Wesley Dearham
It’s been a busy time for Woodroffe Senior Choir and our director, Katarina Jovic, as we prepare not only Lenten anthems (with Easter music to follow), but also anticipate two music-focused services:
ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY
The first one comes up soon—on March 2, our congregation’s Anniversary Sunday. The centrepieces for the service are two anthems written in memory of people once associated with Woodroffe. It has been rewarding for families of loved ones, as well as for the choir and congregation, to have music commissioned in honour of these and other choir members who have passed away.
This time we will sing anthems dedicated, respectively, to Jane Eade and Barbara-Lynne Broughton. Jane sang in our choir for a few years in the 1990s and was a respected chorister and soloist in Kitchener-Waterloo before moving to Ottawa. Barbara, was the daughter of the late Frank and Silvia Wilding, long time members of Woodroffe. An accomplished singer, Barbara sang with the choir in the church of her late husband, Reverend Doctor William P. Broughton, who served the United Church of Canada.
The anthems are Shout to God for Joy, by Mark Sirett, and God So Loved the World, by John Horman. These are just two examples of a treasured tradition that Woodroffe Senior Choir has observed through many years.
A SUNDAY FOR ST. FRANCIS
The second service, on April 6, consists of several musical reflections on the life and work of St. Francis of Assisi. More specifically, the choir and congregation will sing several versions of the much-beloved Prayer of St. Francis (Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace—see a version below).
While there are many writings considering the life and work of this important saint, I chose the succinct thoughts of Daniel P. Horan, author of Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis and Francis of Assissi and the Future of Faith. Blogging in the Huffington Post, his description is revealing. He writes: “There is probably no saint more revered and well known in all of Christian history than St. Francis of Assisi. Today Christians, and many non-Christians alike, celebrate the life and legacy of this medieval Italian man who is known the world over for his exemplary life of holiness and model of peaceable living he leaves to us, nearly 800 years after his death.”
Yet Horan points out a frequent misconception—that St. Francis is the author of the popular prayer. In fact Horan and several other scholars note that this prayer is relatively modern, evidently dating from around the First World War. It is a creative and sincere prayer penned by an anonymous French writer. However, Horan also reassures us: “Ultimately, I don't think it matters very much that St. Francis isn't directly responsible for this prayer because, although he never actually said or wrote these particular words, he lived the prayer with his whole life.” You can read a more of Horan’s writing at http://huff.to/1h8nFHv.
No doubt you are familiar with The Prayer of St. Francis, but why not take a moment to reflect on it now, then mark your calendar for an enriching experience at our special service on April 6:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.