Please join us in discussions to be held following the worship services on Saturday, May 26 and Sunday the 27. We want to listen to your suggestions on how to best welcome our friends from St. Bede’s and to make it a smooth merger. We also want to address any and all questions and/or concerns you may have pertaining to the merger.
Music is a big part of worship at St Nicholas, and it’s been a big part of the experience at St Bede’s as well.
At St Nick’s, we often sing or chant psalms; St Bede’s uses a book of praise songs, and both communities are familiar with various hymns.
Here’s an item from Huffington Post on the subject:
So, I feel bad for the biblical psalms. In Hebrew, their home language, the collection is called tehillim — “songs of praise.” This ups the mystery ante. After all, the book is dominated by complaint. Evocative expressions of pain and suffering — all kinds and on all levels are far more common than happier sentiments. Yet somehow, all together, they are “Praise Songs.” And how poignant that the book’s Greek title, Psalms, comes from a word that may refer as much to a stringed instrument as the “songs” it accompanied.
Now, you may call me sacrilegious, but as much as I wish we knew the full music of those biblical texts, I do not believe that they alone possess sanctifying power. I do not believe that the sacred is bound by text or that the divine is circumscribed by religion. Holiness happens in the oddest places and may be carried along by something as profound, as singular and transitory, as a song.
Link: The Power of Music: Holiness Hitches a Ride – The Huffington Post
Our diocese is holding a contest to see how many members it can sign up for its email newsletters. We encourage you to sign up today. It’s a great way to stay in touch with what’s happening in the larger Episcopal community of which we are part. Plus, we stand to win a prize!
When you sign up, be sure to enter St. Nicholas, Elk Grove Village as your congregation.
Click here to sign up.
Click here to learn more.