theme, “Light Dawns; Hope Blooms,” reflects the hope that the world needs right now, he said. This theme developed from a refrain in a piece the choir will perform,
“Light Dawns on a Weary World” composed by Mack Wilberg and text by Mary Louise Bringle. “What does this world long for? This is a world filled with darkness right
now,” Armstrong said. “Christ is the light of the world. Turn on the news and you see messages of doom and gloom. People are looking for hope. We need to have hope, and the pieces we perform are exactly that—songs of hope and caring for one another.” Music from St. Olaf’s Christmas Festival will also reflect other strong
Lutheran themes, including justice and peace, equality and care for creation. In addition to Scandinavian and German traditions, the concert includes music from around the world, Armstrong said, which reflects the worldwide concerns of St. Olaf and the ELCA. “The pieces define our Lutheran tradition and express Lutheranism at its best—care for the planet and care for each other,” he said.
Christmas is love Lenoir-Rhyne is also expecting full houses for its Christmas choir concerts, and director of choral activities Ryan Luhrs thinks people’s love for the season’s music runs deep. “I think the love of Christmas music transcends many aspects of our
culture,” he said. “It’s perhaps the reason some radio stations begin playing Christmas music exclusively this time of year. “I sense that many people have strong emotional attachments to the
Christmas season and use music both to connect with their past and celebrate in the present. I believe this connection is especially strong among Lutherans because of our hymn-singing tradition, both in churches and even in the home.” Doug Brandt, a New York City-based composer who has written choral
Christmas works with sacred texts, believes Christmas carols resonate with people no matter their religion or background because of the universal theme of hope. “Perhaps it’s the struggle of the poor or the humble family that’s turned
away from an inn and has to make do in a barn,” said Brandt, whose setting of Wendell Berry’s pastoral Christmas poem “Remembering That It Happened Once” was just published. “The messages that come from the words and music in Christmas songs,
sacred and secular alike, are about peace, joy, giving, singing, coming together, stars, night, childbirth, motherhood, humility, simplicity. Those are all pretty universal themes. Perhaps it’s the mystery of all of those things, taken both together and individually, that makes Christmas music so special.” Weit agrees: “As church music has evolved, it seems that now Christmas
music resonates ecumenically. We share so much in the hymnal Christmas section with other faiths, and it’s the norm to sing carols outside the church. It’s no wonder choral groups do well this time of year.” But perhaps a line from “This Christmastide,” which will be performed
at this year’s St. Olaf festival, sums it up best: “Truth and love and hope abide this Christmastide.” As Armstrong said, “It brings it to today—the need for this in today’s world.”
Wendy Healy is a freelance writer and member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Brewster, N.Y.
V
alparaiso University seeks to fill the Emil and Elfriede Jochum Chair. Te purpose
of the Chair is to bring scholarship or other forms of creative work to bear on the many dimensions of the Christian calling in a complex society and to interest students in such exploration. Teaching and guiding students to uphold Christian values in fidelity to the Gospel both while they are students and aſter is a worthy effort, and the Jochum Chair aspires to be not only part of this worthy effort but a means of strengthening and expediting it.
Letters of application, CV, and three letters of recommendation can be submitted electronically via Interfolio at
apply.interfolio.com/37380.
Emails with questions may be sent directly to Mark R. Schwehn ’67, Ph.D., provost emeritus, at
mark.schwehn@
valpo.edu. Committee review of applications will begin on Jan. 8, 2017 and will continue until the position is filled.
LIVINGLUTHERAN.ORG 31
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