In Worship on June 11th
Musical Theatre Sunday – Songs of Hope and Inspiration
The first musical I ever saw was when I was nine years old and my parents took me to the movies to see the musical “Oliver.” The boy who played the leading role – singing, dancing and acting – was just about my age, and from that moment on I wanted to do the same. Even at my young age, I felt that the songs “Where is Love” and “Consider Yourself” were sung for me and they were so meaningful to me that I’ll never forget it. Over the years I have been in many musical theatre productions and experienced this wonderful form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance to move the story forward.
I’m sure many of you have felt the same when experiencing musical theatre at the movies or on stage – feeling that the song sung by one of the characters was your song too. We all have our favorite musicals and favorite songs from those musicals, and all for different reasons. Musicals tell a story, taking the characters through an emotional experience which inspires them, and in turn – inspires us to go on. You could say the same about a worship service – songs (hymns, anthems) and dialogue (sermon, prayers) combined to tell the stories of the Bible and to inspire us to go on.
This spring we have been incorporating into our worship services a variety of musically themed Sundays: Spirituals, Early American and Gospel, Bluegrass, Songs of Taizé, and Songs in Celebration of Earth Day by John Rutter. On Sunday, June 11th, we will be having a service filled with inspirational and hope-filled songs from a number of Broadway musicals. Not only will our Chancel Choir and Section Leader/Soloists be singing the music, but you, the congregation will be invited to sing along!
We’ll be singing songs from Anyone Can Whistle, Carousel, Godspell, Oklahoma, Rent and Sound of Music. I have been performing in musicals and doing church work for most of my life, but this if the first time for me that these two genres have come together during worship. It is going to be an exciting service, and you won’t want to miss it!