Holy Week & The Music We Cherish
Tim Degen, Director of Music & Organist
Next Week we observe Holy Week, the most important week in the life of a Christian. For me personally, this means additional services to plan, bulletins to prepare and print, more time needed at the organ to practice, extra rehearsals with the choir, brass, soloists, and instrumentalists, etc. It can sometimes get overwhelming. However, it’s also my favorite week in the church year. The journey through Holy Week is one that I savor every year, as each commemoration during the week is meaningful in different ways.
As God’s people, we are privileged to have the opportunity to remember and observe the events of our Lord’s death and resurrection. In order to fully experience the joy and celebration of our Risen Lord, we must travel with him to Jerusalem on a donkey; commemorate the first Lord’s Supper as his disciples did; go with him to the Garden of Gethsemane; and ultimately observe his death and burial in the tomb. Each time we worship during Holy Week, the music that is offered reflects the mood and events of the day.
What about your journey through Holy Week? Do you savor the moments? Or do you just “go through the motions”? Do you let the hymns, readings, sermons, and choir anthems speak to you? Throughout the entire year, but during Holy Week especially, we need to savor those moments—the ones that really make Holy Week what it is. How many of you love singing “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”, “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted”, and “Were You There”? Is it the text of the hymn? The melody? Somebody once said to me that their favorite hymns to sing are Good Friday hymns. Why do you think that is? Because these hymns truly speak to us. They tell us the story of Christ’s atoning sacrifice FOR US. These are moments worth savoring.
As we worship during Holy Week, be sure to listen to how the music, liturgy, and preaching reflect the events and moods of the day, as we observe our Lord’s passion. Don’t just “go through the motions”. Savor the moments of Holy Week so that you may truly experience the glories of our Risen Lord on Easter Sunday!
St. Peter’s Music Ministry members have been working hard to prepare music for this year’s journey through Holy Week & Easter, and we are looking forward to sharing our music with you all. We pray that the music we offer is meaningful to you as together we journey to the cross.
- On Palm Sunday, we welcome our Lord into Jerusalem with Palm Branches waving. At both Sunday services, our Adult Choir and Brass Choir will lead us in traditional hymns and anthems of the day. We will also begin the service with a Palm Sunday procession.
- On Maundy Thursday, we commemorate the institution of the first Lord’s Supper. On this day, Alicia Rodenbeck will sing a solo at both the 12:00 pm & 7:00 pm services. The 7:00 pm service also concludes with the stripping of the altar.
- On Good Friday, we go to the Garden of Gethsemane and observe our Lord’s death and burial. On this day, Debbie Haenftling will sing a solo at the 12:00 pm service, and our Adult Choir will sing at the 7:00 pm service. We will also have an Instrumental Prelude on “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” at the 7:00 pm service.
- On Holy Saturday, we remember and observe the night when our Lord passed from death to life, as the events of Good Friday unfold to the glories of Easter Sunday. We will sing several hymns in this service that transition us from the grave to the resurrection.
- On Easter Sunday, we celebrate our Lord’s victorious and triumphant resurrection from the dead! At all three services, our Adult Choir and Brass Choir will lead us in traditional Easter hymns and anthems. We will also begin the service with the Easter Sunday procession. Finally, I will play the traditional “Toccata” by the French composer Charles-Marie Widor as the Postlude. This piece has become a favorite of many St. Peter’s members. (And because I didn’t play it last year due to the organ being gone, it will be extra meaningful to play it this year on the refurbished organ!)
News & Notes
