I once was asked if planning music for worship was like a composition for me. The answer is a resounding yes! The title above might be the title for the composition of worship this Sunday, Nov. 2nd.

While there will be some old favorites among the hymns we will sing, there is also that glimpse into the future. During the Time for All Ages, I will be working on a song that is based on our scripture reading that comes from a wonderful children’s music curriculum called Growing in Grace. One of the best things about it is that there are options to include some bells and other instruments, but also that they are songs that are much more geared to where children are now and are approached in a way that is more about faith formation and less about performing. Truly, that is the way we should approach all music in worship--talking about how God spoke through what we sang or played because that is what creates community and helps us grow. How did that song shed a new light on this familiar reading? How did God show me something new about my neighbors? About myself?

We will begin our song of the month that we will slowly learn over the month of November. It is a bilingual song that will have us singing a repeated phrase in Spanish with a section in English in the middle. Again, that focus on connecting to the whole church--around the world and throughout time.

I will also be playing a handbell solo, and while for many that may be a very new thing to imagine, for me it also brings up memories of those that I’ve served in a previous church where I helped a 15-year-old ringer ring that same solo both as a challenge for themselves and a gift to their dad.

As we remember those who have departed, we will have multiple ringers of various ages and backgrounds building up a chord as more names are read symbolizing how both those whose name was read and those ringing a bell all are part of the chord of the church throughout time.

Lord, may we not look at our past only through a lens of nostalgia, but rather as children discovering it, sifting through it, and deciding what needs to become something new.
 
Marshall

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rain fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again, may God hold you ever in the palm of his hand.
- Traditional Irish blessing

On this Totenfest/All Saints Day Sunday, we remember loved ones who have passed on with an "Elegy" by Australian-born organist/composer George Thalben-Ball. His most well-known composition for organ, this lovely meditative work emerged from an improvisation on a BBC radio show in World War II and was played at the funeral of Princess Diana of Wales in 1997.

The Chancel Choir offers a moment of comfort and assured hope in the ancient words of "Irish Blessing" in a beautiful setting by British composer Bob Chilcott. The anonymous text reminds us that life's road can be long—and challenging—but that in God's presence we are never alone.

A triumphant "Alleluia" closes worship with a reminder that Love can never die. This final movement from Italian organist/composer Marco Bossi's "Six Pieces for Organ, Op. 70" implies a sung "Alleluia" refrain with its four note descending motif heard throughout this celebratory work from 1917.  

Ovella Huddleston and cantor Lucas Jackson contribute the lush ambience of the low strings to the early morning worship service. Arrangements of works by Gustav Holst and Antonio Vivaldi will be offered on this day of remembrance. 

At 11:00, the organ consoles those gathered with an "Elegy" by composer and a former Cincinnati colleague of mine Brenda Portman. During communion, the Chancel Choir offers the traditional Irish blessing in a serene setting by Bob Chilcott. The service concludes with an assured and triumphant meditation on the All Saints Sunday hymn "O What Their Joy and Their Glory Must Be."      

Songs of peace, solace, and beatific glory on this Totenfest/All Saints Sunday morning. 

At 9:00 a.m. vocalist/guitarist Bill DeMarco brings his classic folk stylings to a service of remembrance and hope.

At 11:00 a.m., an ethereal and elegant "Elegy" by Brenda Portman greets worshipers at the Prelude. The Chancel Choir offers the ancient Latin text "Dona Nobis Pacem" (grant us peace) in a contemporary exquisite setting by David Lantz III with violinist Harmony Tucker and handbell ringers Eric Siegel and Roger Smith joining. The organ concludes the service with a triumphant 16th century "Glorificamus" from British composer John Redford.