Fri, 22 Oct, 2021

Six Days of Homecoming—Day Five

Music & Liturgy

This is the fifth installment in a six-part series around the theme of Homecoming. While our sanctuary has been open for our Rite I congregants since early June, our Rite II service has continued to be held in the idyllic gardens of the Goodwin Mansion on the grounds of Strawbery Banke through these early weeks of autumn. It is with deep gratitude, eager anticipation, fervid preparation and prayer, and a whole lot of hard work that we enter this week of Homecoming. We acknowledge that, although not all who worshipped with us previously for Rite II will be returning to our beautiful Church On The Hill, we hope that through the voices of these individuals and teams we amplify this week, we can all feel the joy in returning our Rite II service to the sanctuary, the joy in Coming Home.

Another one of the most central parts of the Sunday 10:00am Rite II worship experience at St. John’s is the music. Over the years, our church has become known for its rich and high-quality music ministry. Our musical traditions run deep, our parish choir presence is strong, our Director of Music has wonderful vision and cares deeply about that music ministry, and how it supports the liturgy and our clergy, as well as the parishioners who participate in the music ministry itself, and how those individuals are fed through their participation. As we all can attest, so many things had to change when we entered the Covid lockdown in March of 2020. Today’s reflection comes to us courtesy of Jennifer McPherson, our Director of Music and Liturgy. Jen takes us all the way back to the beginning of the pandemic and showcases not only how we’ve evolved in our liturgical and musical offerings throughout this time, but also what we’ve missed, and what we are looking forward to with the in-person, in-sanctuary return of our Rite II service this Sunday, October 24, at 10:00am.