Page 20 - MLD Book

COMPUTER I HAD BOUGHT HOME WITH ME! Instead, Erdman made a little gadget you can stick into the back of your own computer, and he downloaded only those parts he allowed
me to have.
1985
As we move to 1985, I can be a little more chronologically correct, because now I have saved papers from each year, as opposed to the very early years where there were no written annual reports or official memorabilia. And the music report of 1985 must have been triggered by something that prompted the following rather introspective report about the 22nd state of music at Calvary. So much so, that I am going to include it here in this story
that is rapidly becoming a book covering my life history as experienced at Calvary:
Why are we all here? Do we do it for the praise of ourselves, or to praise God? Do we live for the applause, or do we think to provide the applause for others? Why do you want to listen to our music? (No comment, Downey!!) Is it because it is entertaining or because we are fun(ny) to watch, or is it because it helps us all to worship? We have a wonderful choir. We have continued wonderful support from clergy and congregation. We have wonderful volunteer leadership and help from many sources. We have 48 active choir members...but how do you keep choir attendance at 100% when some want to choose only the Sundays to attend when the anthem is really difficult, while others only want to sing things that are easy for them? Do you convince them all that they are needed by terror tactics, or love, or a little bit of both? How do you respond when one parishioner demands a certain hymn and another refuses to attend if you do it?
Why are we here?
We are here because we are called by God to worship Him. Whether we be musicians or congregation, we offer our music together in worship. Music is with us to remind the church not to be so occupied with the mechanics of keeping the institution going that it forgets whet the whole thing is about. “Our music should be able to pull us back from our
preoccupation with internal mechanics and rubrics, “ the Rev. Tom Moye has written, “to a point where it taps you on the shoulder and says, ‘Look!’ and suddenly, bright wings appear in the darkness and in the night, a dawning sun that evermore rises and never goes down.”
remind us whom we serve. May we allow ourselves corporately, without stipulation, to sing unto the Lord, and to make music unto Him, for His glory. THIS is why we are here. And to underline the role that music has played in Calvary over the years, I quote a lady who was trying to identify the church where I was. She said, Oh yes, Calvary. That’s the church with all the music!!
Music is here in this place to move us, when words fail. Music is here to lift us up when we fall, to speak to and through people in a unique manner. May we, as a choir, not be so preoccupied with ourselves that we cannot hear the music we make. May we as a congregation let the music speak to us and