Two Sundays ago, we sang "Alleluia No. 1", No. 178, from the 1982 hymnal for Communion, one of the final "Alleluia!" hymns before Lent. The beginning words are, "Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord...." At the end of the second-to-last verse, a woman in the congregation, who was visiting that morning, soared into harmony with her lovely voice. Folks sitting in front of her looked around to see where the sounds came from, because no one who is not in the choir sits toward the rear of the church and sings with a voice like hers. At the end of the last verse our visitor soared once again into the stratosphere with her beautiful voice. What a gift!
Once the service was over, I went over to welcome the woman and thank her for the wonderful and serendipitous offering. She hugged me and thanked me for being so welcoming of her gift to our service. Several members of the congregation thanked her. Is there anyone who would not have welcomed the woman and thanked her? She's originally from the US, but she lives in London now.
The lyrics and an extract from the music are here.
Thanks for sharing this. That hymn is from the "praise" music genre that has had a lot of trashing in the press lately. Sounds like it was the perfect song for that day and how lovely someone could add her voice as a stranger and bring you all to another level of worship. Sharing bread with strangers -- hmm - reminds me of the couple at Emmaus and the gift they received.
ReplyDeleteI'll take anyone who can carry a tune at my place!
ReplyDeleteI know this is unlikely, Mimi, but did she mention where she went to church in London? Just curious. It's a vast place, I'm not saying it's probable that I know her.
ReplyDeleteAnn, the hymn is "praise" music that I like. Our organist did her part beautifully on her instrument. Not all the music that falls in the "praise" category is bad music.
ReplyDeleteDP, you would have loved this lady. By the way, her name was June. I can't remember her last name.
Cathy, I did not ask her about her church in London. At the coffee hour, she was sitting at a table with another group. I had only a few brief words with her in church after the service. Folks were abuzz at the beautiful surprise.
Yes, fair enough Mimi. I didn't think it would probably have been mentioned, I was just curious really.
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