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Introducing organ music to kids

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As a young organist myself, I feel the responsibility of connecting younger generations to this awe-inspiring instrument. My professor at Mississippi College, Robert Knupp, teaches all ages with an infectious joy and energy that I hope to bring to my community. With that in mind, on a recent Saturday I planned a full morning of games to engage kids aurally, visually and kinesthetically. Adult volunteers from the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists helped me welcome 10 kids to the event we called “Pedals, Pixels and Pizza.” After participants arrived, we broke off into groups to answer musical icebreakers like, “Who is your favorite musician?” and “What instrument would you most like to learn?” After answering, kids posed the questions to one another and copied down the names of others who shared the same answers. While most of the group attends the church regularly, the kids spanned 2nd-9th grade. This activity allowed us to find some common ground, especially with our … [Read more...]

Tagged With: children's ministry • music

A sign of God’s mercy (30 years ago)

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30 years ago — February 19, 1990 A few days before the remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth, the state of Virginia, the former capital of the Confederates States, inaugurated its first elected black governor. “The grandson of a slave now holds the highest elective office in a commonwealth where, only 32 years ago, on the same platform which Gov. Wilder spoke his inaugural words, Gov. Lindsay Almond proclaimed a doctrine of ‘massive resistance’ to federally sponsored integration.” Nonviolent advocacy coupled with the political process brought change. “In 1963, when I was a student at Union Seminary in Virginia, I recall attending a” conference led by King and Adam Clayton Powell. Seminary professor E.T. Thompson, “who was for many years associated with the Outlook,” was on stage welcoming the speakers. “Twenty years later, I sat in Thompson’s living room with a confirmation class” and asked if he remembered that night. “He asked if I remembered the title of King’s sermon. … [Read more...]

Do we mean what we sing?

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Much of my earliest faith formation came from singing in children’s choirs. Before learning the words and music of our anthems, we always went through a series of vocalizing exercises: singing “lu lu lu lu lu” on a descending scale, or “ma meh mi mo mu” on a single pitch, working to purify vowel sounds (a definite challenge for some of us Southerners). I think about such exercises occasionally now that I am part of the congregational choir that sits in the nave of the church rather than the choir loft. The nonsense syllables come to mind when I realize with some measure of chagrin that I have just sung through an entire hymn, resumed my seat and not registered a single word of what I have intoned. I might just as well have been vocalizing on “lu.” While I doubt I am the only person to have had this experience, I am all the more sheepish about admitting to it, because I should surely know better. After all, I am a professional hymn text writer with a decades-long commitment to … [Read more...]

Tagged With: music

Prayer for China and all impacted by COVID-19

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Lord, in your mercy you healed those suffering in body, mind or spirit. We cry out to you now on behalf of those infected by the coronavirus. Heal the sick, and bind up the broken-hearted who grieve those felled by this illness. As both infection and fear spread, we ask for courage and protection for healthcare workers risking their own well-being for the sake of others. We pray wisdom for government officials and those in decision-making positions. May they rightly discern what needs to be done to treat those already infected and prevent others from falling sick. We know there are those in quarantine, afraid they might be exposed to illness, wondering when they will return to their normal lives, anxious about what might happen next. Comfort them with your peace that passes understanding and grant them patience during this liminal and frightening season. Lord of all, we are intimately connected to one another no matter where we reside on the earth, and so we plead for healing, … [Read more...]

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