How We Plan Music for Worship

When you take a bulletin in hand each Sunday, you may have no idea what actually goes into crafting the order of service . . . our guide for our worship time together. I didn’t know till I moved into this place of service as Interim Organist.

Work begins the week before each Sunday. With guidance from our pastor, I review the scriptures and suggested hymns for the Sunday in the church year according to our tradition of Reformed liturgy. I keep in mind the spots in the order of service in which music is incorporated. These include the prelude, the “Kyrie eleison” and “Gloria” tunes, the post-sermon song, the offertory and the postlude. The first Sunday of each month also requires worshipful songs while communion is served.

Various decisions go into my hymn selection process:

• Is the hymn inspiring in general?

• Is the hymn or the tune moderately known (or can be easily learned) by congregants?

• Are the words, the tune, the rhythm, etc. “inviting”?

• Does the hymn fit the specific purpose or mood at a given point in the order of the service?

• Does it complement the spoken word also happening at the time?

• Is there a comfort level in the challenge of both playing and singing the song?

By now you perhaps are thinking this in-depth exploration is . . . unnecessary. Sometimes when you attempt to explain things, it becomes more “mechanical” and less meaningful. Perhaps. But this is a process that leads us, the worshipers, into a spiritual mode of being together and seeking God. So this consideration is good. The truth is we rely on the great hymns of our faith and their special placement in the worship service to illustrate our learning and yearning together as we worship God. I hope you experience this inspiration Sunday after Sunday.

-- Steve Freeman