Erik Dewar

Pastor of Worship and Music

For a church that so eagerly participates in corporate worship together through shared experiences such as singing and reading together, this season of sheltering in place is unusual. As a church for whom the important consistent musical “voice” on a Sunday is the singing congregation, the removal of that voice is disorienting. We love to sing together. How could we refrain with so great a salvation and so beautiful a Savior? He has put a new song in our mouths, and we long to share it together. We see both the vertical and the horizontal experience of congregational singing when the Apostle Paul writes, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,” (Ephesians 5:19). Though during this season, we have found ourselves addressing only a few family members or roommates or even simply our own soul, may our song continue. I take comfort knowing that, during the live broadcast, as we provide accompaniment for living rooms around Wheaton, even though none of us can hear each other, God’s praises continue. He is still being worshiped during COVID-19, perhaps like never before in our own hearts. May it be so.

Looking back over the past year, I’m thankful for the spirit-empowered work of our music staff. Though some of our roles have looked a little different during COVID-19, these individuals graciously serve, often behind the scenes. Elaine Meyer and Ruth Gregornik support our weekly worship in a wide variety of ways. Delena Ollila also helps with these details and oversees our Glorify! student ensembles. Our children’s choir ministry is led by Jennifer Wheatley and her team. H.E. Singley faithfully serves as organist, while Robin Wiper and Josh Maurer help with a variety of focused projects. Our volunteers play a crucial role as well. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are some examples of how our people volunteer their time: Karen Kuite and Sarah Herr have been co-directing God’s Children Sing for our four-, five- and six-year-olds this past year, as Karen prepares to wrap up 23 years of fruitful ministry leading this beautiful music program for young children. Many musicians volunteer their time to sing or play instruments during the services. Others help write arrangements of our hymns. Some fold worship folders. A handful of conductors rehearse various ensembles. The Music Committee meets every two months as a sounding board for ideas.

Here are a few quick snapshots from this past year:

• Last summer the music ministry invested in a few projects that we hope to continue to explore. One was to engage our STARS musicians in another Sunday morning service in addition to the STARS Sunday in the spring. What a profoundly moving time of worship whenever we’re led by our beloved STARS family. Another exciting event was a Songwriters Gathering we held over the summer for creatives in our church who wanted to share their original music with each other. We hope to host these more consistently in the future, as it was an inspiring and fruitful time.

• During the fall kickoff of our ministries such as children and student music, we paused to enjoy “Then Sings My Soul,” an evening of worship where we sang hymns submitted ahead of time by the congregation.

• Wonder & Waiting was the biennial combined Christmas festival this past Advent season, and gave us a glimpse into the grand journey of Christmas through the stories and songs of Zechariah, Mary and Simeon. The platform was perhaps the fullest it’s ever been with seven choirs— our four children’s choirs, the adult choir, our two new Glorify! choirs (middle school and high school) and a variety of wonderful instrumentalists. More than 200 musicians in total! We were also excited to work with Pastor Josh Moody to coordinate the program’s theme with his morning Advent preaching series Songs of the Season.

• Our second semester was of course cut short with the unexpected effects of COVID-19. We were excited about some of the larger projects for the choir and other ensembles, but God had different plans. We look forward to gathering together again to worship our Sovereign Lord. During this season of focused livestreaming, I’ve been thankful for the incredible AV team and their quick responses to the sudden technological needs.

May God give us all, as worshipers at College Church, an unrivaled pursuit of the glory of Christ as the deepest joy of our souls. Remember that even during COVID-19, in Christ we have everything we need to worship.