Music Ministry:  Philosophy and Reality

          It is an honor for me to be at First Presbyterian Church and to serve you as Music Director and Organist. You have a long tradition of fine music that has supported and enhanced your worship through the years. I pray that God will help me in my planning and visioning to continue to guide this music ministry in a way that holds to its traditions while always being relevant to the times in which we live and serve.

          Music is a glorious gift from God. How different our worship would be without music. There is nothing more exciting than strong congregational hymn singing. Think about it, the church, a unified body of believers, worshiping God together by singing a great hymn of the faith boldly and with conviction. Surely this is as close as we can come on earth to knowing what worship will be like in eternity.

          Here at First Presbyterian Church you are fortunate to have a majestic pipe organ to support your singing and a room with a live acoustic that allows your voices to mix and fill the room. I encourage you to sing out on each hymn in worship.

          Music also has a teaching role. The text we sing in hymns, or hear through choir anthems, offers great truths about the Christian faith. These texts help to "build up the body". Music also has an important role in proclaiming the good news to those who don't know Christ as Lord and Savior.

          Well, that's enough of "worship philosophy". What is it that I am about in music ministry? My goal is, of course, to help the congregation on a Sunday morning have a meaningful worship experience. I hope to accomplish this through skillful hymn playing and in choosing service music and choral anthems that support the sermon topic for the day. A second goal is to help everyone involved in the music ministry at the church to be successful and able to do their best each time they present a musical offering in worship.

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