Choristers to make pilgrimage to Lincoln Cathedral, UK
I’m excited to announce that our Choristers, along with choristers from St. Mary’s, Arlington, and St. Andrew’s, Burke have the opportunity to be the choir in residence for the week in the summer of 2019, July 8-15, at Lincoln Cathedral. Most Cathedrals have an adjoining cathedral school. During school holidays, visiting choirs are invited to be the resident choir. Lincoln Cathedral has had a tradition of daily worship since 1088, one in which our choristers will take part. It is the third largest cathedral in England, whose most famous director of music was William Byrd. During our residency we will have the opportunity to sing daily services, experience Anglican music in its original setting, grow musically and spiritually, and develop lasting friendships, among many other things. I look forward to sharing more information about this exciting pilgrimage as we prepare for our trip in the coming year.
Saint George’s Hymn Project
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.
Hymn 693 – Just as I am, without one plea
Patty Gibson writes:
I’ve loved this one since I was a little girl, probably because it acknowledges human weaknesses.
Hymn 362 – Holy, Holy, Holy
Lindsay Stoudt writes:
This song reminds me of childhood summers at Camp Aldersgate: camping and canoeing on the Delaware River, spending time with old friends and meeting new ones, and singing hymns around the campfire while roasting marshmallows. I just love the simple words, the catchy tune, and the great memories.
Hymn 458 – My song is love unknown
Kathy Covert writes:
Because it captures the Easter story in lovely poetry and harmony. And because my breath always catches at, “Love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be”. That captures so much of our ministry. And spoke to me personally, as well, when I felt loveless and un-lovely.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Ben Keseley, Minister of Music
St. George’s Favorite Hymn Project:
We are collecting YOUR favorite hymns. Submit yours today.
Tell us what it is here and why.
The Power of our Hymnody
The power of our hymnody
Last week at our 7:30pm Ash Wednesday service, I told the choir we were going try something new, and different. We were going to lead the entire service a ccapella. There were few looks of excitement, and many that led me to believe they thought I had finally completely lost it. The truth is, they did really well and in this manner of leading our hymnody we were able to experience in a different way, the profound harmonic and poetic beauty of our hymnody.
It was a powerful experience and one that was not lost on our Choristers. At the end of our closing hymn (Eternal Lord of love, behold your church, #149) there is the marvelous phrase that begins “glorious in springtime”. I made gesture for the choir to emphasize this (…and they were watching), and what happened next was truly transcendent. This experience caused a few of our choristers to smile, and one of our chorister’s eyes lit up, he looked at me, and in the middle of the hymn said – “Whoa! I saw and heard that…that was really awesome.” I would be surprised if hymn 149 wasn’t his new favorite hymn.
Here are some more of your favorite hymns, and why they have special meaning in your life.
Hymn 362 - Holy, Holy, Holy
Larry Carnahan writes: In the church I attended as a child, this hymn was the processional every Sunday. As a result, I learned every part as my voice changed. Years later, when I learned of my maternal grandfather's death, I decided to attend midweek services at the Church of the Epiphany in downtown DC. When Holy, Holy, Holy turned out to be the hymn used in that service, I realized what an important connection it had to my religious life. I also like its Trinity theme.
Hymn 380, Stanza 3 - The Doxology
Mike Nelson writes: The Doxology is one of the few hymns that I have memorized and one of the few. I'm comfortable singing at full volume (since I'm not a very good singer). I have memories of singing this hymn in all sorts of locations and in very special circumstances--at Shrine Mont, at Holden Village (the Lutheran Church retreat center in the northern Cascades of Washington state, as well as at countless church dinners). I always associate it with fellowship.
Hymn 688 – A mighty fortress is our God
Angie Rollet writes: Growing up, my sister and I were allowed to watch very little television. One show we watched regularly, however, was Davey and Goliath, a claymation cartoon series. It's opening theme uses the music from "A Mighty Fortress..." and when I hear the hymn it immediately takes me back to small town Nebraska, a relaxed and stress-free lifestyle, and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.
David Grahn writes: I grew up in the Lutheran Church. It is a powerful hymn that reminds me of my childhood and connects me with my grandfather who was a Lutheran minister serving in a number of churches in the upper Midwest.
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.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Ben Keseley, Minister of Music
St. George’s Favorite Hymn Project:
We are collecting YOUR favorite hymns. Submit yours today.
Tell us what it is here and why.
St. George's Favorite Hymn Project - Lent 1
St. George’s Favorite Hymn Project
Throughout the season of Lent, we will hear what some of your favorite hymns are and why they are meaningful. These stories are shared with the hope that we might come to not only know more about each other and our hymnody, but to deepen our knowledge of God’s expansive love and grace. I encourage you to use one or more of these hymns for your devotions during Lent. For information on each hymn below, as well as text and tune, click the hyperlink for each hymn. And, if you haven’t submitted your favorite hymn, please do so with the link below!
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.
Hymn 427 - “When Morning Gilds the Sky”
Mary Martha Churchman, writes:
While I was attending Wittenberg I sometimes attended morning prayer at Christ Episcopal Church in Springfield with my grandmother, a lifetime resident of Springfield and member of Christ Church. I remember standing beside her (or rather, towering over her!) and singing this hymn together. She was in her mid-eighties at the time and still loved singing. It was also one of my mother's favorite hymns. She sang with a clear strong voice. This hymn always evokes a strong memory of shared joy.
Hymn 711 – Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
Margret Hjalmarson, writes:
I love that it can be sung as a round and the melody is beautiful. The lyrics are a reminder to seek and to ask God is a simple statement but also hard to do.
Hymn 400 – All creatures of our God and King
Jill Nussbaum writes:
I love this hymn because it allows me to retrace my faith journey each time it is sung. It begins with instinctive awe and wonder at the beauty of the natural world, moves to handling human relationships with mercy, and beyond that to comfort for those "who pain and sorrow bear," and the promise that even death will merely lead us home. That's a powerful message for a single song.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Ben Keseley, Minister of Music
St. George’s Favorite Hymn Project:
We are collecting YOUR favorite hymns. Submit yours today.
Tell us what it is here and why.
Music in our Worship: Prelude and Postlude
Music in our Worship: The Prelude and Postlude (Voluntaries)
Ever wonder why we begin most of our worship with a prelude and end with a postlude?
In very general terms, the history of preludes and postludes in worship, is quite simple. We inherited our tradition of preludes and postludes (also called voluntaries) from a 17th century Dutch tradition of concertizing before and after worship. Church organs at that time were owned by the city council, and organists were hired by the city. At the early part of the Reformation in the Netherlands, there was no place for music at all in Dutch Reformed church services, but since the Dutch people enjoyed organ music, and organs were still in churches from days of Catholicism, the city hired organists to play concerts before and after worship. Over time, this tradition voluntaries has developed and morphed into one that is quite the opposite of its beginnings. For we no longer view these voluntaries as performances that are outside of worship, but as integral offering and part of our worship, a time of centering ourselves in God and God’s goodness.
I invite you to consider these voluntaries as a sacred bridge that brings us from our worldly context into the presence of God, or in the case of the closing voluntary, one that sends us back into the world to live out our calling as children of God. These bridges are firmly anchored in holy worship on one side and our earthly world on the other. They prepare us for the consideration of sacred things. They help send us on our way to do the work of Christ in the world.
For us, music in worship is never about performance, but about an offering of praise, thanksgiving, penitence, or petition to God. While we often are often caught up in the beauty of the music or the words, the purpose is not to bring attention to the musicians or singers but to point to the Creator who makes all things beautiful and inspires creativity in us all. For me, this what makes offering and leading music in worship a very holy and sacred thing. Before each service our choirs pray together this prayer, as do I each time I don my white surplice for worship. It helps reminds about this holy and sacred duty.
Bless us O Lord your servants who minister in your temple;
Grant that what we sing on 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. (The Choristers Prayer)
Soli Deo Gloria!
Dr. Ben Keseley, Minister of Music
St. George’s Favorite Hymn Project:
We are collecting YOUR favorite hymns. Submit yours today!
Tell us what it is here and why.
The Hymns We Sing
The Hymns We Sing
A Saint George’s Favorite Hymn Project
Hymnody is a powerful force in the life of God’s people; one that brings an assembly of individuals together in one unified voice. When we sing together, we are physically joining together on one wave of sound, sharing the same harmonic series of pitches, even when we sing in harmony. We sing not only with our voices, but with our bodies, our minds, and our spirits. When lift our voices in song we are participating in a community building activity; a form of meditation, a form of proclamation, and a form of prayer. When we sing we join in the heart and spirit of poetry, with its rich images and its deep meaning.
Our repertoire of hymnody forms a powerful part of our personal memory, which in turn, becomes part of our communal memory. Hymns often become our favorites because they are sung at times of high emotion. In fact, many of our hymns were conceived at such times for the hymn writers. For generations, our hymns have been sung at baptisms and funerals, weddings and anniversaries, in times of joy and sorrow, and indeed in many other contexts across time and space. These emotional experiences are seared deeply into our memory and more importantly are joined together with others in community.
These become an integral part of the entire fabric of the Body of Christ. Church musician and composer David Cherwien says, “The act of singing these songs becomes a blessing, healing, reassuring and energizing force for the heart and soul of a congregation.”
I’d like to know your favorite hymns. For these next few weeks I will be collecting them for use in our worship. Please send me your favorite hymn by filling out this form. And, if you care to, please share with me why this particular hymn is your favorite. I’d be interested in hearing your story and sharing with others if you so choose.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Ben Keseley
Music Director