The Sanctuary Choir of Travis Park recently held a fall repertoire retreat. We were very blessed to have the Rev. Tim Morrison as our clinician. For the closing of our time together, we participated in the following service. (The dedication section of the service can be found in The United Methodist Book of Worship.)


AN ORDER OF DEDICATION OF PERSONS IN MUSIC MINSTRIES

God be with you!
And with your Spirit.
Let us sing!

Opening Hymn No. 68 When in Our Music God is Glorified

Making music to the praise of God in the congregation is a ministry that
requires devotion and discipline.
Do you accept responsibility for this ministry?

I do.

Will you be faithful to the disciplines of music?

I will.

May the faith expressed by your music live in your heart, and what you
believe in your heart, practice in your life.
And may God give you grace to offer your music and your life in
faithfulness and consecration, now, and in the world to come.
Friends, God has given you the ministry of music in the church. Will you
sustain each other (and your conductor and accompanist) with your
encouragement and your prayers, as together we seek to offer praise to God?
If so, will you say we will?

We will.

Meditation:
VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing God more than yourself, or any creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
From John Wesley’s Select Hymns, 1761

Let us pray,
Creator, our God, bless these ministries of music and those who offer
them in your service.
Give to these persons love for you and your people,
fullness of heart as they praise you,
and diligence that their music may be a worthy offering to your
glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Closing Anthem: Peace I Give to You by Craig Courtney