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First Reformed Church is offering a free concert by Lorraine Nelson-Wolff and her family of performers on Saturday, September 11 at 7:00 pm.
Come for a night of inspirational songs and stories with the Billboard & ASCAP award-winning composer, singer, and pianist. Lorraine’s husband, Godfrey, and daughter, Lauren Nelson, are her special performer guests.
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The spring season is soon coming to an end. Now that Easter is over, marked by the festive descent of the Spirit on Pentecost, we are entering our last weeks worshiping in the sanctuary. The choir is also soon closing its doors – at least for a little while. The last time you will hear the choir sing together is on Jun 21st, Father’s Day – until the fall.
Historically, the music program of a church has been sometimes called a Music Ministry. It is a very curious label since it expects the “performers” or “musicians” to somehow express or spread their faith in Jesus Christ. I’ve been wondering the past few months what that means for a choir – to be spreading faith in God. Oh, it is obvious that when a singer stands up and sings to the depths of her heart and brings life to the music and the text that she is expressing that faith. That is the easy part. But what about the communication of that faith? What do the listeners get out of that music, especially when maybe the listeners are not musically sophisticated, or do not understand the words because they are in a different language? There is no easy answer for that. If our music program wishes to become a true Music Ministry, this is the question that we have to consider. The choir is growing – we are becoming more well-versed in world literature; we are digging deep and reattaching our roots to the tradition of Christian classical music. We are finding voices in other languages, other styles, more sophisticated music, etc. But how is this growth-ful for the congregation? Yes, it is lovely for them to hear beautiful music on Sunday morning, but how does that help them grow in faith? These are questions that need to be considered.
Pastor Hartmut said that ministries test our endurance, our passion, and our love. They provide temptation to drop the cross of our burdens. I can tell you that with the hike in rehearsal hours per week and the leaps of difficulty in our musical choices, the choir is definitely showing great endurance. And do I need to say anything about passion? Just listen to how fervently each singer sings every Sunday morning, finding the fire of the spirit inside his or her own voice! But love – that is the tough part of ministry. Love is about connection between people, i.e. the love between the congregation and choir. How involved is the choir with the congregation? How can we collaborate more and build our church with music? And this may sound silly to you, as it did to me at first, but: what are the burdens of the choir as a ministry? To keep ourselves in good voice? Or, is there something deeper, something that we have yet to find to immerse ourselves in the life, the pain, the suffering, the burdens of the congregation?
I know I am asking a lot of questions. I do not have the answers. I am not saying that the Music Ministry is in bad shape. But, if we are to continue to grow, we must answer these questions. A professor of mine at Rutgers, Dr. James, said that “growth is the acid test of Love.” Let us find the love and keep growing together, congregation with its choir, one church, one faith, under Jesus Christ’s supervision. May our work face the challenges of ministry head-on and in good voice.
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We have had two performances not too far apart and the choir did really well. Both times I received numerous compliments about how well the choir sounded. I really enjoy hearing these compliments, but without all the great and hard work of the ringers, it would not have been possible. It is not always easy for the group to practice; most of the time someone is absent. And that makes a huge difference in how the piece sounds. Also, the layout and acoustics of our practice room are quite different from the sounds in the sanctuary. Therefore, it is a big accomplishment for the whole group that we did so well. We are starting a few new pieces so that we will keep enhancing the worship services with this beautiful music. [ more » ]
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Oscar Brand’s Folksong Festival, broadcast every Saturday 10:00-11:00p.m. (Eastern time) on WNYC-AM in New York City, can be heard live worldwide on wnyc.org. Oscar has been doing this show since 1945!
Folk singer, recording artist, songwriter, guitarist, bawdy song balladeer, sea chantey performer, radio broadcaster, television program host, special events director, emcee, Broadway musical composer, playwright, actor, author, storyteller, musicologist, historian, Children’s Recording Artist, curator of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Honorary Ph.D., a true Renaissance man.
Mara Levine’s new album Mara’s Gems is a true gem with her crystal clear voice, subtle vibrato, and skillful way with a melody line. The songs, strung together like the care-worn precious stones on your grandmother’s necklace, are (as a wine critic might say) rich with notes of sterling silver, amethyst, mother of pearl and smoky quartz, with a smooth, sweet finish. Joined by her friends William “Rusty” Crowell on guitar and Jan Alba on flute.
May 9th, 2009 — $25 advance; $30 at the door; $10 kids.
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Somehow the sung word reaches us deeper than many sermons or devotions can. And so it’s always special when a church sings from the bottom of its heart. We had such occasion on Feb 8th with Rev. James Hart Brumm, pastor of the Blooming Grove Reformed Church in DeFreestville, NY, across the Hudson River from Albany.
James met with the Senior Choir for a rehearsal in the morning and shared numerous stories from his rich life in the church. The he led the singing during worship, assisted by our organist and choir director Ben Berman and our Bell Choir director Erie Beemsterboer. Prior to his coming, we had furnished James with a wish list of songs and hymns from Sing! A New Creation and asked that he would introduce us to these. We could not have found a better teacher – James had contributed to this hymnal and was a member of the committee that had created it.
Following worship, we had a great lunch and a little autograph party with James in the Randolph Room. Here participants could obtain a copy of Liturgy Among the Thorns, an introduction to Reformed worship, Christian education, architecture, etc. James edited this book; it is part of the Historical Series of our denomination. All proceeds above the production cost of the book will benefit our historic preservation project. Thank you, James, for a wonderful Sunday at church. And thank you to our Education & Worship Committee that put a beautiful lunch together.
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A lineup of four recitals comes your way this fall, so mark your calendars and think about friends to invite.
The Downtown Lunchtime Recitals celebrated last spring when the young musicians from Livingston School gave a performance of their spring concert at our church. This thank you was a wonderful affirmation of the appreciation audiences have for the recitals. If you haven’t been attending the recitals, come by and find out how chamber music grabs everyone from middle-schoolers to seniors. The Wednesday recitals are free half-hour events beginning at 12:15 p.m.
Consider helping serve the free lunch that follows each recital and signing up to donate soup, bread, or cookies. Find the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board outside the kitchen door or call the church office and ask Aurea Vega to sign you up.
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