Why We Sing

When we come before God in worship, why do we sing rather than merely think or talk with one another? Singing is a language that God has given us to express our deepest longings, greatest joys, and most profound trust in the One who created us and loves us unconditionally.

In the aftermath of the devastation caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, our minds are filled with many images drawn from experiencing these catastrophes firsthand, listening to people who suffered through them, or watching their stories on the evening news. A particularly striking image on the news after Katrina involved the medical staff in a New Orleans hospital struggling to care for patients when their medical facility no longer had electricity, water, food, or medicine to offer. In that horrible situation, several medical staff members gathered around a patient’s bed. They sang songs of faith and trust in the only One who could be counted on to help them. They shared the hymns that some of them had heard in worship services Sunday after Sunday throughout their lives, until the words and music had become part of their very being. In that storm-damaged hospital during devastation that’s been described as “hell on earth,” they were singing together, heavenward.

When we come before God in worship, why do we sing rather than merely think or talk with one another? We sing because music is a gift from God. It is a language that God has given us to express our deepest longings, our greatest joys, and our most profound trust in the One who created us and loves us unconditionally. Like all gifts from God, it is one that God calls us to use with gratitude. Keep reading

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Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

I have been working on a new project related to small churches and worship. As I searched the Internet for worship resources for small churches, I first ran across the following hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette and then the preceding Christian reflection on why we sing in PDF format.

Go walk with God in all you do, And may God's love bring joy to you. May gifts of peace fill all your days, And may God's truth guide you always.

O may the grace of Christ our Lord, The wondrous love that comes from God, The Spirit's fellowship now be God's gifts to you eternally.

We thank you, Lord, for life to share Through learning, serving, praise and prayer. And when we say good-bye to friends, We thank you, Lord: Love never ends.

The hymn may be sung to O WALY WALY, also known as THE RIVER IS WIDE. A link to a MIDI of the melody of O WALY WALY played on the piano is on the web page from which I took the words of the hymn.

Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is a hymn writer and Presbyterian pastor. Carolyn and her husband Bruce have been the co-pastors of Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware since August 2004.

Photo credit: Pixabay, public domain