Music Notes
Chad’s Blog
July 27, 2025 - My very first Sunday as a church musician - organist in this case - was at a small university Lutheran church in Kent, Ohio - a church I served for ten years. It was Reformation Sunday of 2002; I was eleven. Naturally, my dad had to drive me to church early that morning. We were impressed with ourselves because, in our minds, the first service started at 8:45 am, and I was going to arrive a full half hour early to prepare. Well, when I walked in at 8:16, the Confession and Forgiveness was nearly done, and it was almost time for the first hymn. Rob, the usher, aggressively “ushered” me to the bench and explained that the first hymn needed to start in mere seconds…he picked me up and carried me, if I recall correctly. Service had started at 8. Without time to put on my newly purchased “organ shoes” (modern dance character shoes with thin soles), I threw open the hymnal and began to play A Mighty Fortress (from the Green hymnal - can anybody see it as vividly as I in this moment?). In the commotion of rushing to the organ, I forgot to put the clothespins (yes, you read that correctly - my grandma’s idea) over the pages of the hymnal. A naughty and annoying fan placed carelessly on the ceiling above the organ had plagued the church’s musicians for decades; the organists had to make sure that sheet music pages wouldn’t be impacted. Halfway through verse two, my music went flying, and I had to completely stop playing the hymn to restore the hymnal to its correct position. I was so embarrassed. Thankfully, my sweet Grandpa Ed - who passed away just a few weeks ago here in 2025 - was sitting in the pew across from the organ and comforted his tearful grandson with one of his warm and famous hugs. “It’s ok; you played beautifully and I am proud of you,” he said. An interesting experience for a brand-new church musician. It made for a STIMULATING worship experience for all, to be sure…
I strongly resonated with a moment from Pastor’s sermon last week - the quoting of results from ELCA surveys to church attendees about growing churches, citing the importance of AUTHENTIC and STIMULATING worship. While I am confident that the survey writers weren’t talking about the silly errors of a tardy eleven-year-old, they were certainly on to something.
I have always strongly agreed with the great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, who said: “I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent.” I don’t take a single second of the opportunity to make music for granted, especially at a special place like this. Part of that involves taking a lot of good time throughout the week to choose only the most meaningful music options and create a “stimulating” and prayerful worship environment for all. What an honor. What a privilege. If there is anything I can do to make our LCF worship more “stimulating” for you and all - any ideas you have that EXCLUDE an electric fan near the organ - please let me know!