Tag Archives: Trinity

More Settings of “Now Thank We All Our God”

It is quite remarkable that a faithful Christian pastor wrote a hymn of thanksgiving in the middle of war, pestilence, and famine (see “Pestilence and ‘Now Thank We All Our God.’”). It is equally remarkable that this hymn transcended time and place and has become so popular. The hymn is still performed throughout the world by many different… Read More »

Celebrate Christmas with the Peoria Bach Festival

Celebrate Christmas this year by watching the Peoria Bach Festival 2012 performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. You can find it on the Peoria Bach Festival YouTube page by clicking here or following the video links below. Although the performance is in German, English subtitles are provided making the story easy to understand and follow. The translation is a literal… Read More »

Fanfare, Fugue, and Chorale on CRUCIFER (Brass Choir)

The best sacred music is not “background” music, but rather music that proclaims the eternal truths of Scripture whether it is a simple song or one in which the message is written into the music. The hymn “Lift High the Cross” (CRUCIFER) has become an iconic one for many Christians because it highlights the centrality of the crucifixion of Jesus… Read More »

Thoughts on “Our Father, By Whose Name”

The thoughts below were prepared for the “Devotions on the Hymn of the Day” project of the Center for Church Music at Concordia University, Chicago. This devotion is on “Hope of the World,” the Hymn of the Day for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22B) on Sunday, October 4, 2015. For a downloadable PDF version of this devotion,… Read More »

Peoria Bach Festival 2015

Join the Peoria Bach Festival from May 31-June 7, 2015 for another week of celebrating the music, art, and faith of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Altogether there will be eight concerts, several free lectures, two festival worship services, and an event for children. The primary work for the Peoria Bach Festival 2015 will be Cantata 147 “Herz und… Read More »

A Lament? At Easter?

One aspect of the Resurrection story that is difficult for many of us to appreciate is the depth of the sorrow and grief that the followers of Jesus must have felt after His crucifixion. No doubt this would have amplified the confusion, disbelief, and ultimately the joy that they experienced upon hearing that He had risen from the… Read More »

New Singers in the Church Triumphant

In these past few weeks we have celebrated the lives of quite a few members at Trinity, including this past weekend the all too short earthly life of Avonlea Warner. Hymns and songs take a whole new meaning in the context of a funeral. I was especially touched by the ones we sang last Saturday: “Father Welcomes All His… Read More »

Youth Music Sunday at Trinity

One of the best ways to pass our faith along is to involve children in the ministry of the church, and one of the best ways to do that is to involve children in the proclamation of the Music Ministry as much as possible. This Sunday morning at Trinity could be called Youth Music Sunday because close to… Read More »

Thank You to Trinity’s Musicians and Worship Leaders

I would like to offer a sincere thank you to all those who were involved in last evening’s Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at Trinity. From those who prepared the Sanctuary to the Lectors and to all the musicians and thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit, the proclamation that occurred was incredibly strong, wonderfully heartfelt,… Read More »