the light of understanding

Dear friends,

1. Please remember to set your clocks on Saturday night as we 'fall back' this week.
2. We will meet in the choir room at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
3. We will sing LORD, HEAR OUR PRAYER (purple sheet), YOU NOW ARE SORROWFUL (movement V from REQUIEM by Brahms), AND I SAW A NEW HEAVEN, and Jeremy's arrangement of O GOD OUR HELP IN AGES PAST which will be handed out on Wednesday night
4. Streaming AND I SAW A NEW HEAVEN (above) would probably help us all sound more heavenly this weekend. :)

Last week at rehearsal I read a prayer from St. Hilary from the 4th century which Becky shared with me.

Almighty God, bestow upon us the meaning of words,
the light of understanding,
the nobility of diction
and the faith of the true nature.
And grant that what we believe we may also speak.

While I'm uncertain that St. Hilary had any notion that this would inspire music ministry in 2009, I find a great deal of inspiration here. I will share tomorrow evening the recording of your singing GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN from Sunday's service. I think you will come to find that you can not only technically understand the words, but that you can sense from your singing the MEANING of those words. Diction is more than just learning how to pronounce things and to do it together as a group-- which, in itself, is a GREAT accomplishment that few fail to regularly achieve. Diction is about communicating the meaning of the words we pronounce together as a group so that the sounds of the words themselves carry meaning and radiate message. I sense that we are beginning to experience the power and presence that this kind of singing and artistry and communication can bring. We can never take for granted how meaningful any given offering we make to worship can be for someone who, for whatever reason, needs to hear it! Here is an e-mail I received this morning:

Our twin daughters, Emalyn Julia and Addison Grace, were baptized on
September 13. It was a very special day for our family but you and the
Plymouth Choir made it even more special with the beautiful arrangement of "This Little Light of Mine".

When Barb visited with us earlier that week, she shared with us an interesting way of thinking about baptism;
that we are all born children of God and baptism turns on the light of
the Holy Spirit. So when the Choir began singing, This Little Light of
Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine ... it was an expression beyond words of
the joy we felt that the light of the Holy Spirit was shining bright in
our daughters.

I love that she says, it was an 'expression beyond words.' May this be our goal and our gift to share, one blessed note at a time.
TT