Steward Sunday: Supporting Choirs
In the life of our growing Mission parish, there are always new circumstances and needs arising. Babies need to be baptized. Prosphora needs to be baked. Wax needs to be scraped off the Church floor. Newcomers need to be welcomed and taught. Children and adults need to learn, grow, and serve. The constant flow of liturgical services, pastoral work, and administrative tasks require a lot of energy from clergy and lay leaders alike. Often, it seems like there is always ‘one more thing’ that could be done.
With that in mind, there is one resource that we depend upon, week by the week: the “Texts for Liturgical Services,” provided on the OCA website. Along with the Rubrics book published by the Orthodox Church in America, this resource is our ‘go-to’ starting point for our Choir Director to prepare the typical services we offer each weekend. While each parish could go through the work each week of reviewing the liturgical books on their own to compile the needed hymnody, the reality is that those precious hours often need to be spent in other ways. It is a very practical need, and yet having these words to sing is so essential to the worshipping lives of our Church communities.
Each week, we are reminded of the love and mercy of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, through the liturgical texts we sing. Oftentimes, a phrase stands out to us, becoming spiritually enriching food for our souls. We are grateful to the Orthodox Church in America for compiling these liturgical texts for use in parishes like ours!
—Father Matthew Francis, Holy Apostles Orthodox Mission, Chilliwack, British Columbia
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