Reflections on my 30+ years at Foundry Eileen Guenther June 24, 2007

Music has been my entire life, over half of which I’ve spent at Foundry – I was very young when I began here, by the way!  But I don’t mean just “music as music” - fine as that would be - but music specifically in service of the church. Many of you have been here for quite awhile, too, so it will come as no surprise that music has a great effect on us and our worship. Music has the power to transform our spirits:  from sadness to joy, from introspective to exuberant, music takes you there. Music has the power to heal: from the first "music therapist" David, who chased away King Saul's "evil spirit" – to the modern day discipline of music therapy, we know that music can ease pain, boost immune systems, and speed healing –  people tell me often how music has affected their lives in this specific way; Music has the power to communicate: only a note or two can remind you of a particular time or place faster than you can imagine; Music has the power to motivate: witness its use in civil rights movements around the world; people from Selma to South Africa have told me, "Without the music we wouldn't be here today." Music has the power to convey the word: "a portable sermon" it's been called – there’s so much theology packed into a few short lines of a hymn or an anthem; Music has tremendous power to convey praise. They say that we're "hard wired" to praise God – just as the hymn text says, “My life goes on in endless song...how can I keep from singing?" Music has the power to build faith: statistics say that 70% of people's faith is formed by the songs they sing; A note from a choir member I received this week says the same thing: "It’s about the music…it has re-vitalized my faith in ways I hadn't imagined and for which I'll ever be grateful." Finally, music has the power to build community – and community is my focus this morning.  Mary Travers, of Peter, Paul, and Mary, said: "We sing to each other or listen to music together or make music together in the knowledge that the sharing of sound makes us all belong to each other, enables us to give all of ourselves in every way we can, with all the feeling we have inside." If making music together builds community in the concert hall or the protest gathering, it can do so even more powerfully in the church. The Bible is replete with examples of singing in community. Miriam led the community in singing on the shores of the Red Sea as the Israelites were liberated. Jesus and his disciples "sang a hymn" the night he was turned over to the authorities. Paul and Silas sang in prison, confounding their jailers and spreading their faith. Foundry is a community which makes music in an amazingly powerful way. Before I even started work here, I came to Foundry the morning of July 4, 1976, when the community was gathering to dedicate the Foundry Bells – and I recall also a year later, when Foundry provided hospitality to the families of those held during the hostage crisis at the B'nai Brith building – the new bells rang in joy as the hostages were released. There are other moments. We commemorate the community of saints on All Saints' Sunday, as we both grieve and give thanks for those who have gone before, whose lives and witness we remember. Members of this community worked so hard to discern the changes to this sanctuary that would allow us to worship more fully, changes that also included the installation of this wonderful Casavant organ. This community met and prayed for years to discern God's will for this congregation, leading to the important vote determining that we wanted to be a reconciling congregation. This community put up with long lines and Secret Service inspections so that they might worship in this place. Members of this community of people have worked so hard for 14 years to raise over $600,000 to support those who live with HIV/AIDS and those who provide care for them – what an example of music as mission! This community sings songs and prayers of the world, which have expanded our worship and our vision of the church universal – not just the songs from Africa which are closest to my heart, but from many other parts of the world, too. Choirs are a unique part of our community – forming special bonds through the many hours of rehearsal throughout the year. As a community, the choirs of Foundry Church have accomplished a lot: from recordings to hymn and anthem commissions to singing at the opening services of two General Conferences. Choir members "share each others' woes, their mutual burdens bear" – a hymn text that happens to be very true, as is the beginning of the song sung earlier in this service, "If I can help somebody as I travel on...then my living will not be in vain." But the principal evidence of the power of music in community in this place is you, the congregation, and the ways you have allowed yourselves to be changed by the music that you have sung and heard. Whether a simple Taizé chant or a complex work like the "Yizkor Requiem" we heard last All Saints, or the Brahms Requiem from a couple of months ago – you have allowed these to be faith-forming, faith-expanding, faith-sustaining musical experiences. I am really sad to leave this congregation, these choirs, the wonderful soloists, this amazing instrument, and you. But I am at the same time excited about the opportunities that are in store for me at Wesley Seminary. My work at Foundry and at Wesley has been wonderful and "synergistic" – I teach about music in worship at Wesley and I have been able to plan worship and "practice what I teach at Foundry."  It’s felt “whole” and “authentic.” My new responsibilities are really an expansion of the teaching I am already doing, now to include sharing leadership of the Chapel worship at Wesley and directing the summer school program. Today my principal feelings are of gratitude for all we in this community have shared. The weddings, the funerals, the wonderful people who have been on the staff with me these many years (many of whom are here this morning) – they and you, are remembered with gratitude. I am also grateful to you for the nourishing environment you have given Christina from the day she was baptized as an infant, for affirming her and allowing her to experience what a real “church family” can be all about. One of my greatest memories will be the singing of the congregation – which will resonate in my heart forever. I believe passionately in the art of worship and I believe in music as mission, music as pastoral care, and music as ministry. It’s my most fervent hope that I have played a part in "putting songs on your lips that will work their way down into your hearts." If I have accomplished that in any measure, I will feel that these years have been well spent. I wish you in this community: continued love in music-making, continued care for each other, and a continued focus on the important mission and ministry of this amazing church. As the verse of the hymn goes that we sang earlier: "Let every instrument be tuned for praise! Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! And may God give us faith to sing always, ‘Alleluia!’”