Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys 27th Season Fall Concert ~ 2016 Welcome to the Opening Concerts of the 27th Season of the Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.” (R. Tagore) If you have experienced programs presented by the Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys in recent years, you know that the continuing purpose of the choir is to be a “songbird of faith” in our West Michigan community. The Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys sings its “faith song” to help all who hear it find hope, joy and peace. Tonight the choir confronts living in our broken world with all of its hurts and pain and asks “How are we to live and to whom can we turn?” Frederick Buechner puts it this way: “Every morning you should wake up and ask yourself: ‘Can I believe it all again today?’ Better still, don’t ask it until after you’ve read The New York Times, studying that daily record of the world’s brokenness and corruption. Then ask yourself if you can believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ again for that particular day. If your answer’s always Yes, then you probably don’t know what believing means. At least five times out of ten the answer should be No because the No is as important as the Yes, maybe more so. And then if some morning the answer happens to be really Yes, it should be a Yes that’s choked with confession, tears and great laughter which then breaks forth into song.” We live in a broken world, and we are each of us like Thomas, filled with doubt. But what is also true is that in this world which belongs to our Creator, when everything is said and done, as poet and author Anne Lamott writes, “Grace always bats last, it just does--and finally, when the dust settles, which it does, Love is sovereign here. And Grace, while it is always waiting to meet us where we are, will not leave us where it found us.” Just as Grace is free, once again so will all concerts sung by the Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys. Tears and smiles bloom when the gift is opened and the choir sings its first pure notes. The men & boys together wield the power of music to enrich the lives of their audiences and to enrich their own lives. So, thank you for coming tonight! Thank you again for claiming GRCMB as “Your Choir.” We will continue to work hard to live up to this honor and to fulfill your expectations. We ask today for your gift of support to keep the choir growing and serving here in West Michigan. Then, we hope to see you throughout our amazing 27th season which lies ahead. Dr. Martin Neary and Dr. Richard Webster will both take residencies this year. You won’t want to miss a single note of it! Now take a moment to quiet your heart and mind. Throughout tonight’s program, the choir will explore Isaiah 58:9 “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” Such is the nature of the God we serve and for whom we now sing! Under His Wings: Music of God’s Sheltering Love The Grand Rapids Choir of Men & Boys Dr. Martin Neary – Director Dr. Kenneth Bos – Organ Scott Bosscher – GRCMB Director of Music St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Grand Rapids Friday, October 28 ~ 7 PM Saturday, October 29 ~ 7 PM St. Paul’s Church, Lansing Sunday, October 30 ~ 4 PM ~ Words of Welcome ~ Scott Bosscher & Dr. Martin Neary & Very Rev. John Geaney ~ Silent Procession of the Choir ~ When we worship, let's do it from our heart. Because the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. ~ Part One: We Are Each of Us God’s Song ~ ~ Composer of My Life ~ Paul McKusker & David Maddux I hear their song, their words of beauty reaching deep within cathedrals of my heart. Angelic choirs reverberate the stained glass windows of saints and sinners in their place, singing now “Amazing Grace.” While in the glory of their faith, I’m drawn to find my part and sing with all my heart. I know their words, their thoughts reflecting simple truth of testimonies rich in love. Their eyes can see the mystery of loving kindness, of chains that bind us torn away, and power found in each new day. The Lord’s compassion on display, His touch from heaven above gave words to speak their love. I see their lives like tears that fall upon the page, a mark indelible in time. What sacrifice! Their hearts poured out like raging waters for sons and daughters to believe, and generations to receive the harvest ripe from all their seeds, no greater love sublime could change this heart of mine. Composer of my soul, show me all You show to them; But hymnwriter, hymnsinger, let me know their request. Let me share their offering, put their notes in my heart, their lyrics on my lips. And let the essence of my life be a song that others will want to sing. ~ I’ll Make Music ~ Music: Karl Jenkins (b. 1944) Words: Deuteronomy 32:2, Psalm 144:9, I Chronicles 13:8 Lord and Master, I’ll sing a song to you, on the ten-string lyre I’ll make music. Lord and Master, let your thoughts fall like rain and just like showers on new grass. We’ll play for you with harps and trumpets, we’ll sing some psalms in praise of you. Lord and Master, let your words descend like dew and just like droplets on tender leaves. We’ll play for you with harps and trumpets, we’ll sing some psalms in praise of you. I’ll make music, I shall make new music, I shall make music for you. ~ God’s House, Sheltering Wings in a Broken World ~ Reflection (adapted): Edward Feld When we recite either God’s words or words about God, we experience His presence in the here and now through the very act of proclaiming. It is in this telling and singing that we are opened to His bigger reality. Hope is captured in the song of the poet which allows us to feel closely God’s presence to us in this world, a world which sadly, as we will explore tonight, is filled with brokenness and uncertainty. And yet, despite present pain, our universe unceasingly proclaims the eternal message of God’s connection to all things. And nowhere more so than where we are tonight, here in God’s house. Here, the telling and singing of His presence goes on without ceasing, allowing us to experience God’s protection and peace opening before us as the choir sings and the narrator speaks. Blessed are we to dwell in God’s house! ~ How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place ~ Music: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Words: Psalm 84 How lovely is Thy dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts! For my soul, it longeth, yet fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my soul and body crieth out, yea, for the living God. O blest are they that dwell within Thy house; they praise Thy name evermore. ~ Part Two: The Broken World in Which We Live ~ ~ When Sudden Terror Tears Apart ~ Music: Roy Hopp (b. 1951) Words: Carl Daw (b. 1944 Written in response to the events of 9-11 Roy Hopp is one of our gifted Grand Rapids Composers ~ Evil Will Not Win ~ Frederick Buechner reminds us what the Psalmist realized centuries ago: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." The Psalmist does not pretend that evil and death do not exist. Terrible things happen. Even the paths of righteousness lead through the valley of the shadow. The Psalmist doesn't try to explain evil nor does he try to minimize it. He simply says he will not fear evil. For all the power that evil has, it doesn't have the power to make him afraid. The 911 Memorial - “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.” Emily Dickinson ~ The Lord is My Shepherd ~ Music: Howard Goodall (b. 1958) Words: Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me, you will comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. ~ The Story of Alex & Omran ~ This true story teaches us that we must take more seriously all that our children have to say. Filled with both incredible wisdom and purity of insight they have so much to share. We need to listen and pay attention to their hearts, and in return they will show us how to once again set our own hearts right. O that we all had hearts like Alex! ~ The World Cries Out: So Must Our Worship ~ The absence of lament is a great loss. So much of our worship is cover- up: pretending to have emotions we don’t really feel, or smothering the emotions we do. That is not praise. It simply leaves us to pick up our suffering again on the way out—without bringing it into God’s presence.