As our Giving season begins, I’ve been pondering how do I connect Walking in Love to my personal ministry as part of St Simon’s choir? More importantly, how did I get here?
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember – starting with watching and listening to my mother play Rhapsody in Blue on her beloved piano. That piano was the source of family sing alongs, and lessons for me and my 5 siblings. The songs from all the Rogers and Hammerstein musicals of the 60’s were so stuck in my head, I wanted to not just sing like Julie Andrews I wanted to BE her. Growing up Catholic, I remember dutifully singing hymns during Mass and the warbly voices of my dear aunts and great aunts. They would be Sr. Millicent, Sr. Mary Oliver, Sr. Mary Blandina and Sr. Marjorie. A LOT of nuns. As you can imagine, The Sound of Music movie loomed large in my childhood. My first chorus experience started in 7th grade and continued to high school, college and some wonderful community choirs in Milwaukee. There was then, and continues to be something so special about being a brick in a wall of sound. College was my introduction to performance of not just pop/contemporary composers but to classical sacred music.
The comradery and discipline of being with people who shared a love of singing together has consistently given me the gifts of lifelong friends. It took several years before I began to truly appreciate the delight, faithfulness, beauty, privilege and wonder of singing lyrics that spoke to deep spirituality. This past summer was especially meaningful to travel to France with the Chicago Master Singers and sing in several of the most magnificent cathedrals in Europe.
When I joined St. Simons in 2017, one of my first questions to Pastor Elizabeth Jameson was whether there was a choir. I distinctly remember the first service I attended. I watched and listened to Jan Travis and Charlotte Weber in their vestments as they marched and sang hymns that were different to my Catholic ears but sung with such commitment and joy. I was hooked and eager to fill a void that wanted prayer, community and song.
Much has been written about the communal collective that binds people together through singing. Performance via singing, playing instruments and dancing has been happening across all cultures around the world for thousands of years. (Anthony Storr, Music and the Mind).
Neuroscientists have mapped the human brain and figured out exactly how and where the experience of performing or listening to music effects each part of our nervous system. Turns out, singing has significant positive impact on cognitive processes, emotional response and memory. How magical is that?
Scripture gives examples of why singing is an important aspect of Christian life: Colossians 3:13-16 “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, singing psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs.” The verses also reference singing together as bearing with one another, forgiveness, being at peace as one united Body of Christ, and teaching God’s word to one another. Our music is so carefully chosen by the St Simons liturgical team and truly enriches our worship. We are so fortunate to have Beau Surratt as our Music Director whose faith and joy are apparent at every rehearsal and performance.
I found a lyrical verse that speaks to my delight in why singing for me is so much a part of Walking in Love with each other.
Walk in Love by Elevation Worship
Light broke through
It was You
It began to rise inside of me
As you breathed in peace, Hallelujah
We were bought in love
So we walk, so we walk in love
You’re calling us out of ourselves
To love a world that’s broken down
We walk in love
Wake up soul
You’ve been made whole
It’s Christ in you who’s shining through
When you give love away
Hallelujah
We were bought, we were bought with love
So we walk, so we walk in love
Margie Willson
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