This Sunday we sang my setting of the “Ave Verum Corpus” text made famous by Mozart. The recording does nothing to flatter the choir, but it’s certainly worth a listen. You can hear Sunday’s prelude “Jesus, Precious Jesus” at my music blog. You’ll have to wait a while to hear the two songs we recorded […]

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15).
In the middle of the sadness of COS member Karen Muyskens’ unexpected death this week, has been the confidence that she continues to be held by the Lord. Another joy was watching the earth-bound saints of COS come together to honor […]

The original Joyful Noises cassette was recorded at Calvin College’s Fine Arts Center in 1988. All the music is composed and performed by members and friends of Church of the Servant. The recording was made to help raise funds for the new building on Burton Street. Almost 20 years later, A Collection of Joyful Noises […]

Last week’s Lessons & Carols service was a wonderful time of worship. There is something incredibly powerful about God’s people coming together to recite and sing their deepest longings while waiting for Christ’s advent. Or, as the carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem” puts it “The hopes and fears of all the years are met […]

The last few weeks the choir has been singing “Where Two or Three Are Gathered in My Name” as a prelude. It’s a beautiful little song from Ghana by a composer named Bayiga Bayiga. I hope everyone was paying attention, because the whole congregation will sing it as a gathering hymn in a few weeks. […]

In the October 28, 2007 service we sang Mozart’s exquisite “Laudate Dominum” (from Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, KV339, for those of you who keep track of such things.) It was one of those things that just came together. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to use COS member Stacy VandenBerge’s considerable talents. I thought “Laudate […]