Bryan Taylor, Music & Worship R&R Chair
Worshipping Through the Arts
In 1999, I felt an overwhelming urge to pursue church music full-time, a calling I heard in my youth. I was in the midst of a rewarding 15-year high school choral music position and already working at a church music position part-time when this dream came into being. I counseled with my senior pastor and placed this calling to the church leadership and congregation…they said yes, and thirty years later, I can say clearly that this has been an incredibly rewarding, spiritually stimulating, and deeply fulfilling career.
As so many of us who have been called to lead church music and sacred arts, I was determined to create and deliver my best work through the music we offered in worship each week. To address this, I focused on preparing the best musical offerings I could and started expanding a concert series and adding sacred art to the mix, as well. This vision was further solidified by a phrase that my music team helped me create, titled “Worship Through the Arts.” We soon created a concert series in 2001 and titled it this very phrase…“Worship Through the Arts.” This ministry is based on the belief that the arts were created by God and nurtured for centuries within the church. Our goal was to sponsor events that fostered this understanding and artistic development, showcasing passionate and emotionally charged performances of music and art that resonate with our faith community at LUMC and the surrounding area.
Since its inception, “Worship Through the Arts” has welcomed numerous choirs from outside of our country, including local and surrounding state college and university choirs, high school choirs, professional choirs, brass bands, contemporary Christian artists, actors reciting entire books of the Bible, visual artists presenting art exhibitions of their sacred works, including month-long exhibits in our art gallery. The series has also featured a diverse range of performers, including sacred professional dancers, gospel singers, bluegrass bands that perform with my adult Chancel Choir, and singers, pianists, and organists. These performances have undoubtedly stirred the hearts of the audience and brought together a diverse group of people from within our church, community, and beyond. I’d like to share a few of these ideas with you, hoping to spark your interest and inspire you to develop or share similar moments in your church music situation. While every idea may not be suitable for you, I encourage you to adapt it to fit your needs. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We value learning from others who have great ideas. Your passionate and emotional performances have already helped your own worshippers deepen their faith through the exceptional musical and artistic gifts you provide each week. Whether you are part-time or full-time, God has given you the ability to touch hearts and souls through your calling in church music and worship arts. Keep sharing this amazing gift with your church family as you Worship Through the Arts.
Art Show of Your Local Artists
We have sponsored a few local artists in the Liberty/Kansas City, Missouri area. One of my favorites is David Johnson, a retired art professor who is blessed with exceptional calligraphy and woodcut skills. I have commissioned numerous works from him and even performed a sacred choral concert alongside his art, which featured several lyrics set to calligraphy. I am fortunate to have several of his works displayed at our church throughout the year.
David also led a 3-week December adult Sunday School class with me, featuring Christmas art and music from throughout the ages and included his own artwork too. These classes took place on Sunday mornings in the sanctuary and included four combined adult Sunday School classes. It was a lot of fun to combine these artworks with choral and vocal music.
By chance, I discovered a retired Hallmark illustrator and artist named Eric Disney. After retiring, he developed a passion for creating an angel exhibit. We were able to share these angels in our church art gallery and even offered a meet-and-greet with the artist. We even made greeting cards of his work and sold them at the gallery. These artists have truly blessed us. The angels were everyday people he encountered along his path as he learned to embrace his retirement.
Often, churches have their own artists within their community. It’s important to develop and showcase their art whenever possible. I have several watercolor and oil painters and cross stitch artists who have gifted us beautiful sacred pieces. It’s a true blessing to have such talented artists in our church.
A Gratitude Tree
Last fall (2024), I sought something unique to present on the Sunday preceding Thanksgiving. I stumbled upon an article about a “Gratitude Tree” that seemed ideal for this occasion. While smaller tabletop trees could be used at home, I envisioned a hands-on, physical activity for our congregation during worship. After obtaining the pastor’s approval for my idea, it blossomed into a delightful and enjoyable addition to our worship services.
I found a suitable tree on our church property that would perfectly fit this event. After harvesting the tree and allowing it to dry for a week or so, I painted it white. I then placed it in a large pot, supported by river rock inside, and positioned it at the base of the altar. I discovered beautiful fall-colored paper leaves which could easily be hung on the tree.
We distributed these leaves with our bulletins and encouraged the congregation to write something they were grateful for on the back (blank) side. At the conclusion of the morning message, each congregation member was invited to come and place their gratitude leaf on the tree. We explained that we would collect these leaves together after the services and pray for their blessings during our staff meeting that week. On Tuesday, I had each staff member read four or five of these gratitude notes during our staff meeting, and we prayed together for their blessings. It was a profoundly moving experience, and the congregation thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to express their gratitude during worship time. I sincerely hope that this special gratitude recognition will continue into the future. I also created an art gallery exhibit with framed pictures of several church members as our grateful “works of art.”
Nailing of Petitions
I attended a ‘large church initiative’ conference one year and witnessed a “nailing of petition” time during a worship service. They had set up a cross on a table at the back of the sanctuary and distributed black squares of paper to each attendee. We were invited to write down our petitions/struggles on this paper. At any point during the service, anyone could take their paper and nail it onto the cross. While it was a bit distracting from the other activities happening, it was still deeply effective.
This was another way for us to participate and witness an emotionally charged activity for the worshippers. Inspired by this experience, I’ve been incorporating it into our Good Friday Choir Cantata service every year since. We create three wooden crosses and place them in the front of the chancel area for the congregation to nail onto. I use this action about three-quarters of the way through the cantata. It takes about five minutes or more to complete, but the emotions of the worshippers are evident, and they love this special time to express their pain, hurt, or prayers of need to the cross. The sound of pounding hammers against the nails draws our attention fully and intensifies the passion of the service.
Offer Visiting Conductors/Speakers to Come
We all know the joy of working with a master clinician or artist to enhance the choir and the audience for a special choir retreat that extends into the worship time. As a high school student, my experience in the Missouri All-State Choir was a significant influence on me, leading me to pursue a career in choral music. I was fortunate to have Weston Noble as my clinician, an experience that has left an indelible mark on me. How can you better bless your choir than to gift them time with Weston Noble, your mentor and friend? I brought Weston here twice to work with the choir, conducting a full concert and sharing the Good Friday service. His expertise and passion were truly exceptional!
We have also had the privilege of welcoming several talented individuals to our church. Ken Medema, a gifted songwriter, singer, and pianist, has been a regular visitor to our church, often collaborating with the adult Chancel Choir in retreat settings. His ability to create songs on the spot inspired by stories from choirs, audiences, or even pastors’ sermons is deeply moving and spiritually uplifting.
Other directors and composers we have brought to our church include Joseph Martin, Craig Jessop, Will Todd, Mark Hayes, Charles Bruffy, Jan Kraybill, Eph Ehly, and Philip Stopford.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also embraced the opportunity to connect with wonderful leaders in our field online. We have welcomed several individuals to our choir through online sessions, including Dan Gawthrop and his wife Jane Griner, David and Susan Cherwien, Elaine Hagenberg, Mark Lawley, David Keith, and organist Jan Kraybill. With Ken Medema
Commissioning of Music for your Choir and Church
I’ve been fortunate enough to have commissioned a few pieces for the choir for worship. A couple of years ago, our church celebrated its 200th anniversary, and we commissioned Elaine Hagenberg to write a piece for the choir and church in honor of this occasion. Inspired by this, I decided to organize an all-Hagenberg concert, where stories of our church’s history were woven throughout the concert through narrations from several church members. We chose a Charles Wesley text, “Love Divine,” for our commission and celebrated God and our church for this wonderful celebration of our church history. Elaine even drove down for the concert and spent some time with the choir and me, helping to fine-tune the new anthem. It was thrilling to have her with us, and she must have been delighted to constantly be reminded, “Hey, that’s my anthem…again!” Other commission composers we’ve been blessed with include Joseph Martin and Jeffrey Ames.
Over the Christmas season, someone asked me, “What does music mean to you and your faith? And how do you plan and continue to find passionate music for church in today’s world?” I loved these questions because they allowed me to describe my calling into church music and explain my process for searching for music that truly moves my soul. This process not only helped them understand the answers they were seeking but also gave me an opportunity to testify to the profound connection between my faith and music – I can’t think of one without the other.
When selecting church anthems, hymns, liturgy, and other worship activities, I ask myself, “Is this stirring? Does it support the rest of the service? Is it passionate and grounded in God?” I believe that these elements and questions help me to offer my best when planning for worship.
A dear couple in the church gifted me a book a few months ago titled “The Language of the Soul” by Jeff Crosby. The book’s premise revolves around the idea of “Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts.” It also introduces the word “saudade,” pronounced sow-dodge-ee, which describes the profound and deeply moving feelings we experience when listening to passionate music.
“Saudade” is a Portuguese word that is challenging to translate into English. Crosby provides a description of its meaning, stating that the music it is associated with evokes a sense of wonder, reflection, mystery, and allure. It often describes as a vague and constant desire for something, somewhere, or someone that may not exist or perhaps cannot. It’s a yearning for something beyond the present moment, a turning toward the past or future.
Crosby further explores the characteristics of saudade, including the longing for home, an undivided self, forgiveness received and given, friendship, spiritual transformation, peace, community, freedom from unhealthy fear and anxiety, meaningful work, and the longing for heaven, our hearts’ true home. These feelings have been a constant presence in my life, and I find comfort in knowing that there is a word and book dedicated to understanding and expressing these passionate emotions.
I highly recommend reading the book and delving deeper into the desire to comprehend these profound feelings that we experience through great worship through the arts. I genuinely hope and pray that you will awaken and succeed in your own fulfilling church music and arts program. Please share your exciting programming with me and our SWACDA Music & Worship participants about your church music and arts offerings. Our church music programs are of utmost importance in this unpredictable world we live in. Let us keep our musical and artistic calling affirmed and flowing through creative worship offerings.