This large US toy store (FAO Schwarz) has something for adults too, something musical, entertaining, and classic!

Anyone would want to play the Bach's toccata in d like this....!

We all know about the mega-churches in America. Crystal Cathedral is one of these places where thousands of people gather on a Sunday. Most of them are of evangelical, contemporary nature.

Not many people know that there also mega-churches in the Netherlands. Some evangelical groups have tried but did not succed. The churches that have been large in members, church buildings and attendance are the conservative reformed churches (Netherlands Reformed Churches).

The recent split of the congregation in Ede reduced the growth this year, leaving 3,300 members in Barneveld, in two congregations. Recently their second largest church in Barneveld was renovated. Well-chosen colours make the church feel warm and inviting despite the 2,500 seats (3,100 maximum). The organ was colored dark brown to match the woodwork in the church.

There are 1,000 parking spots and... in the basement of the church is a "parking garage" for 550 bicycles! (Our church her in Canada does not even have a bicylce rack outside...)

A virtual tour... to look around inside... check this out: http://www.mouissie.net/kerken/barneveld.html .
If you look carefully you will see only Psalms on the boards .
And notice the desk in the front, from where the Scriptures are read (by an elder).

These days the weather is on everyone's mind. Here in Western Canada high temperature records have been broken in the last few days. In the East they got rain that we are used to get in the fall. In England I don't know what's happening - therefore I would like to share this UK weather forecast message...

John Wesley's Rules for Singing Church Songs
from John Wesley's Select Hymns, 1761
With some of my thoughts in italic...

• Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.
  Wesley took the singing in church serious, and it was his highest priority. This rule would mean learning all Genevan tunes and hymn tunes of the Book of Praise first, before learning any Christian Contemporary worship songs. No, Wesley did not know how nice the CCM music was, and he did not hear complaints about the depressing Psalms of David in our age: he simply had his priorities straight.

• Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.
  Ooops, that means that we have to change that note that we always sing incorrectly, and observe the rests at the end of the lines (of the ommission of a rest). Fix the added accidentals that we continue to sing. But we don't like changes, and we like the way we always sing. But habits and the comfortable "we always did it like that" were not normative in Wesley's world. He wanted to do it right as that approach fits with the character of Christian life.
  
• Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.
  Some people claim they can't sing... and I always wonder how they manage to speak. Often people did not take the time to learn to sing, they did not try, they did not practice. And I can see the results of that when I see their children sing (I see them sing, because I can't hear them sing). Wesley wants everyone to sing, even those who truly can't sing the right notes. Because Gods wants us to, all of us!

• Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.
  Wesley mentions the songs of Satan - something we hardly discuss these days to the enjoyment of Satan. They are still there, and some of them apprear to be Christian songs at first sight. Our community would probably claim to be singing lustily and with good courage, but how often are we half asleep in our mind during the singing? How often do we not recall what we just sang?
• Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy harmony, but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
  Wesley tries to prevent the scale to go all the way to the other side. Don't sing solo, but blend in with the rest of the congregation.

• Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
  In our church with 500+ voices we don't have anyone singing louder, but there are people that think they need to sing faster or slower than the rest of the congregation. Don't - unite our voices as Wesley says.

• Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
  This is a lot to consider: Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself. How does that line up with us not liking to sing certain (stanzas of) God given Psalms? How does that line up with our preference to sing (more hymns)? Does the Lord approve of our songs or do we feel that only we need to approve? Is our song reflecting Gods will or is it reflecting our preference and liking?

1.
In the past I have uploaded some videos on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AE977F51C9D5DFDD). This week I received a message in my YouTube-Inbox from an organist/composer in Ohio. He expresses apprecitation for the singing of our church community:

"How wonderful to find a congregation in North America that sings the Psalter, with an organist improvising properly! (...) I have recently begun introducing more improvised hymn introductions, as well as working the appointed Psalm as prelude. American hymn-playing is generally rather dull and static, and lacking in imagination. (...)"

I can't comment on how other churches sing and the hymns they sing, but our Psalm singing seems to be different.

2.
On the Casavant Freres website (www.casavant.ca) there was an announcement posted about the new Psalm CD. Again, Genevan Psalms are not common in North American churches, but the CD did evoke something. They call our congregational singing "a large choir"...!

3.
Then there are people that discuss things on closed discussion groups. Last year, someone from Vancouver discussed our new church organ with someone in South Africa, and with simple cut-and-paste the message was passed on to me, by someone in China .

I was asked to take care of the day opening at the Reformed String Camp yesterday, and include a devotion, if possible. The participants are from all over Canada, they studied and prepared for concerts the whole week, and Friday was the last practice day, with the first concert to be given that evening in Yarrow. I prepared a few words about the pursuit of excellence.

Singing: Psalm 21: 1 (canon)
Scripture reading: Matthew 25: 14-30
Prayer

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

The colorful, nineteenth-century showman and gifted violinist Nicolo Paganini was standing before a packed house, playing through a difficult piece of music. A full orchestra surrounded him with magnificent support. Suddenly one string on his violin snapped and hung gloriously down from his instrument. Suddenly lots of sweat was on his forehead. He frowned but continued to play, improvising beautifully.

To the conductor’s surprise, a second string broke. And shortly thereafter, a third. Now there were three limp strings dangling from Paganini’s violin as the master performer completed the difficult composition on the one remaining string. The audience jumped to its feet and in good Italian fashion, filled the hall with shouts and screams, “Bravo! Bravo!” As the applause died down, the violinist asked the people to sit back down. Even though they knew there was no way they could expect an encore, they quietly sank back into their seats.

He held the violin high for everyone to see. He nodded at the conductor to begin the encore and then he turned back to the crowd, and with a twinkle in his eye, he smiled and shouted, ‘One string… and Paganini!’ After that he placed the single-stringed Stradivarius beneath his chin and played the final piece on one string as the audience (and the conductor) shook their heads in silent amazement. ‘Paganini…and one string!’

You are preparing for a series of concerts.
Tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday night.
You are doing your best. Not just your best – you are doing your utmost best.
Your practice and performance is of someone who takes the task seriously.
Some of you traveled great distance, not to just play along – you want to learn, you want to do a good job – no a great job.
You pursue excellence.

Now… let’s ask the question: is it okay to pursue excellence?
Or would it have been okay to do the average job?
Many people will say “I like your playing” for them it would be good either way.
What’s then the point of the work of your teachers?
What’s the point of coming all the way here?
What's the point of working so hard?

We often find in the Bible the call to excel in Christian character, keeping with the biblical goal of spiritual growth and greater levels of maturity, especially in the various ways we can express love to one another. Pursuit of excellence is a sign of Spiritual maturity. Without pursuing excellence, life will remain mediocre, very vanilla, and lukewarm at best (Rev. 3:15-16). The pursuit of excellence fuels our fire; it keeps us from just drifting downstream.

This focus and need becomes clear from Ecclesiastes 9:10 - Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,

2 Corinthians 8:7 says - But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

We read in 1 Corinthians 10:31 - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

From these verses, it should be clear that God wants His people to excel in both what they are (inward character) and in what they do (behavior or good deeds). It would seem obvious that there is simply no way one can love God with all his heart (Matt. 23:37) without seeking to do his or her best to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Therefore, the pursuit of excellence is both a goal and a mark of spiritual maturity.

(However, for this to be true, the pursuit of excellence must be motivated by the right values, priorities, and motives. If we go in the wrong direction, the pursuit of excellence can quickly become a mark of immaturity and just another result of your obsession with yourself.)

Admiral Rickover’s interviewed President Jimmy Carter. Carter writes in his autobiography:

The admiral asked how Carter had stood in his class at the Naval Academy. “I swelled my chest with pride and answered, ‘Sir, I stood 59th in a class of 820!’ I sat back to wait for the congratulations. Instead came the question: ‘Did you do your best?’ I started to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ but I remembered who this interviewer was. I gulped and admitted, ‘No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.’ He looked at me for a long time, and then asked one final question, which I have never been able to forget—or to answer. He said…. ‘Why not?”

Because of who Christians are in Christ,
because of our eternal hope, and
because of the enabling grace of God,
seeking to do our best and choosing what is best is part of God’s will
and an evidence of genuine spiritual growth and maturity.

But, there is one thing we need to keep in mind. As human beings, none of us ever arrive; there will always be room for growth and improvement (Phil. 3:12-14).

Coming back to 1 Corinthians 10:31 - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Pursing excellence is all inclusive (do it all) and it is to the Glory of God.  .

There is much more to say about this pursuit of excellence for Christians.

Today for you it is crossing the last t’s and dotting the last I’s.
Soon you will be sharing your God given talents at the concerts.
Talents that you did not put in the ground, and you didn’t get half out of it: you will be adding 10 to the 10 you already received.
Work with your musical talents and make them grow.
Grow them for God!
And do that after this weekend, in all things of  every day!

God bless you!

 1662, just three years after the completion of the Genevan Psalter, Claude Goudimel published the 4-part harmony settings. This publication allowed singers to sing in 4-part harmony, often with the melody in the tenor, and it allowed musicians to play the psalms in ensembles. In the Calvin Year 2009 an edition has been released with the remarkable subtitle”Revised Mazmur Edition”. It is an Indonesian title on the cover of an English language publication of French Psalms.

Here is short story...

The state church in the Netherlands (Hervormde Kerk) sent a missionairy to Indonesia in 1967. From then to his return in 2004, the Reverend Harry Van Dop worked in the churches in Indonesia and was member of the committee for Church Music and he taught at the Theological University in Jakarta.

In the Indonesian churches some of the Genevan tunes were known since the 17^th century already, but the translation was old and in need of improvement. Many psalms were not sung because they were not available.

A musician himself, Pastor Van Dop took on a project to translate all Psalm in Indonesian (with local assistance), and he reworked the 1662 Goudimel edition so that the melodies were in the soprano and the keys were suitable for congregational singing. This resulted in the publication of “Mazmur Edisi Harmoni” in 1987. (Mazmur in Indonesian means Psalm in English.) This edition was not only sold in Asia, but there was also demand in Canada and the Netherlands.

(Van Dop was asked about the cultural alignment between Genevan in the 16^th and 17^th century and Indonesia in the 20^th and 21^st century. He responded that on the streets of Jakarta music can be heard that we would classify as written in modes and that modal music is common in Indonesia. Therefore the Genevan tunes fit in the Indonesian musical culture.)

The 2009 edition in front of us is not a scan of the 1987 edition. Van Dop decided to improve on his work of several decades ago. The new edition is improved based on especially the feedback of organist, musician, and scientist, Dr. Gert Oost (who passed away earlier this year). It is not an identical copy of Goudimels 1662 edition, but edited for congregational use with minimal compromise of the original.

How to use this new edition? The publisher points to the Sunday worship services as well as choirs. Ensembles can play this music to provide a solid accompaniment. Every Psalm is written in two versions: one with the melody in the Soprano and one with the melody in the Tenor. Van Dop points out that some stanza’s can be very well accompanied with the melody in the tenor when the male voices are dominant in the singing. Then he adds he has heard these harmonies used at Elementary Schools, where the children sung in 2-part harmony, using only 2 voices of the harmony.

The book is produced on good quality paper, with a ring binder, so the book stays always open on the piano or organ. The note setting is clear and good to read.

This book includes a (MP3) CD with all psalms played in 4 part harmony, in both settings: melody in Soprano and melody in Tenor. The melody is played with a different stop, which makes it stand out nicely, especially with the tenor settings. The organist on the CD is Dick Sanderman, a well-known organist in the Netherlands. To save costs, this CD is made with an organ connected to a computer. The stops of the “Michaels Kerk” in Zwolle, the Netherlands, have been “sampled” and the recording is made using these authentic sounds through a computer program. This resulted in a realistic sounding recording, while it was not necessary to rent the church to make the recording.

The Genevan Psalms arranged by Claude Goudimel. Revised Mazmur Edition
Edited and adapted by Harry van Dop. CD included: MP3-files of all psalms, played by Dick Sanderman. Publisher: Cantique, Rijssen 2009. 162 blz. € 39,95
Website: http://www.cantique.nl/orgelmuziek/orgelmuziek/claude-goudimel-genevan-psalms-mazmur.php
(Click on the English flag for the English language)

In the early 90s, the Dutch young people bible study society published a new book called "Om U te dienen" (To serve You). This study guide was to help us study the aspects of liturgy in five chapters:

1. What does Liturgy mean
2. God speaks to his congregation
3. The congregations response to God
4. Orders of worship
5. How does is work

The church services in our sister churches in the Netherlands have gone through a phase of significant change in the last 10-15 years, not only practically (what happens on Sundays), but also in people's mind (how and what people think about the worship service). There are some aspects of this study guide that "open the door" for the change that I have noticed, but there are many good points that will make you think about the church services more. Often the worship service is considered traditional, and we don't think about it too much. But we should be very aware of the worship service and what happens there, every Sunday again.

I would like to share with you the first Module or Lesson. I am not planning on translating all modules, unless there is a request for it.

Module 1 – What does Liturgy mean?

PREPARATION

When you go to a party, you prepare yourself. You think about what you are wearing. When you worked hard during the day, you probably take a quick shower. The ladies probably spend some amount of time in front of the mirror. You have thought about a gift and have probably something to give, and on your way; you might pick up some other people as well.

Activity 1 (Setting: individually; Tools: Pen and paper; Time: 10 – 15 minutes)

Answer the following questions personally in writing.

1. How do you prepare yourself for worship/the worship service?
2. Do you think that this is a good preparation? Why?
3. Would God be pleased with your preparation?
4. What would be a good preparation be? (For example: consider releasing the scripture reading and text in advance, selection of songs and their relevancy, prayer requests, etc.)

Activity 2 (Setting: 2 people groups; Tools: answers of Activity 1; Time: 10 – 15 minutes)

Exchange your answers with the person next to you and discuss the answers.

Activity 3 (Setting: individually; Tools: Pen and paper; Time: 5 minutes)

1. Remember the last party you went to
   – What made this a party?
   – Were you looking forward to this party?
   – Why did you not stay home?
   – Did you like the party or not? 
   Write your answers down.
   
   
2. The worship service is a celebration. Think about the last worship service you attended.
   – Were you looking forward to this service?
   – What was the service all about?
   – Was the celebration a positive or negative experience?
   Write your answers down.

Activity 4 (Setting: groups of four people; Tools: Answers of Activity 3; Time: 10 minutes)

Create groups of four people and discuss the answers of Activity 3 a. and b. Try to discover any overlaps between the answers.

By the way, is it correct to compare the types of events (party/celebration/worship service)?

Activity 5 (Setting: groups of 6-8 people; Tools: Pen and paper; Time: 15 minutes)

Imagine you are asked to prepare the liturgy for next Sunday’s worship services. How would you do this? Would you like to make some changes? Write down how you would like the liturgy to be.

Write also down what “liturgy” means for you.

Collect all written responses in a jar and have someone read these. Listen carefully and make notes if that helps you remember. After this create a description of liturgy together as a group.

Activity 6 (Setting: groups of 6-8 people; Tools: Bible; Time: 20 minutes)

Read together the following passages:

-         The headings of Leviticus 1 through 7 and Leviticus 23

-         Joel 2: 32

-         Acts 2: 21

-         Romans 10: 13

-         Ephesus 5: 18 – 19

-         Colossians 3: 16

Question: if this is written for you too, what are you doing with it?

Discuss a worship service keeping these passages in mind. What comes to mind?

If there is anyone who attended evangelical worship services, maybe that person can describe what happened there. What are some of the differences?

Activity 7 (Setting: everyone; tape, pen, paper; Time: 15 minutes)

What is your opinion about this statement:

Preparation for the Lords Day (Sunday) starts on Monday.

Draw a line on the floor and consider one end total agreement with the statement and the other end total disagreement. Write your name on a piece of paper, and place it on the line, where your opinion would be. Having no opinion would be in the middle.

Ask each other questions, such as “why is your paper there?”

Activity 8

Answer the multiple choice question, selecting the one that you feel the most strong about.

When I go to church on Sunday…

1. It does not matter which minister is preaching
2. I am generally not in the mood, but I value the social contacts
3. I don’t expect anything and often that is what I get out of it
4. I don’t experience the fellowship with God
5. I don’t have the idea that God speaks to me at all.

Form groups of people that have the same answers (i.e. all A’s in one group, all B’s in one group, etc.) Then one group starts the discussion: e.g. one person in group A asks another group (C) about their choir. Make sure that people can finish what they want to say.

  In the 1930’s the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands became well-organized and the membership was growing. The congregations soon burst out of the smaller churches that were used since the Secession or Doleantie.

Starting at the beginning of the 19^th century new Reformed churches were built in their characteristic style. Churches designed by renowned architects such as Tjeerd Kuipers (1857-1942) and Egbert Reitsma (1892-1976) were typical examples of this style.

In these newly built churches the organ was positioned in a central location. Often it was installed directly above the pulpit, symbolizing the unity of the ministry of the Word and the congregational singing (prayer) in the reformed worship service. The reformed churches appreciated the writings about liturgy by Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), who published in 1911 Onze Eredienst (Our Worship Service). In this momentous work, Kuyper pointed out the importance of the congregational singing and the serving role of the organist. He shared his appreciation for the 16^th century Reformation through which the congregational singing was restored.

(quote from EREdienst, June 2009, page 12)

Some examples:

Nederlands Gereformeerde Kerk - Kampen

Bergsingel Kerk - Rotterdam

Protestantse kerk - Wildervank

And what about our churches? Maybe it has placed a role in the design of our buildings?
Yarrow, Willoughby, Langley, Surrey Maranatha, Chilliwack, Abbostford... Organs are all placed in the front. It is not a rule, and it does not have to be, but the considerations in the Reformed churches in the Netherlands in the early part of last century could be valuable.

Yarrow CanRC

Langley CanRC

The Sunday evening program took more than one hour, and the tape did not last so long... Here are our first 5 selections...

These were a journey through history regarding church music:

1. first a chant from the early middle ages,
2. then the two Psalms from the 16th century Reformation,
3. then Psalm 95 from the 18th Century,
4. finally Psalm 150 from the 20th century.

Our second part was much more relaxed

---