Whether you’re just beginning your search for suitable service music for piano or you want ideas for adding to your collection, the following list of recent publications should give you a good place to start. Churches with several pianists may want to invest in some of these for a “pianist’s library.” Each is marked E (Easy), M (Moderate), or D (Difficult).
The joy of the Christmas season is an unending fountain of creativity for musicians. I reviewed over fifty new organ collections for the Christmas/Advent/Epiphany season from several publishing houses. The spirit of the season is alive and well in the writing of new organ music. The following collections are those I found most rewarding for worship and inspiring for congregational singing. Each is marked E (Easy), M (Moderate), or D (Difficult).
“We’ve not found anything, Mom.”
That’s what Ellen told her. Jan might have felt hopeful if the words weren’t always packaged in a deadbeat tone that carried too much finality, and Jan knew—aren’t mothers supposed to know?—that Ellen wasn’t really looking.
So Jan had tried once again, last night, Christmas Eve. “Have you found a suitable church?”
Maybe you’ve picked up this issue of Reformed Worship right away, and you’re ready to start planning for Advent and Christmas. Yet many of you are still busy planning the more “Ordinary” services in the months leading up to Advent. Planning ahead often takes a back seat to planning for next Sunday.
After the grand visual displays of Advent and Christmas, it is often tough to get anyone excited about creating visuals for the start of a new year. Here is one that is not too difficult to make. With all of the hoopla surrounding the turn of the new century, this visual serves as a reminder that everything—including time—is held in our God's protecting hand.
Brief notes on the banner's construction and a downloadable pattern can be found below.
This service was planned by Alistair Drummond, pastor, Amy Mendez, associate pastor, and Jorge Lockward, minister of music, along with members of a worship planning team at The West End Presbyterian Church, New York City.
Introit: “Live in Charity” (Music of Taizé, vol 1; GIA) (1)
Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est.
Donde hay amor y caridad. Donde hay amor, Dios tambien está.
You’ve been asked to obtain permission to reprint songs for your bulletin, Christmas program, liturgy, or Bible-study song sheets. Or maybe you want to copy the text of the choir’s anthem in the bulletin, make overhead transparencies of songs for your congregation, or copy a special theme song into the church newsletter . . . and you wonder how to do this legally.
