Workshop offers church musicians time for learning, refreshment, renewal

Without music, it would be a "dry, dry world," said the Rev. Becky Purcell, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Prairie Grove. "It's there when we are driving, listening in our cars. It carries us -- and that's especially so in a worship service."

The Northwest Arkansas chapter of the American Guild of Organists sponsors a workshop for church musicians from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 28 at First United Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville. The chapter charges no fees for the workshop, but space is limited to those with reservations. Michael Morgan, seminary musician at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta and church organist for almost 40 years, is the featured speaker.

Many congregations, large and small, don't have the time or the financial resources to provide for training and networking of their organists and choir directors, said Jeannie Lee, organist at the Fayetteville church.

"So we want this to be a gift to area musicians -- a time for learning, refreshment and renewal," Lee said.

"Music is a part of worship we keep with us all our lives," Morgan said. "You will forget the sermons, and most of us can't quote 10 passages of Scripture. But we remember hymns we learned in our childhood.

"Music gives us 'a closer walk with God.'"

Everyone sees worship from their own perspectives, Morgan continued. The custodian sees discarded bulletins he will have to pick up after the service. The musician sees the $1,200 needed to tune the organ.

"There are so many distractions," Morgan said. "But no matter what's going on in your life, music can help you take Scripture and prayer and make it your own."

Martin will discuss music and the art of worship, sharing concepts musicians use to lead worship. "How we're called in Scripture to worship, and how we make that happen," he said.

An afternoon session focuses on "Singing Our Lives Through Psalms." The Psalms are used as hymns, responses, anthems ... any type of music in the church, Morgan said.

"In Christian tradition, since the days of the Reformation, they began singing the Psalms," he explained. "Prior to the Reformation, everything was in Latin. As a way to bring the worship to the language of the people, Psalms was a logical place to start."

Morgan will display 20 songbooks, dating from the 1560s to the present. Then participants will join to sing the Psalms -- "Some that are very good versions, and some that are pretty bad versions," some that are old, and some that came out in the last five years, he said.

The conference will close with a worship, led by Purcell and featuring congregational singing. "We will be using the verse from Scripture: 'Praise God in songs, hymns and spiritual songs,'" Morgan said.

"The music style has changed in worship," Morgan said. "It's designed to use familiar language that speaks to the 21st century, but that doesn't mean the organs are closed and the only way to worship is with praise bands and drums. It draws the best music from a variety of expressions."

Being a church musician is a calling, Morgan described. Most churches can't afford to pay a living wage to its professional musicians. "But most church musicians don't think about it. They are doing what they love to do."

Purcell described a recent Sunday at her church. Due to ice and snow, their musician Lynda Bottoms could not make it to church: "We decided we could get along without our deacon who turns on the heat. We decided we could probably even do without me. And then we tried singing without her ... ."

Music does more to bring a faith community together than anything else, Purcell continued. "It is like having multiple chefs in a kitchen successfully," she illustrated. "Everyone joins in, even the people who think they aren't strong singers. That's the time when they lower their voices, but they're still adding something."

"Anytime you sing a song, it's like praying three times," she said. Saying the words, joining others in expression praise and the mere act of standing or sitting includes the whole body in worship.

"There's just something that happens when people sing," Purcell continued. "I think when people worship through song together and they're touched by something, that's when you see tears on their cheeks."

She talked about the recent death of her aunt Frances, at 90, a former church musician. The family told stories and laughed, and Purcell read Scripture. Then, the worshipers stood to sing:

And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of his hand.

"That's when the spirit swelled," Purcell said. "Maybe it was being in her presence. Maybe it was being in God's presence. Maybe it was being held in God's hand."

NAN Religion on 02/21/2015