GSPC NEWS Called to Serve
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October Edition | 2018 Art has man y opportun itie s in whic h to be expre ssed. Whe the r a pain ting of g re at or little value , orig in al or a copy; a mime e xpre ssing kin etic move me n t; the g race of a balle rin a; the te n sion of a bow on the string s of a violin . We fin d g re at ple asure in the man y ways of e xpre ssin g art — some time s you are the artist, othe r time s, you are the obse rve r. In the case of God, I sugg e st, He is both ! Take a momen t to thin k of a time that creative e xpre ssion has captivate d your full atte n tion . I thin k of the art of song : partic ularly that of sittin g in a g ran d ope ra when the she er power of voic e washe s ove r you; or sin g ing a favorite hymn in church whe n the text take s you to a time an d place that brin g s te ars to your e ye s. It is in the book of Jo b, the olde st rec orde d work of Holy Scripture , that we le arn God en joye d music from the be g innin g . In a situation where God is spe aking to Job, he asks “Whe re we re you whe n I laid the foun dation of the e arth?” and late r, just to re in force his position , God goe s in to de tail by asking “Whe re we re you. . .whe n the morn ing stars sang tog e the r an d all the heave n ly be in g s shoute d for joy?”. Mose s’ ac c ount of the cre ation te lls us that stars we re placed in dome of the sky on the fourth day, to whic h I submit, God authore d the son g! We sing about the se in stan c es in se ve ral familiar hymn s. In Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee , a phrase in the secon d verse says: All thy works with joy surround thee; earth and heaven reflect thy rays; stars and angels sing around thee (an d I have to won de r what the song was that the “he ave n ly be in g s” shoute d for with joy —I sug ge st B ee thoven was c e rtainly an option ) . In Great Is Thy Faithfulness, we sin g : sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness . Pe rhaps that witne ss is [man i]fe st in the rhythm that God cre ate d for the thin g s of nature to come toge the r as the y so marve lously do. Re cen tly, B lan che P arson s an d I spe nt the afte rn oon visiting a fe w church me mbe rs that live at the be autiful We stmin ste r Villag e on the E aste rn Shore . On e of the common the me s of discussion was of the long history of g ood music at GSPC an d the spe cial role it has playe d in some people s’ life time s, on e spann ing 95 ye ars! It was at the conclusion of our last visit that the dear gen tle man , with a g re at big smile an d a te ar in his e ye said to me : “Be care ful son , if you han g around Gove rn men t Stree t too lon g , it’ll make a Christian out of you! ”. I won de r how Job fe lt whe n God took the in itiative to an swe r him? In the pre vious chapter, Job is told to “stop an d c on side r the won drous works of God”. An d late r, we le arn that he did just that. In all of his mise ry and loss, Job fo un d humility an d satisfaction an d the Lord God re store d to him double that whic h he had lost. GSPC has a rich he ritag e still ve ry alive in ne arly a ce ntury’s worth of livin g , bre athin g me mory. Such thin g s as God’s han d in music from the ve ry be g in n ing of creation sustain the powerful sug g e stion s of me mory for days g one by, and obje ctivity for thing s to come . We are n e aring the se ason of Adven t —be g in n ing s are upon us and we have g re at poten tial to hon or God simply by stoppin g an d con siderin g His won drous works: in music, in e vang elism, in worship…
hey, han g around ... it’ll make a Chr istian out of you!
- Tommy