Hymns of faith have always had the power to inspire and comfort believers in times of challenge, difficulty and grief.  This has been abundantly clear to me whenever I have led or attended a funeral or memorial service.  It was true once again this past week when we gathered together to celebrate the life and witness of one of our long-time members...Kaye Zippilli.

  In preparation for her final service of worship, Kaye had selected texts of scripture to be read and three of her favorite hymns to be sung.  Her family and friends sang the words, "I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless; ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.  Where is death's sting?  Where, grave. thy victory?  I triumph still, if thou abide with me!" from "Abide with Me".  After the lessons were read, we sang, "When the darkness appears and the night draws near, and the day is past and gone, at the river I stand, guide my feet, hold my hand.  Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home." from "Precious Lord, Take My Hand".  In our our sending song, we raised our voices and repeated the refrain, "And he will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand." from "On Eagle's Wings".  

  Each of these hymns of faith brought us closer to the church's understanding of what it means to be a child of God...abiding with the Lord in this life until he leads us home and we rest in the palm of his hand.  Kaye claimed these truths for herself.  As these songs were voiced, I sensed a fellowship growing among those in the room; even in the midst of this sad / glad occasion.  Through prayers, words of scripture, creed, holy communion and hymns, God was providing hope and healing for this community of faith.  Truly something worth singing about at a time like this!

  Years ago, Fred Wilfrid shared a newsletter article with me which had been written by his son, Pastor Dan Wilfrid.  At the time, Dan was serving Grace Lutheran Church in Mendam, New Jersey.  It was the Epiphany season and Dan was revealing why he loved to sing in church.  Here's a portion of what he wrote...

  "I sing because I like to.  I sing because I grew up learning that Christianity is a faith to be sung.  If we work at it, we can learn to speak of our faith.  If we try, we can write about what it means for us to be a Christian.  But to me, nothing gets the Gospel message across better than music, better than singing it.  We talk about our hope of eternal life, but nothing can compare to singing "The Strife Is O'er, the Battle Done" at a funeral service.  There is nothing like singing resurrection hope defiantly in the face of death with tears in your eyes and a lump in your throat.  Not all anthems go well.  Not all hymns are easy for congregations to sing.  It's work for new members to learn to sing our liturgy.  But Christianity is a faith to be sung.  Nothing communicates the Gospel quite effectively as a song."

  "This Epiphany season, we are called to sing of the light that Christ brought to the world.  We are called to sing that light in the darkness of a world that is often at war.  We are called to sing songs of God manifest in human existence to a community that faces economic uncertainty and fear.  We must sing this season of our faith in Christ, of our vision of a world made new, of a world ruled by the Prince of Peace.  We must sing of hope to a world caught up in despair."

  I couldn't have sung it, I mean said it, any better.  So sisters and brothers, let us sing with Kaye, Dan, and all the faithful of the God of Love and Light and Life!

           Your Brother in Christ,    Pastor Jones