray. For those times when we are not the designated musical leader of the service,
we can also support each other in significant ways. Whether praying for
the musicians (along with other participants in the service) or singing with
enthusiasm and following the tempo and leading of the accompanist, our hearts,
voices, and dedication need to be, as Bach so often inscribed his music, "to the
Glory of God." Soli Deo Gloria!
—Blake West
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