Quick—make a list of the skills and abilities you need to be an effective choir director, cantor, or other music ministry leader. What’s at the top of your list?

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In June my husband and I had the great luck to be in Stockholm, Sweden (for the first time) on a Sunday morning. As we began walking around town, we arrived at the entrance to the Stockholm Cathedral and promptly went inside to worship. Because we were a few minutes late, we grabbed our Swedish hymnals and service folders and made our way to an empty pew near the front (yes, I’m still a “real” Lutheran even though I sat at the front) where we had a clear view of the worship leaders and the altar area.

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As Lutherans, we recognize that “faith is active in love [and] love calls for justice in relationships and structures of society” (ELCA, Social Statement on Church in Society, 1991). That call to strive for justice took on new meaning for my congregation in 2020 when many were struggling anew with the effects of racism. Initial efforts to wrestle with the topic included book studies, small group conversations, and partnerships with other congregations in our neighboring city of Philadelphia. Along the way, we discussed African American spirituals and their use in enriching our worship. Was this use of spirituals considered cultural appropriation? How could we continue to use them in a way that was sensitive and respectful?

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Whether you have played one hundred weddings or three, you may dread playing Purcell’s “Trumpet Tune” or Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” even one more time. There is a reason couples keep choosing tried and true wedding pieces—they are good pieces of music that have lasted for centuries—but there are obviously many other options, and it’s helpful to explore them.

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Several months ago, Paul Stever, a colleague from a neighboring church, contacted me about the possibility of joining our choirs together for an evening service on Pentecost Sunday. The service would feature Kim Andre Arneson’s beautiful “Holy Spirit Mass.” The National Lutheran Choir premiered this work in 2017 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Washington, D.C. Since Pentecost is early this year, and this is a festival that often gets shortchanged, he suggested that this was the perfect year. Paul had put a great deal of thought into what this collaboration would take. This work would be difficult to do with its divisi without a larger number of singers than either of our churches have.

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As a music educator and children’s choir director, I know that it is very important to expose children to a variety of repertoire. Variety means ensuring that they are singing in different modes, meters, and languages. It means including something that was written generations ago, as well as something that is newly composed. It means exposing children to rich, poetic texts that need exploration to understand and texts that are simple and repetitive with the potential to easily remain with them during the week. Not only does variety in music selection keep things interesting, but it ensures a curriculum that weaves a thread of connection to different times, places, and styles.

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I recently commented to a friend that a singer in our church’s youth choir was the bravest young man I know. The last time he was in choir was before COVID, when he had sung treble beautifully. Now his voice has changed, and he is struggling to figure out how to work this new instrument, which feels and sounds so different. An additional challenge is that his peers are reluctant to join the choir, so he sings alone in the bass register. I admire his tenacity and his positive attitude, even when he makes mistakes. I say that he has courage. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines courage as “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” Of course, singing in a choir is not dangerous, and he doesn’t seem to be afraid, but it is difficult for him.

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Until recently, The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels carried a hefty cultural weight. With its humble fifth-century beginnings and subsequent popularization across Northern Europe, September 29 has played a prominent role in the calendars of the English-speaking world: Michaelmas, as it is also known, marked the start of the fall term in academic circles and jurisprudence practice, a notable temporal horizon in the lives of ordinary people. But times have changed, and observing it today may strike some as a relic from a bygone era, a celebration a bit out of step with the Christological thrust and focus of the modern liturgical calendar. But let’s not place our attention there. Instead, let us look at how this festival allows us to take an autumnal look at God’s marvelous works of grace in the history of salvation. This year, September 29 falls on a Friday, which allows for the possibility of a transfer to those who would like to mark this special occasion and have the whole assembly take in how God has acted on our behalf (through God’s special envoys).

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Planning and executing effective and enjoyable rehearsals is an art! Too often, I am tempted to do other work and not carve out time to thoughtfully plan each choir’s rehearsal. Experience is my friend but should not be an excuse for skipping this important work. When we only have one rehearsal per week, we have to make the most of every minute. It feels like so much to do and so little time to do it in. We have to prioritize and map out the allotted time. There is a rhythm to the rehearsal that allows the singers/ringers to warm up their brains/voices and move toward the most challenging pieces. Effective rehearsals model a beautiful musical phrase.

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The commemoration of John the Baptist falls, as it has since the fourth century, six months before Christmas Eve, on June 24. The annual remembrance, three days after the summer solstice, is a calendrical reflection of the relationship between the last Old Testament prophet and the Messiah, the Long-Awaited One.

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