Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

This morning, we held our traditional after-Christmas hymn sing during our worship service.  Our service was filled with familiar hymns, sung with a combination of reverence and jubilation. We preceded our singing with the responsive reading of John Wesley's "Directions for Singing" found in the beginning of our Methodist hymnal.  We read aloud John Wesley's words, admonishing us to "sing lustily and with good courage," while also being sure to sing "modestly" and "spiritually." One of the hymns we sang was "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," a piece whose melody dated back to 1665 and lyrics to 1680.  As we sang, my mind went back 40+ years when I sang in our church's junior choir.  Our director, Beverly Westerman, had a way of channeling our youthful energy to make lovely music together.  Ours was a large choir, so large in fact, that I often was relegated to sitting on a folding chair outside of the wood confines of our choir loft.  It was in that choir that I first remember singing "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" and at Christmastime, "Do You Hear What I Hear?".  Today, while flooded with happy memories, I contemplated the lyrics and how they apply to my life today, "Ponder anew what the Almighty can do....join me in glad adoration."  I dare say that John Wesley would have approved.

In Tune

My friend Lorraine was a marvelous musician.  A skilled pianist and organist, Lorraine could make the keys sing whenever she played.  Lorraine passed away last week and her service of remembrance was last weekend. I had the honor of leading a cappella singing of two hymns during Lorraine's service.  In preparation, I stopped at our church early last Friday morning, dashed into the sanctuary and selected a hymnal from an area of the church where I didn't think it would be missed for a few days.  Out of force of habit, I opened the hymnal to see who had sponsored it.  I gasped as I read that it was the one my late mom had purchased in honor of her parents some 20 years ago or more.  I closed the hymnal, hugged it close to my body and left the church both teary-eyed and smiling.  Mom thought so highly of Lorraine.  Like me, Mom appreciated Lorraine's music and, even more, her beautiful, peaceful and wise countenance. For many years and especially since my mom's passing, I have noticed that I am more in tune with subtle and sometimes inexplicable signs that make me feel as if my mom and dad are very close to me.  I felt it again as I opened my hymnal on Saturday to lead the congregation in singing Lorraine's favorite hymns.  Truly, the moment was "Amazing Grace."