Picture this: a beautiful (hot) sunny day, 150 or so people (parents, teachers, and kids) 50 or so household pets...and a sound system that just refuses to work. That was the scene as we got ready to celebrate a pet-blessing outside of our church last week. It was just one of those things. All of the preparations had been made. Everyone had done their job. It just so happened that a sound system we ALWAYS use decided to go crazy. As I looked up from my last failed attempt to get it to work, the pre-school director said, “Were ready.” I looked at my wife who was there to sing with me while I played keyboard. We just sighed, shrugged our shoulders, and walked over in front of the assembled guests. I said something like, “Well, the sound system doesn’t work, but our voices do! Let’s sing!” We led everyone in a couple of choruses of “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman. Everyone clapped their hands to the beat...and it worked just fine.
That is pretty much out of my comfort zone! I would much rather be behind the piano, even if I’m not playing it, but sometimes we must stretch ourselves to do what is needed. The important thing was to engage the kids in song as we began our liturgy. Using that chorus worked great. They didn’t need to hear a piano or a cantor singing verses. In hindsight, what we did actually worked better. It was MORE engaging and a lot easier to set up!
So, once again I was reminded of a lesson I often forget: when all else fails...sing! The voice is the ultimate instrument. Everyone has one and knows how to use it.
Of course, it’s really important to choose a song everyone knows and sings well without accompaniment. The other songs we did that day were:
Give Thanks to the Lord (Tom Booth/OCP)
Let All Creation Sing Alleluia! (Paul Tate/WLP)
No comments:
Post a Comment