The last thing that I should be doing is sitting at the computer writing, but I have to eat my sandwich and drink my last cup of tea before tonight’s performance anyway, so here it goes.

I have written before that Lent as a season has been a very different experience for me than in past years.  And, as I approach our remembrance of Good Friday this difference continues.  For the five years before tonight, each Good Friday, we have offered a Good Friday concert…sacred music meant to guide worship or to simply inspire, depending on your beliefs.  Most of the pieces have been Baroque or Classical in compositional style, and tonight is no different.

What is different, then?  Tonight, for the first time, I am really clear on what I am doing.  The first year, it was a way to remember Good Friday, yes, but also an act of gratitude to my new friends at Calvary and my teacher who was no longer with me.  And over these past years, my own motivation and orientation has transformed from that of musician-who-is-moved-by-sacred-music to that of worshipper-who-speaks-through-the-language-of-music.

In short, tonight I know that I am here to testify.

If you join us tonight, listen for the story.  Listen for the faith of those declaiming that story.  Having met most of the musicians, I’m guessing you will hear it as much in the work of the organist as in the words of the singers.

Listen.  We are going to tell you a story, a very important one.  And we believe what we are saying.