Parish Choir

The Code of the Parish Choir

We Are a Family

Like all families, we’ll sometimes have our differences or face challenges along the way, but as Christians, we know that God expects us to love one another first.  Families support one another and seek to work together toward a common goal.  We will also pray with and for one another as we all travel the “pilgrim path.”

We Are a Team

We have a common goal – to lead in the ministry of music for our fellow parishioners.  Everything that we do should help us move toward that goal.  As a team, we “win” when we all put forth our best effort every time we’re together.  Also, as a team, we have a “uniform.”  The red cassocks that we wear have long represented music ministry in the Anglican tradition.  When we put on our cassocks, we are reminded that we stand together, united under the purpose of bringing God glory through music, and giving Him the very best effort we have in us…after all, He is certainly worthy of it!

We Will Not Be Perfect

We’re human, and the Bible assures us that perfection is simply not within our grasp.  What we can do, however, is put forth a perfect effort!  By always doing our very best, we not only honor God, but we also will grow as musicians!  A runner will never get faster by training with a half-hearted effort.  The same is true for us.  We will always work hard and seek to give our very best effort, every single time we’re together – and God will take care of the rest!

We Are Leaders

Did you know that as members of the Parish Choir, we are actually helping lead our Parish in worship?  It’s true!  We have a leadership role to play in the Mass, and it’s an important one.  Just as our Rector fulfills his role as the Celebrant in the Mass, we as the Parish Choir fill our role – by singing the hymns, the Propers, the Mass settings, and anthems.  When we learn, rehearse, and polish these pieces, we’re able to lead our fellow parishioners through our music.  When we join in the procession, we follow the Cross of Christ into His sanctuary.  We are supporting the worship of God, and we will always conduct ourselves accordingly.

We Celebrate Our Differences

God made each of us differently.  Just as we all have a unique fingerprint, our gifts are different, too.  Some of us have a lot of natural ability in music – others have to work a lot harder at it.  And you know what?  That’s wonderful!  There are few things more exciting than seeing people of all ages, gifts, and backgrounds working side-by-side.  Why?  Because before long, something wonderful starts to happen.  We begin learning from one another!  Together, we’ll become better musicians, better singers, better listeners, better period!  Like every team, each member has a role to play, regardless of ability or experience – we are always better together!

We Give God All the Glory, All the Time

Remember – everything we do is an offering to God.  We seek to please Him, to bless Him, and to glorify Him with every single note we sing.  Does this mean that it is wrong to accept compliments for our work, or to congratulate one another for a job well done?  Of course not!  But we must always remember that we are presenting sacred music, with humility, before the Almighty Creator who created music in the first place!  He alone is worthy of the glory.  When we feel good or satisfied when we’ve done a really great job, that’s simply our loving God blessing our hearts…again!

We Are Anglican

The musical tradition of Anglicans is extremely rich.  We will, from time to time, be singing pieces of music that date back hundreds and hundreds of years, even to the time of Shakespeare!  Think of it – perhaps 500 years ago, a choir might have been offering God the same piece that we will offer Him this year!  We might sing all or part of a piece in Latin.  Admittedly, some of this historic sacred music is difficult, but we’ll face the challenge together, and we’ll all grow in the process.  By preserving our Anglican musical tradition, we are honoring the memory of those generations of choristers who sang before us – who were worshipping the very same, eternal God!