Newsletter

by Rev. Alexandra Jacob, Sing For Joy Host

“As the days shorten and the nights cool, may we turn to gratitude for the gifts of the changing seasons.”
–Rev. Alexandra Jacob

When I was a high school senior, I took part in a young artists’ program with a local choir, and one of our projects that year was to join the local symphony orchestra for their performance of Beethoven’s Symphony Number Nine. I had never sung with orchestral accompaniment before, nor had I ever sung with such a large group of wonderful choral singers. Each of the high-school-aged singers was paired with an experienced mentor who sat next to us in the ensemble, and I remember sharing with my mentor my wide-eyed gratitude for getting to be part of something so grand. Choral rehearsals leading up to the performance were exciting, but I will never forget the experience of rehearsing with the orchestra for the first time at the symphony hall. As the orchestra began the final movement (the only movement that includes a chorus), the sound swelled around us. We heard the orchestra and soloist introduce the famous Ode to Joy theme, and by the time the chorus entered, I’m not sure I could sing at all because of how intensely emotional the whole experience was!I carry that experience with me every time I sing the hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, which Sing For Joy listeners will hear on our October 12 program. The tune is an adaptation of Beethoven’s theme, and the text comes from the early twentieth century hymn writer, Henry Van Dyke. While some hymn writers create texts without a specific tune in mind, Van Dyke penned Joyful, Joyful with Beethoven’s melody in mind. The strong, soaring melody combines with an exuberant poem of praise to create a memorable marriage of text and tune that endures through the ages.The version of the hymn we will hear this month, led by the National Lutheran Choir with organist and conductor David Cherwien, offers a fresh take on the enduring hymn. You’ll hear a delightful extended organ introduction with a recurring rhythmic motive that plays on the midstanza rhythmic moment in the hymn, along with an a cappella third verse and a jubilant final verse with a soprano descant. We hear the hymn in context of a healing account from Luke’s gospel (Lk 17:11-19). Jesus heals 10 people, and one of those 10 turns back to offer his gratitude. Gratitude is a theme on our October 12 program, and we are sent out with Cherwien’s setting of Joyful, Joyful.

As the days shorten and the nights cool (at least here in Minnesota!), may we turn to gratitude for the gifts of the changing seasons. May we be reminded of God’s presence and guidance in every season, giving thanks with the hymn writer Henry Van Dyke:

“All Your works with joy surround You,
Earth and heav’n reflect Your rays,
Stars and angels sing around You,
Center of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
call us to rejoice in thee.”

by Rev. Alexandra Jacob, Sing For Joy Host

“As the seasons of life and nature change, we are invited to remain deeply rooted in God’s grace, like a tree rooted in the earth.”

Rev. Alexandra Jacob

September is back-to-school month here in Minnesota and in many other places across the country. Although it has now been five years since I graduated seminary, I still get the back-to-school butterflies around this time of year! There is something exciting about the rhythm of a new cycle of learning and growth. And of course, there is the unparalleled experience of opening those packages of brand new sharpened pencils and fresh notebooks.

As we moved through this most recent cycle of Sing For Joy recordings, I noticed that one of the scripture readings appointed for early September feels especially appropriate for the beginning of a new school year and the start of a new program year at church. On September 7, the appointed psalm is Psalm 1, which describes the delight we experience when we are grounded in God’s goodness and grace. The psalmist writes that those who delight in God’s law are “like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither” (Ps. 1:3). This is such a lovely image for this time of year. As the seasons of life and nature change, we are invited to remain deeply rooted in God’s grace, like a tree rooted in the earth.

I’m reminded of the majestic redwood trees that Andy and I saw when we visited Muir Woods in California earlier this spring. On my desk at church, I have a photo of us in front of one of those redwoods. While our bodies only take up a small portion of the photograph, you can hardly see the entire tree trunk because it is so large! Coastal redwoods like the ones we saw in California are known as the tallest trees in the world, sometimes reaching as high as a 320-story skyscraper and with trunks as wide as 27 feet. Plant and animal life flourishes in the canopies as well as on the ground beneath the redwoods, and in Muir Woods, the roots receive nourishment from the nearby Redwood Creek. Again, I remember the psalmist’s image of rootedness.

I hope you will tune into our September 7 program as we hear two different musical settings of Psalm 1, one by Bruce Neswick and another by Nathan Carter. And this September, as you make the turn into whatever this season will bring, may you stay rooted in God’s grace. Just as the roots of a mighty redwood sink deep into the earth, may your roots of faith keep you grounded. And just as the creek waters nourish the soil, may the waters of baptism refresh and nourish you as the year continues.

by Rev. Alexandra Jacob, Sing For Joy Host

“Just as the land around us has been stewarded by diverse communities for generations, so has the story of our faith. We are surrounded by the witness of those who went before us, and we do well to remember that witness, seeking to honor it in our own time.”

_{Rev. Alexandra Jacob}

Last month, I traveled to southeastern Minnesota for my fifth annual “Solo State Park Adventure.” These short state park trips have become a tradition for me, and a couple years ago I tallied up the number of parks I’d been to and realized the number was high and ever-growing. So, I did what any type-A personality would do: I made it a goal to visit every single state park in the state of Minnesota! There are more than 60 parks, so it is an ambitious goal that will no doubt keep me occupied for several more years. These adventures have brought me to parts of the state that I never would otherwise have visited, and I have enjoyed getting to know just how diverse the Minnesota landscape is. Many Sing For Joy listeners know that I grew up in South Carolina, so as a transplant to the Midwest, this state park goal has helped me to deepen my roots here.

My trip earlier this summer took me to two sites of significance for Indigenous communities throughout the generations. I visited Pipestone National Monument and learned about the sacred use of that special stone to carve ceremonial pipes, and I traveled to Jeffers to see petroglyphs carved centuries ago by Indigenous peoples who used such symbols to tell stories, engage in rituals, and create maps of the area. I happened to visit these sites on July 4th, which invited me to ponder the beauty and pain of the stories that this land holds. It was a remarkable gift to behold such beautiful landscapes as I remembered the generations of stewards who have tended the land, and I give thanks for those who help to protect these natural areas for generations to come.

I was reminded that weekend of the two passages we will hear this month from the epistle of Hebrews. The writer paints a broad picture of what faith looks like — “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” — by reminding the reader of all the generations of people who went before them in the faith. He reminds them of Abraham and Sarah, Samuel and David and the prophets; he reminds them that all these faithful ones followed God, comprising a “great cloud of witnesses” who inspire, encourage, and challenge us in our faith. Just as the land around us has been stewarded by diverse communities for generations, so has the story of our faith. We are surrounded by the witness of those who went before us, and we do well to remember that witness, seeking to honor it in our own time.

As you move through this month, may you seek out the landscapes, stories, and faithful witnesses of those who went before you. You never know what you might find, and you never know how your own contribution might pave the way to a new generation of faithfulness!

by Rev. Alexandra Jacob, Sing For Joy Host

“The work of serving neighbors and seeking justice is work that bears witness to the reality that God’s kingdom is already among us, though we see it only in part. In the face of every neighbor, the kingdom of God has come near. In every act of service and every movement for greater justice, the kingdom of God has come near.”

_{Rev. Alexandra Jacob}

During the month of July, part of my ministry as an Associate Pastor for Families, Youth, & Children involves helping to lead two service-learning trips with our congregation’s Junior High and Senior High youth groups. We will travel to Billings, Montana and to northwestern Minnesota for a week of service projects and learning opportunities. During these trips, we spend time serving, learning, worshiping, eating, and having lots of fun together.

Our conversations during service-learning trips often lead us to consider what the Christian faith has to say about caring for our neighbors. We often spend time in the gospels, learning from the life and ministry of Jesus, and with the prophets, whose witness inspires us to discern a faithful witness in our own time. And every year, we emphasize the call to serve neighbors and to seek justice. Those two calls are interrelated but not identical. On a service-learning trip, we do a lot of serving neighbors. We partner with food shelves and meal ministries, community gardens and wildlife centers, shelters and ministries with people who are in need. But we try not to forget the dual call to also pursue justice alongside those whom we seek to serve, to ask questions about the systems that keep people in situations of poverty and marginalization. When we return home, we ask ourselves, how can we keep the justice-seeking alive?

In the gospel reading assigned in the lectionary on July 6, Jesus offers instructions for his disciples as they go out into diverse communities together. To friends and strangers alike, they are to proclaim, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” The work of serving neighbors and seeking justice is work that bears witness to the reality that God’s kingdom is already among us, though we see it only in part. In the face of every neighbor, the kingdom of God has come near. In every act of service and every movement for greater justice, the kingdom of God has come near.

On our July 6 program on Sing For Joy, we will hear music about the call to discipleship, paired with that gospel reading from Luke 10. We will hear John Rutter’s sung version of St. Francis’s famous prayer, which begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,” as well as a sung version of Desmond Tutu’s words, which begin, “Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate.” And we close our program that day with a hymn whose words I will carry with me into a summer of serving and justice-seeking with the brilliant young people in my congregation. Hymn writer Jeffery W. Rowthorn penned the hymn, “Lord, You Give the Great Commission,” an invitation to listen to the call to faithful discipleship. The hymn ends:

“Lord, you bless with words assuring:
I am with you to the end.
Faith and hope and love restoring,
May we serve as you intend
And, amid the cares that claim us,
Hold in mind eternity:
With the Spirit’s gifts, empower us
For the work of ministry.”

by Rev. Alexandra Jacob, Sing For Joy Host

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

_{John 13:1}

One of the treasured Holy Week traditions in the congregation I serve is a Maundy Thursday gathering that is both a communal meal and a special worship service. We gather around large round tables in one of our worship spaces that accommodates flexible seating, and we eat a delicious meal together before turning to worship. We worship around those same tables, mingling the experience of table fellowship with the experience of Communion and handwashing that will follow, a ritual embodiment of Jesus’s gathering with his disciples in the Upper Room. With the lights dimmed, seated together with friends and neighbors, we hear these words from the gospel of John: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

These words, written about Jesus in the context of that final meal with his disciples, never fail to fill my eyes with tears. It is true: Jesus loved his dear friends so well, and he loved them to the very end. It is that same fierce love that enfolds each of us, even now, in the care of one who is both Savior and friend. I am reminded of the words we will hear on the Sing For Joy Palm/Passion Sunday program, from the hymn writer Samuel Crossman. It begins, “My song is love unknown, my Savior’s love to me, love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be. Oh who am I, that for my sake my Lord should take frail flesh and die?” The final verse moves to praise: “Here might I stay and sing, no story so divine: never was love, dear King, never was grief like thine. This is my friend, in whose sweet praise I all my days could gladly spend.” Paired with the music of John Ireland and sung by the Choir of King’s College, these words of praise take on deep meaning during the journey of Holy Week.

Later this month, churches around the world will journey from the joyful procession of Palm Sunday to the Upper Room meal on Maundy Thursday; from the cross on Good Friday to the silence of Holy Saturday; and finally (finally!) we’ll arrive together at the empty tomb on Easter. We will observe the week in many diverse ways, gathering for worship to give thanks for the life of Christ, whose dying and rising offers a pattern for sacrificial love and friendship. I hope that you, Sing For Joy listeners, will find meaningful ways to journey through Holy Week as part of a community this year. The chaos of the world around us invites us to closely follow in the path of Jesus, a path of love and justice, mercy and grace. May we follow faithfully.

by Rev. Alexandra Jacob, Sing For Joy Host

“During the season of Lent that lies ahead, may we be enlivened by the promise that God will carry our burdens, nourishing and sustaining us throughout our wilderness seasons.”

_{Rev. Alexandra Jacob}

Our March 23 program of Sing For Joy will include Cary Ratliff’s wonderful piece, “Come to the Water,” a choral setting of portions of Isaiah 55, the assigned lectionary passage for the Third Sunday in Lent. Ratcliff is a composer based in Rochester, New York, where he serves as the Artistic Director for the vocal ensemble Madrigalia. I heard and sang several pieces of his during my time as a St. Olaf student, including a delightful Christmas piece, “Let Every Heart,” which the St. Olaf Cantorei sang for Christmas Festival. The music I know of Ratcliff’s is whimsical, in the best sense of the word: the melodies are light and free, with surprising rhythmic movement that invites the listener to contemplate the text’s poetry in unique ways.

“Come to the Water” is a joyful musical expression of Isaiah’s invitation in Isaiah 55, which begins, “Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” This passage comes from a portion of Isaiah that scholars believe was composed around the time that God’s people were returning to their homelands after a prolonged period of exile in Babylon. The exilic period was one of profound disorientation, rooted in systemic oppression. The return to the community’s homeland would have been a joyful occasion, to be sure, but not without challenges. The systems that had been in place before exile were no longer there, and economic and political challenges were still deeply rooted. Against this backdrop, those words of invitation from Isaiah would have felt radical. Come and receive abundant food, nourishment of body and spirit, without cost? But how?

Through this invitation of Isaiah, and especially through the dancelike whimsy of Cary Ratcliff’s musical setting, we hear whispers of an answer. In God’s economy, people have what they need to flourish. Full stop. In the kingdom of God, systems are transformed, individuals and communities are sustained, and the human family rejoices in the gracious presence of God.

At the end of Ratcliff’s piece, he turns to the New Testament, paraphrasing an invitation of Jesus from Matthew 11: “And let all the poor let them come to the water. Bring the ones who are laden, bring them all to the Lord. Bring the children without might. Easy the load and light; come to the Lord.” During the season of Lent that lies ahead, may we be enlivened by the promise that God will carry our burdens, nourishing and sustaining us throughout our wilderness seasons. No matter the chaos that may surround us, God is faithful to invite us to imagine (and hope for) a world where all creation flourishes. May it be so!