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The following article, used by permission, appeared in the September 2005 newsletter of Union Church in Manila, the Philippines.
An All-Nations Celebration of Worship
It started quietly. The 200 plus-voice choir surrounded the congregation. The male voices began with a low hum, followed by one female voice invoking the presence of God, joined by others, then by all-each one singing in her and his own pace and arrangement of the words of Francisco Feliciano's "Silence My Soul."
It ended jubilantly with the choir's parting South African freedom song "Siyahamba" that they sang on and on and on until the congregation had dispersed and their voices were spent.
In between was a liturgy of readings and anthems that demonstrated how Christian worship and the music of which it is an integral part relate dynamically to culture. This was the theme of the first sacred music conference organized and hosted by Union Church of Manila (UCM) and entitled "Then Sings My Soul!: New Perspectives in Music Ministry."
Held on August 12, 13, and 14, 2005, the conference brought together 223 representatives from the music ministries of 54 Christian churches of various traditions as well as other institutions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. It was initiated and led by Joel P. Navarro, former UCM attender and now Assistant Professor at the Music Department of Calvin College in Michigan. Joining Joel as resource persons and conductors were Eudenice Palaruan, conductor of the San Miguel Choir, and Jonathan Velasco, Professor at the Asian Institute of Liturgy and Music.
The exhortation issued by the resource persons to the participants was for them to explore the many ways in which music in worship can be used to honor the church of all times and of all places. To be relevant, music in worship must bring together the past, the present, and the future, the world at hand and the world beyond, all generations and all cultures.
Joel shared incites from the reformed tradition saying that even as worship can vary from one church to another because of context, it needs to be trans-cultural, advocating universal biblical truths beyond culture; counter-cultural, challenging what is contrary to the gospel in a given culture; and cross-cultural, sharing the most excellent aspects among cultures.
And so, during the culminating event of the conference, the All-Nations Celebration of Worship, the Scripture readings, the prayers, and the songs were gathered from many eras and continents-from an Egyptian doxology of the third century A.D. to a 20th century prayer of reconciliation; from a 16th century French benediction to a contemporary arrangement of a Jamaican folk song celebrating the Eucharist.
Contemplating God's greatness in bringing together such musical leadership, opening the heart of Union Church to support such ministry, and creating such warmth of fellowship among people who love God and desire to serve Him, how could we keep from singing?