After 15 years of preparing music for Sunday worship, it is amazing to think, here we are at our final one! Believe it or not, I do not have an original final sermon – what I have is the middle movement of a speech I gave at the retirement party Marcia Sobek and her committee gave for us in May. It was a section that I left out since Marilyn’s speech was so good and I decided to skip over it. So here it is.
Marilyn and I have been Church Musicians for over 40 years. We have spent that time fulfilling both halves of that title – CHURCH AND MUSICIAN. And this is what I mean by that.
To be a church MUSICIAN means that we have had the privilege of good training in a music school, and we have continually sharpened our skills and gained new ones through various means. You take all of this into your church work. To be a CHURCH MUSICIAN means you have a special use, purpose, and focus for your musicianship. The distinction between performers and listeners is not as clear in the worship space as it is in the concert hall.
Congregational song, in spite of all its musical “imperfections,” is of primary importance. Everyone in the room – and in the world outside – is royalty. We have tried to choose the musical repertoire not to highlight virtuosity or for good programming but to fulfill roles in the liturgy, to communicate, to minister. We have also tried to be involved enough in other non-musical aspects of church life so that it is not “their church” but “our church.”
Putting CHURCH in front of MUSICIAN does not dilute it, weaken it, or negate it. But it does water it down because it baptizes it for a special purpose and places upon it a divine blessing.
Marilyn and I have been so blessed to be at Pinnacle and to work with all of you. We pray that the coming months will run smoothly and that the search committees will be guided by God’s hand. Fall will come, and once again, the music program will be off to the races, headed towards great and glorious musical moments bringing you face to face with the God almighty.
Thank you for your support and prayers.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Brent & Marilyn
