Music Ministry at WGRC
Aside from the presence of God, in the Body of Christ, made manifest by the Holy Spirit, perhaps the single-most important part of our worship service here at West Glenville is our unique and dynamic music program. We believe that God reaches out to us in more ways than just one. Because of this, we believe that music is an integral piece in a complete worship service because it allows individual worshippers to connect with God on a level that is not attained through word or prayer. Through music, we use the gifts that God has blessed our congregation with to open another door to Christ for those who worship here.
Our music ministry has three core values. One being that music is a vital part of liturgy. Much of our liturgy we actually sing instead of speak. We sing the Votum, traditional words used to begin worship service. We also sing a peace response each week as well as response to our reflective prayer. We believe that in singing our liturgy, we can offer our congregation yet another means of connecting with Christ in worship.
Our music ministry also values the contemporary music movement. One of the major pieces of our worship is our praise band, which leads praise songs, provides anthems and assists with preludes and postludes. We believe that worship can be active and dynamic and joyous and celebratory. The uplifting music of our 5-7 piece praise band provides our congregation with a fresh way to connect with God.
Third, our music ministry values tradition. We cannot move forward without recognizing the rich tradition of sacred music through the history of the whole church. Music has been a part or worship, since Christian worship was born, and our music ministry seeks to reflect the fact that we, as a body, value that tradition. We sing some traditional parts of worship such as the “Doxology” and the “Gloria Patri.” However, we also have a four-part choir, who on special Sunday services, will wear robes and sing a cappella anthems. Each week we will sing one Hymn from our hymnbook, led by the choir and our traditional organ. We also have a youth music ensemble to involve all the young instrumentalists that we have in our congregation. This group will participate in worship with us about once a month.
We believe that a rich future cannot be fully appreciated without understanding, recognizing, and cultivating respect for the rich past from which our tradition has bloomed.
As stated above, music is an integral part of how we express our Faith in Christ, our Love for God, and our Hope in the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.