In Christian worship, we find many different styles of music and instruments. Most western churches with traditional liturgical services have a long-standing history of using pipe organs. The pipe organ is often referred to as the king of instruments and the instrument leads and supports worship and liturgy in ways that no other musical instrument can.

Music and singing is an important and long standing part of the Christian worship service, and I’d like to take a moment to talk about how to sing. Don’t worry, this won’t be a technical description of how the sound is produced, nor will it be a study of music theory and notation. Just simply, how we should engage in song as we worship.

The month of February has one of my favorite Sundays in the liturgical calendar; Transfiguration Sunday. This Sunday falls on the last Sunday before Lent, serving as a transition between the Epiphany season and Lent. It celebrates the story of Christ’s transfiguration on a mountain top as found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

When I was 29 years old, I had a “midlife” crisis. I looked into buying a beautiful, red sports car. However, I changed my mind and decided to buy a pedal harp, which was about the same price. I started harp lessons immediately and have never looked back.

Mark Pace will be on vacation in Mexico City the second half of July, but before he leaves, we get a special treat as he plays a unique version of the Independence Day Postlude, the Star-Spangled Banner.

This coming Sunday for the Prelude Julie Belanger Roy and I are doing one of my favorite musician compositions for the 11:00 AM worship service “The Swan.”