15 members were present for a wonderful afternoon of music, worship and reflection led by our visitor today, Rosemary Kemp. It is always a joy to welcome Rosemary to our meeting and her thoughts were very much focused on ‘Music in worship’.
Sue kicked-off our time with some verses to set the tone – Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. 1 Chronicles 16 v 9 – so says King David.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. Psalm 95 v 1-2.
Rosemary was exposed to music from a very early age and started learning the piano at the age of three. To Rosemary, music is a language; a gift from God, with a responsibility to share it with others and a way of worshipping.
Sometimes, words are not enough and music can give you a way of expressing your emotions and feelings.
Rosemary delighted us with some familiar tunes, tunes so powerful and majestic that they don’t need words for meaning as they carry so much emotion. Rosemary called them, standalone pieces, e.g.
Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia – perhaps better known as “We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender.” (I have to confess that I was very moved by this.) and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Music can be very enriching in a service of worship. We can come alive and/or it has the power to make one feel at home and part of what is happening even if someone is new to the environment. Some people express themselves in dance and flag waving and even playing instruments so that everyone is catered for and can feel part of our coming together to worship God and to bring Him honour, praise and glory.
We were able to join in with some beautiful worship songs as our response to what we had heard and enjoyed:
SOF 544 There is a Redeemer – Melody Green
SOF 912 Lord, You have my heart – Martin Smith
SOF 89 Faithful One – Brian Doerksen
SOF 1850 Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God – Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
SOF 203 I believe in Jesus – Marc Nelson
Rosemary also delighted us with some unfamiliar pieces –
Ludovico Einaudi’s Primavera which means spring was particularly lovely and very appropriate for this time of year. A Chopin waltz was a piece of music which sounded just like a conversation was taking place and the composer was asking us to “listen to me!” It had a language all of its own!
At the end, we had an opportunity to be still (which is of course our motto for the year), to rest in His presence, to meditate while Rosemary played Debussy’s Arabesque.
A very uplifting afternoon – thank you Rosemary for blessing us!
Next week we have a visit from violinist, Lorna Sivyour who will bring words of encouragement and play for us.
We would love you to join us and can assure you of a very warm welcome – 2pm next Thursday, 3rd April in the Parish Room of the Holy Cross Church, Downsway, Woodingdean.