Worship and Music

Matthew Podd is the Music Director at Trinity Emmanuel. Matthew is in his
second year at Eastman School of Music,    seeking his Master’s Degree. Prior to
coming to Eastman, Matthew graduated from Ithaca    College as a Music Major in
Composition and Keyboard. Matthew has worked with various musical theatre
groups in conducting and    playing. He has been a church organist/pianist, as
well as a choir director, in various churches for the past ten years.

Do you like to sing? Join us for Choir Practice on Thursdays at 7:00pm. All are
welcome !

If you’ve attended worship at TELC in the last 8 months or so, you’ve probably
noticed a diverse array of worship music. The talented members of our
congregation and community have contributed all kinds of musical offerings. This
Lenten season we will be exploring yet another new direction of worship for our
Wednesday night services. As a congregation we will explore elements of Taize
worship practices within the context of our own Lutheran traditions. I have
included part of an article explaining Taize below, to brief those interested in
learning about this tradition before experiencing it on Wednesdays during Lent.

What is Taizé worship and how can it be used?

What is "Taizé worship?" When the question is asked, there is often another
question lurking behind it. Why do so many people (up to 7000 a week – primarily
young people) go to Taizé to pray? Why is the Taizé prayer so attractive?

The Taizé prayer is not simply a prayer form or model that can be adapted or
inserted into any context with the same results. There are, however,
characteristics of the Taizé prayer that can be useful in understanding its
dynamics. The distinguishing marks include repetition and silence and the insertion
of these into the liturgy. Repetition is not a new phenomenon nor unique to Taizé.
The use of repetitive prayers is a long attested reality in the history of Christian
spirituality and liturgy (for example, in the Jesus Prayer and the Rosary). What is
unique to the MUSIC Director (cont.)

prayer of Taizé is the adaptation of the repetitive form to simple musical lines and
core biblical texts that can be sung by a whole assembly of various nationalities,
languages, and denominations. The duration of repetitive songs (whether in canon
form or ostinato) during prayer is not to be timed nor the number of repetitions
calculated beforehand. The assembly is to immerse itself in the simple but
profound harmonies and let itself be carried by this sung prayer.
Silence is perhaps the second most important aspect of this particular prayer
practice. In the middle of the prayer is a long period of silence (rather than a
sermon or meditation). Maintaining silence is not a technique or method enabling
some special communication with God. It is simply holding oneself in a presence
and letting Christ, through the Holy Spirit, pray in us. There are not many short
silences in a Taizé prayer rather the prayer moves along according to a certain
rhythm through song, psalm and reading leading up to a longer silence (around 10
minutes) which then culminates in intercessory prayer and more song.

I look forward to sharing this new experience with you,