"Unity in the Body of Christ"

A couple of weeks ago, the Northbrook UMC Chancel Choir had the unique opportunity to perform at the Georgia Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association at Kennesaw State University. This invitation was rare, in that a local church choir was asked to appear before an audience of choral directors who work in universities, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and community choral groups.  
 
Reflecting on present day events and realizing that many of our churches are allowing their differences to drive a wedge between themselves and working together as a community. Therefore, I invited choir members from Roswell First Baptist Church and Roswell United Methodist Church to participate in the choral event. We dubbed ourselves, the Sacred Voices of Roswell with about 80 members in attendance.  
 
I chose to conduct Craig Courtney’s soul-stirring piece, I Am Not My Own. It is a powerful statement of faith proclaiming, “I am not my own, I am not my own. Not in body, not in soul, in life nor even death. I am not my own, I am not my own. I belong unto my faithful savior Jesus Christ. I belong to Him, I belong to Him, in life, in death, my only comfort, I belong to Him, I will live for Him…”
 
We, as children of God, belong to the One who sent His son to redeem humankind. It is through God’s love, strength, and grace that we are able to live from year to year, day to day, and moment by moment. Yet, we also depend on each other - our brothers and sisters in Christ. This combined choir represented the commonality of believers.
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I have been blessed with opportunities to perform at Carnegie Hall and various cathedrals throughout Europe, but I’ve never been more proud than when I stood on stage with our church choir on that Saturday. Our group represented young and “older,” from all walks of life. It was an opportunity to show choral students that one’s love for music doesn’t have to end at graduation. It can extend into a person’s golden years each week at their place of worship. This is one of the many positive aspects of our choir at Northbrook - it reaches across generations and unites in voice to minister to people each Sunday.  
 
As we quickly approach Advent, I hope you will make plans to attend the upcoming musical events designed to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child; one born of humility and a love for all.  
 
With Joy,

Dr. Chad M. Hunt
Director of Worship & Music