A perpetual fire burns in every church and monastery in Celtic lands as a sign of God's eternal presence. Through the darkest times in history, the Celts have kindled this flame. In fact, the history of the Celtic people is a spiritual history in which the Divine Creator of all things was honored in every living thing. When they looked at the world, every hill, tree and blade of grass was a reflection of God and each person was good and full of promise. The Celts, whose roots were in the East, migrated to the British Isles around 500 B.C. By the first century A.D., the Romans had overtaken major Celtic strongholds in Europe and southern England, but the Romans never conquered the Celtic outposts of Scotland and Wales, and they never even attempted to invade Ireland, a land that was considered too remote and strategically insignificant to be worth the effort. Thus, in isolated areas where solitude and a nearness to the Divine brought forth a spiritually enhanced desire to create, the Celts developed a flair for art and design and a passion for language, literature and music. Rich in expression, Celtic Christianity is also admired for its spiritual depth, its love for creation, and its absence of sanctimony. It doesn't hold things that are 'religious' or 'spiritual' in a separate category from everything else. It is a living faith that combines the past and present, bringing together an ancient worship of nature with Christian belief and an ageless celebration of word and song. It is a practical faith - poetic, humorous, mystical and with a freedom to choose between good and evil. Its tools of worship are personal: devotional poetry that considers daily life to be an act of worship - as well as songs from traditional culture. In this afternoon's program, these 'tools' of music and text from the Celtic tradition are found in the primitive chant of Alleluia, the mystic poetry and music of O Ignis Spiritus, the ancient prayers or 'breastplates' of I Bind Unto Myself Today and Be Thou My Vision, the ethereal strains of Sanctus and the traditional folk melody of The King of Love. They are colorful threads, woven together into an intriguing tapestry, rich in artistry and spiritual wealth for you to experience and enjoy. For in so doing, we will join together to kindle the Celtic Fire!

Adapted from In the House of Memory by Steve Rabey & Celtic Fire by Robert Van De Weye

Music Notes: (Now posted on the Web) for Pentecost 3 – This Sunday, June 13^th the Royal School of Church Music – RSCM for short, emphasizes church music Sunday across the world and the role of music in bringing people closer to God. Specially appointed hymns, like our Entrance 420, ‘When in our music God is glorified,’ strongly portray the fact that in singing to God, we put all other cares aside ‘and…adoration leaves no room for pride,’ at least momentarily. For our worship, a combining of hymnody expressing music’s value and today’s lesson emphasis, carry us directly to the theme ‘Your faith has saved you…’ Hymns, , 402 – ‘Let all the world…’ 410 – ‘Praise my soul, 691 – ‘My faith looks up to thee,’ and 470 – ‘There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,’ all deepen the praise faith can give. And this afternoon, we become steeped in the flame of Celtic Fire, the tradition of Celtic Christianity, which is admired for its spiritual depth, love for creation and absence of sanctimony, not holding things 'religious' or 'spiritual' in a separately from everything else, but rather making them a living faith combining past and present, bringing an ancient worship of nature with Christian belief in an ageless celebration of word and song. In today’s Galations reading, Paul continues to write to this people what happened in his conversion to faith and of his understanding of it stating, ‘…we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!’ And thus, in working through his understanding of faith, he wrote to the Corinthians, ‘I will sing with the spirit, and with understanding also;’ his first letter, chapter 14, verse 15. RSCM adopted this verse as the Chorister Creed for the teaching of faith to children and although, we need to sing and meet God with a child-like faith, as Christ admonished his disciples, we also want to sing with understanding; what the Celts recognized in their acknowledgement of God in all things, holding a practical faith - poetic, humorous, mystical and with a freedom to choose between good and evil. In this time, we are thankful to be free to worship in spirit and truth, but again, keep our hearts and minds in prayer for those in truly deep, dark and desperate situations around our planet. Pray for good in all things, and especially, the ministry of Canon White in Iraq. Canon White’s work can be followed at: www.frrme.org and to support his work, his book, The Vicar of Bagdad can be obtained from the church office for $15.00. It is a testimony to God’s work and real presence in the world and for that, we can sing, ‘When in our music God is glorified… it is as though the whole creation cried, Alleluia.’ Tell your family, friends and neighbors about CitySingers of Hartford, this afternoon at 5 P.M. when we look forward to filling the church with Celtic Fire, hear that cry of Alleluia and celebrate the humorous fun that follows in the fanciful music of Celtic folksong.

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 - June 13, 2010 Pentecost 3 & RSCM Sunday

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