Music Ministry Series: Part I

“I sing because I’m happy,
And I sing because I’m free.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”
From an African-American hymn, text by Civilla Martin; music by Charles Gabriel

Why do we sing?
Singing is a fundamental, natural human activity. During the time when I taught music in an elementary school, I remember one day asking the kindergarten class, “Who in here is a good singer?” Every single child raised his or her hand. My curiosity piqued, I asked the same question of the fourth graders: about half the hands went up, many haltingly or as though they weren’t sure. I asked the seventh grade. The only hand that went up was from a boy wanting to be excused to go to the washroom (for the second time that class).

We all start life as singers, with a natural joy in raising up our voices together or as individuals, but somewhere along the way we begin to get the message that singing is only for the very special, or the extremely gifted, or the most talented among us. We begin to believe that the only people who should sing are those who are “good enough” do to it professionally.

The Church has a different vision:
“God has bestowed upon his people the gift of song. God dwells within each human person, in the place where music takes its source. Indeed, God, the giver of song, is present whenever his people sing his praises. A cry from deep within our being, music is a way for God to lead us to the realm of higher things. As St. Augustine says, “Singing is for the one who loves.” Music is therefore a sign of God’s love for us and of our love for him. In this sense, it is very personal. But unless music sounds, it is not music, and whenever it sounds, it is accessible to others. By its very nature song has both an individual and a communal dimension. Thus, it is no wonder that singing together in church expresses so well the sacramental presence of God to his people...The quality of our participation in such sung praise comes less from our vocal ability than from the desire of our hearts to sing together of our love for God. ”

This quote is taken from the opening paragraphs of the U.S. Bishops’ document “Sing to the Lord,” (the full text can be found at www.usccb.org/liturgy/SingToTheLord.pdf). It gives a beautiful image for our gathered song and makes it a true metaphor of our gathering: we gather, each of us, individuals but united. Together we raise up whatever gifts we have, however imperfect they are...and in the raising, and in the unity and love of the community, they become beauty. Ask anyone in the music ministry—your parish choirs are filled with people who sing not because they feel themselves particularly worthy, but because they Love. And every person in the church who picks up a hymnal and raises their voice—even a little—contributes to the beauty of the whole. God is present in our gathering, in our song, in our worship together.