Posted on by kristinpetty

The Music of Our Tradition

“Is anyone among you suffering?  Let them pray.  Is anyone cheerful?  Let them sing.” 
~ James 5:13

A few years ago I stumbled upon the blog of Dr. Sarah Bereza, the organist and Music Minister at First Congregational UCC in St. Louis, and started following her on social media.  I was immediately drawn to the fact that she was a young, female church musician (a Minister of Music even!) in what is still a rather male dominated field. In one of the episodes of her podcast, Music and The Church, she mentioned that the person who chooses the hymns for a congregation is responsible for the hymn tradition of an entire generation.  She emphasized that having traditions, employing repetition of hymns, and acknowledging congregational favorites is important because the hymns we know by heart are the songs that will serve as our anchors during the highs and lows of life.  The beloved music traditions of High Holy Days keep people coming back year after year.  But she cautioned that tradition, for the sake of tradition, can cause complacency and a missed opportunity to introduce music that can breathe new life into a congregation.

To the good people of Friedens UCC, I am sorry! If the person who chooses hymns is in fact responsible for this generation’s understanding of sacred song, your Director of Music Ministries is significantly under qualified for the position.  I have no formal theological training, I do not have a degree in Sacred Music from a prestigious university, and I have not taken one single class on hymnody.  But, I pray that my unwavering love for this congregation makes up for my lack of formal training.  Following Dr. Bereza’s advice, over the past few years I have really tried to discern why we sing the hymns we do, which traditions serve as our anchors, and which need to evolve so we remain relevant in the years to come – this is especially true this year when we as a staff are deciding which pieces of our new normal we will carry forward and which elements of our pre-pandemic lives we want to re engage.

Our Palm Sunday music traditions at Friedens are grand, and I am in no hurry to change them, at least not this year!  The familiar music creates palpable energy in the sanctuary as worship begins and the first notes of our Hymn of Adoration, All Glory, Laud, and Honor spill from the organ.  The tender words from our traditional Palm Sunday Hymn of Reflection, Tell Me the Stories of Jesus, prepare our hearts to receive the message of Jesus and his love.  Lead On O King Eternal ushers us out the door with words that prepare us to meet the highs and lows of holy week and the costs and joys of being disciples of Jesus Christ.

These three hymns are our tradition.  They are the anchor for the highs of Jesus triumphant entry, all while knowing the upcoming lows of His sacrifice on the cross.  These hymns are not, in my opinion, tradition for the sake of tradition.  They encourage us to reach beyond the walls of Friedens Church, they are relevant today, and surprisingly not one of these hymns was written specifically for Palm Sunday.

The Latin text that All Glory, Laud, and Honor was derived from was originally composed as a 72 verse poem written in the 9th century.  The author Theodulf, the Bishop of Orleans, wrote it from a jail cell where he was wrongly imprisoned for insurrection.  He had lost everything. He lost his title and position. He lost all of his earthy goods, including the chapel he loved. He no longer had an audience with the imperial court. From his jail cell he penned this poem as a reflection on the one true emperor, the King of Kings, the Savior who he would never lose.  All Glory, Laud, and Honor was translated into English and set to its familiar tune in England during the mid 1800’s.  Ever since, this hymn has been part of Palm Sunday traditions around the world, and it is still relevant today, on this Sunday, when we are slowly beginning to emerge from the restrictions of the last 13 months that, at times, have felt like our own undeserved prison sentences.

It has been our tradition to use Tell Me the Stories of Jesus as our Hymn of Reflection on Palm Sunday. Though the third verse reads, “Into the city I’d follow the children’s band, waving a branch of the palm tree high in my hand; one of his heralds, yes, I would sing loudest hosannas, Jesus is King!”, it was not written to be a Palm Sunday hymn.  It was actually written by a Sunday School teacher when his students eagerly asked him to tell countless stories of Jesus over and over again!  In the last 13 months we have all seen the love of Jesus displayed in beautiful ways by our church family.  We have been writing our own stories of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with meals and gifts that have been left on doorsteps, lawns that have been mowed and trees that have been trimmed, with the efforts of dedicated couples have delivered Sunday School materials to children so that they can continue to learn the stories of Jesus, albeit through Zoom instead of at Pastor Sarah’s feet.  Even by staying home to keep others safe we shared the love of Jesus Christ.  These are the modern day stories of Christ’s love, and years from now I will tell my grandchildren these stories of how Friedens Church shared the love of Jesus Christ during a worldwide pandemic!

Lead On, O King Eternal, the Hymn of Parting of our Palm Sunday tradition, was written as the processional hymn for the graduation ceremony of Andover Seminary in 1887.  I love Richard Niell Donovan’s thoughts on the hymn, that might appear militant to some.  “This hymn is really a prayer, a prayer for God’s guidance.  It speaks of marching and “fields of conquest” and “battle song”, not because it celebrates war, but because it acknowledges the daily struggle in which good people must engage against evil.  It looks forward to the celebration of victory, not with clashing swords and stirring drums, but with “deeds of love and mercy”, acknowledging that Christ calls us to conquer the world by demonstrating love and showing mercy rather than by using force.”  This is a relevant prayer for guidance in a year full of polarized political views, socioeconomic gaps being forced wider by the ongoing pandemic, and an ever increasing need for social justice. 

I’m not sure why these three hymns were chosen to be sung at Friedens on Palm Sunday all those years ago.  Perhaps it is because our hymnal, with over 700 entries, has only two hymns dedicated specifically to Palm Sunday.  Maybe they were chosen because they were favorite hymns of the Director of Music.  They might have matched the sermon theme that year.  Whatever the reason, I am pretty sure that I know why the tradition has continued, and I am certain that it is not tradition for the sake of tradition. 

I believe that these hymns have become the music of our Palm Sundays because each year as the gloomy cold of Winter gives way to the bright warmth of Spring, we want to lift our hosannas to the One who has brought us out of the darkness and into the light! 

I believe these hymns have become our tradition because as we prepare our hearts for our own journey to the cross, we want to lift up in song the stories of the good news of the gospel and give thanks for Jesus and His sacrificial love! 

I believe these hymns have become our tradition because as we leave the walls of this church after the safety and comfort of our Holy Week experience within this community of faith, we need a prayer for strength and courage to leave this place and go out into the world to do the work of Jesus Christ! 

Amen!

Posted on by kristinpetty

What did you give up for Lent?

Today is Easter. The day that Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Easter is unique because much of the world has shut down because of the Novel Coronavirus.

Easter Sunday marks the end of the season of Lent…the 40 days (excluding Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter. In many Christian traditions Lent serves as a period of penitential preparation for Easter, and many Christians choose to give up something of pleasure in imitation of Jesus Christ’s fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. Each year it is common to hear the question, “What did you give up for Lent?” I often hear people say that they gave up chocolate (my dad’s go to), dessert all together (um, no way I could do that), alcohol, or social media. As a teenager I often tried to give up chocolate or candy, but my views on the “giving up” in Lent changed after a conversation I had in my early twenties. 

The Strietelmeiers have a collective sweet tooth.  Dark chocolate gets Grandma Striet, Dad, Trish, and me like no other vice can!

When I was completing my student teaching, I had a conversation about giving something up for Lent with my cooperating teacher. (He would eventually leave the field of education to become a pastor.) I told him that during Lent I was planning to go without the daily soda that I picked up on my way to school. His simple response changed everything for me. He asked me what I would be adding in its place. Would I take the time that I would have spent in the drive thru to read the bible? Would I take the money that I would have spent on the Diet Coke and give it to a charity, and would I pray for that cause for the 40 days of Lent? What would I do to become closer to God, because simply giving up Diet Coke (or dessert, alcohol, or Facebook) can’t strengthen your connection to your Savior. Almost twenty years later I still remember those powerful words.

If you would have asked me anytime in the last few years what I gave up for Lent you would have received the tongue and cheek reply of, “I’m a church musician, so I gave up my free time for Lent!” For the last five years I have served as the Choir Director and Director of Music Ministries at Friedens UCC. In my role at the church Lent is literally a time of preparation for Holy Week and Easter. As soon as the Ash Wednesday service is over we begin rehearsing music for Holy Week. I’m being serious, I march the choir right from the sanctuary to our rehearsal space once the service ends! Our weekly choir rehearsals get longer during Lent. Instead of practicing for about an hour each Wednesday, we stay for almost two hours and I get home well past nine. During Holy Week (Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday) I’m usually at the church building for 6 services, 2 meetings, a service walk through, and a 3 hour choir rehearsal in the span of 8 days. It is intense, but I love every minute of it! It is during Lent that I feel closest to Christ, and I know that it is because of the things that I add during those 40 days. I read more scripture. I study more hymn text. I spend more time serving along side multiple teams at the church. I spend more time in prayer. Yes, all of these things are requirements of my job, but they allow me to focus on my faith for 40 days in a way that is very different from every other part of the year.

This year, Lent began on Wednesday, February 26. On Friday, March 13 the first Social Distancing mandate was announced in Indiana. To me it seems that everyone in Indiana, everyone in the United States, heck everyone around the world has given something up for Lent this year. Children cannot go to school. Travel is banned. All public places, including churches, are closed. Visitors are not allowed in hospitals or nursing homes. It is strongly advised that you not share Easter dinner with your family if they do not live in your home. Small business have been forced to close their doors, and for some they will be closed permanently. So many people have lost their jobs. You can’t go to bars, restaurants, or movie theaters. It is difficult to get groceries. Eating at a restaurant means navigating new curbside pickup policies or having it delivered via a third party vendor. Because of Social Distancing measures, almost everyone has given up something that brings them pleasure.

At the same time, people have added so, so much. Because of the fear, sadness, and the overwhelming changes to every aspect of life, people are praying. I mean really, really praying. Praying for an end to the pandemic. Praying for the safety of those on the front lines of this mess. Praying for those who have contracted the virus and are ill. Praying for comfort for families who have lost loved ones. The feelings of worry, fear, and stress are bringing people back to the church. Granted they are “going to church” via the internet, but they are going! Because you aren’t supposed to be around anyone who doesn’t live in your home, almost overnight society found new ways (thank you Facebook and Zoom) to stay connected. People are checking on each other and loving on each other in a way that I haven’t seen since 9-11. Random acts of kindness are happening everywhere. Some people are grocery shopping for those they know who are at higher risk. Many people are sewing masks. Others are doing everything in their power to keep their favorite local restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, and wineries afloat during the shut down. Meals and baked good are being left on porches, just because. The list goes on and on.

I’m not going to lie, I have struggled with not being able to be in worship at my church. We haven’t been able to meet on our campus since March 8, and I miss it terribly. Making music centers me and is my stress relief. The people that I work with and serve beside at the church are some of the most important people in my life, and I miss them very much! I want very much to be back in worship on our church campus!

I have made a promise to God that I will never, ever complain about being too busy and tired during Holy Week ever again!

But, I haven’t completely hated this very different Lent. I have enjoyed slowing down. We are eating dinner together as a family every night. I am much more intentional about my ministry since we have to execute worship services in a very new way. I have had the opportunity to participate in worship as a congregant, not as a staff member (and believe me there is a big difference). I’ve had a lot more time at home with my husband and boys. My ten year old and I have watched countless movies, and together we have walked the dog for miles. Quarantine life has provided the chance to examine what is truly important to me. There are definitely things that I will never take for granted again, and I have an equally long list of things that I won’t be in a hurry to add back into my schedule once Social Distancing measures are lifted.

My prayer is that next year Lent and Holy Week aren’t like they are this year, but that they don’t go back to “normal” either. I pray that next year we can worship in our sanctuary, but that we are also able to keep the connection to one another that the sacrifices of Social Distancing have forced us to create. I pray that next year we don’t have to give up as much, but instead we all choose to add a few things for at least 40 days that help us connect with our Savior!