I Believe – testifying as the 2015 Region Choir
One of the anthems chosen for the ABCNJ Annual Session Choir is "I Believe," by Mark Miller. Mark is Professor of Sacred Music and Worship at both Drew & Yale Universities, as well as the Minister of Music at Covenant United Methodist Church in Plainfield, NJ. His anthem "I Believe" is a beautiful, sometimes haunting then suddenly hopeful, setting of a poem which was written by a Jewish refugee on the wall of a basement in Cologne, Germany during WWII:
"I believe in the sun,
even when the sun is not shining.
I believe in love,
even when I don't feel it.
And I believe in God,
even when God is silent."
Miller's music starts as a quiet solo, and builds to a climax in five part harmony as we declare our faith in the existence of love. Then it suddenly drops again to a single, quiet declaration in solo voice, "I believe in God, even when God is silent."
Sometimes our faith is loud and splashy, evidenced in big miracles and wonderful blessings. But, more often, our faith holds us quietly and keeps us going, even when God is apparently silent. This is what faith means: It is the still, small voice that reassures us in the silence: It is the power to stand when all around are falling: It is the ability to say,
"...Yet I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in God my salvation. The Lord is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk in my high places" (Habakkuk 3:18-19). "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).
Our next rehearsal is on Saturday, September 12 from 1:00p.m. - 3:00p.m. at the First Baptist Church of New Brunswick, 226 Hale Street in New Brunswick. Register through Eventbrite or email using the form below.
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