September 27th, 2006 Creator Choir and Potluck

The rhythm of church life is composed of daily, weekly and yearly cycles. Daily cycles are personal, perhaps a prayer to begin the day, before sleep, and before and after meals which may expand to readings, meditations and other disciplines.

The weekly and yearly cycles often move from the personal to public. We have the liturgical experience which, by its nature, cannot be personal. Choir practice and performance is another experience like this for me. This is the first activity that brought an understanding to me of the rhythm of the church.

So what is this rhythm? Part of it is attending to what is going on, being there. Without attending there is no learning or contribution. Today the contribution was food, friendship and music. The choir had not met since June and it seems appropriate for choir be part of a schedule we return to after summer activities. The group composition was different but there was a quick comradeship.

Choir provides a basic understanding of the change of church seasons. The music is chosen to be appropriate to the season. In communities that get increasingly divorced from natural seasons this becomes more important. Pastor Dayle and Matt keep us on theme for the choir’s Sunday contributions. It increases our anticipation of how the liturgy will celebrate special days and seasons of the church year.

Tonight we sang pieces from David’s liturgy and the choir gained a deeper appreciation of the music David has composed. The words he used to describe how we should be singing the pieces reinforced what our ears heard. After David’s compositions we sang Sing the Beauty of the Earth; one of our favorites from last year.

Friendship in the choir is expressed during these practices in a number of ways. There is the identification with those in your section; soprano, alto, tenor, bass and the temptation for good natured ribbing of those in other sections is always there. Simultaneously there is the feeling of being part of the choir overall. There is a constant attention to blending your voice with everyone else.

Sometimes last year in choir there was a sense that our souls were spilling into one another. I am looking forward to what comes next this year.