Our community worship

Daniel Thomas, CGS Musician

​As we near the end of the summer and move ahead to fall, I want to take a moment and thank everyone that has contributed to our online worship services to make them a success. So many of our CGS family have participated, either live or pre-recorded, to ensure that we remain a community, even when we have been physically separated.
 
Of course, I’m especially grateful to our musicians and singers, all of whom have gone above and beyond in sharing their talents, and many of whom are learning new skills working with audio and video! Members of our band, our mixed choir, and Keynote have all produced some beautiful music, even while sheltering in place. Making music is one of the greatest communal activities we have as humans, and I know many of us miss it deeply. While these virtual performances can never take the place of live music, I hope everyone can take some comfort and joy in creating art for all of us to enjoy.
 
I am also looking forward to exploring and expanding our technological know-how in the fall – working with some new equipment to further enhance the online worship experience, and laying the groundwork for when we finally return to in-person worship.
 
I’m reaching out to all of you to ask for your participation and input during the fall:
 
• As you may have noticed, our liturgical pieces this summer (the Canticle and the Offertory) were pre-recorded by many of our singers. We will be continuing that in the fall with a different Offertory, and I would love for more of you to participate in this. It is fairly easy to do, and we can use the technology to help you give your best performance. Please let me know if you are interested in sharing your time and talent with us.
 
• I am looking for special music for the fall to be used during communion, as a prelude, or in other parts of worship. If you have a song that means a lot to you and you would like to hear during this fall season, please let me know, and we’ll see if we can create an arrangement with our amazing musicians and singers.
 
I am humbled and grateful to share worship with each one of you – and while I am eagerly anticipating the day when we can safely worship in person, I am thankful for the ability and willingness of everyone to do so online. In Matthew 18:20 Jesus says “for where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Jesus may not have imagined gathering in such a way as we are, but I truly believe that Jesus is among us every Sunday.