Sing-a-Long

What is your favorite church hymn and why?

In church yesterday we had the BEST out-of-the-box idea for our Sacrament meeting. Instead of assigned speakers, the congregation was invited to come up and tell what their favorite church hymn is and very briefly mention why. We all then would sing one verse of that song. Try it . . . You might like it!

There was such a great variety of songs and subject matter. One teenager mentioned Silent Night because it was sung the first time she came to church, and she had no idea Christmas songs were in a church hymnbook. A little 6 yr-old girl walked up and wanted to sing I am a Child of God. In the meeting prior to church, the Bishop was a little nervous as to the response of this idea, but it was well received and the spirit was strong . . . which is always the case with uplifting music. The Bishop shared his song at the end of the meeting, I am a Child of God, again, from his mission days, and had everyone who spoke Spanish to come up and sing with him. The congregation joined in for the third verse.

Music creates a strong link to a memory of time and place. I still can't sing As Now We Take the Sacrament without thinking of my father -- it was the song we sang in church the Sunday before his funeral. One of my favorite songs, however, is Each Life that Touches Ours for Good. The first home we purchased was here in Las Vegas and was in a great ward with many young couples who became life long friends. This song was sung on the Sunday we gave our going-away talks. You might think it could be a funeral song, talking about friends departing, but it just always makes me think of all the wonderful people who touch my life, for good -- like you!

"Music speaks for the soul because words are too small." ~~ Dennis Lehane