Music Notes: For our music on Pentecost 6 … and starting with the photo above, I wish to emphasize several ideas which revolve around the themes of peace, our home (the room), the scared declaration of the day of Independence of our country and that of ‘Jerusalem, my happy home,’ as the hymn 620 proclaims. First, I apologize for this missing the ‘E’ pistle, as my mind has been thinking or has been in ‘rest mode’ for more than several days now with the 4^th being Sunday! Next, I saw a very interesting video just this morning (perhaps the real reason behind my delay) entitled, Perhaps the "Room" is the most important instrument in your concert, which can be view here: http://www.choralnet.org/view/259514. Although the video is not specifically about church, the title and then its content, reminded me immediately of Emmanuel's space, (the 'room'), as being the most important instrument in our worship. Ted, the narrator, related musical composition to being more reflective of the places in which the music was performed than for its own intrinsic compositional value and that it was and possibly always is, the space that inspires the style, sonority and the way pieces are composed. In a few short weeks, we will experience that in the next, two very different concerts: Jubilate Ringers, hand bell choir, July 17 and Ecclesia Consort, singing J. S. Bach, July 25. Having just heard CitySingers sing beautiful Celtic choral music stemming from deep, folk roots, we know Emmanuel’s nave (room) acoustic is perhaps the finest anywhere in southern New England. And it is this ‘room’ acoustic, we are privileged to worship ‘in’ and ‘with’ every week to sing hymns such as, ‘My country ‘tis of thee, (717)’ ‘God bless our native land, (716)’ ‘Behold the Lamb of God, (choristers),’ a rousing Gloria, (WLP 900) & Sanctus, (S-125) and, ‘Lift high the cross, (473),’ with a pipe organ that also is suited to this marvelous space. To that we add, ‘Lord, you gave the great commission,’ (528), ‘to heal the sick and preach the word and today, or this Sunday, depending on when one reads this, with the firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, (the protection of God for which we pray continually, read Psalm 30), we owe our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor, to those who founded and then, forever laid down their lives that we might live and worship in freedom and peace. The photo above shows the two flags at the rear of our nave: both profound symbols of our country and church’s heritage. Reminding us of the Declaration of Independence, of the Constitution and of Christ as the center of it all, I wish you a restful holiday, filled with peace and the joy of friends and family. Invite them to worship with us and with you.

Peace and see you at worship – AJH

The Chorister Creed & Prayer

‘I will sing with the spirit and with understanding also’

The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 14:15

Bless, O Lord, us your servants who minister in your temple;

Grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

And what we believe in our hearts we may show forth in our lives;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

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Music Notes - July 4, 2010

Psalm 30 spoken