Choir Notes

Psalm 92:2-4 Let Us Sing to the Lord For His Steadfast Love
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, 2 to sing
praises to your name, O Most High; to
declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night, 3 to the music
of the lute and the harp, to the melody of
the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

February brings us Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday all on the same day. How fitting that we should come together to remember that God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die for us. Though Lent is a time of remembering our sinfulness and need for a savior, it is also a time to thank God for his steadfast love in prayer and in song.
During Lent, we will begin a new psalmody that includes an antiphon. Antiphons are a rich part of traditional sacred music in liturgical churches and are used in many Lutheran congregations. Antiphons are short passages of scripture sung at various places in the service. During the psalm, the antiphon is a verse from the psalm of the day sung as a refrain. To introduce the antiphon for the day, the choir will sing the antiphon once and then the congregation will repeat the antiphon. The cantor and congregation will then sing the psalm responsively including the antiphon at designated places throughout the psalm. It will be a little different, but I think we will all catch on quickly. The psalm helps tie the message of all the readings for the day together. I hope this use of antiphons will enrich our worship and our understanding of the message for each Sunday.