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[Back to index of June articles] BodyOFChrist By Diane Ney Body of Christ aims to introduce readers to a different parish in the church family of the Diocese of Washington each month. This month, writer Diane Ney speaks with the Rev. Susan Flanders, rector of St. John's, Norwood Parish, to learn more about the life, history, plans and character of that congregation. WW: Let's start with a major area of development for St. John's - your music program. A situation many parishes can identify with. FLANDERS: Yes, an opportunity and a challenge. For the past year, we've been aware that our organ has outlived its useful life. Our music director and a small committee have concluded that a new organ will be the best option for supporting our growing choirs and music ministry. In our case, there's some urgency. We made a decision a few years ago to put a lot of energy and resources back into our music program. A new music director has been able in just a year to somewhere between treble and quadruple the size of our choirs, both of young people and adults, widely diversify the kind of music we use in our worship and bring enormous new energy into our music and, hence, our worship. What we discovered as this was happening was that many of our musical instruments were badly in need of replacement or repair. On Easter weekend, the organ ceased to function. And though we have it playing again, we know from our year-long assessment process that we need to move forward with decisions about a new organ, pianos and a capital campaign to support this project. And that we don't have a great deal of time to make these decisions in order to have a new organ in 2007 or soon thereafter. WW: This is going to be a major investment. FLANDERS: Indeed, and there are placement issues as well. Everybody we've talked to is telling us the new organ has to go either on the east wall of the nave, where the High Altar currently is, or in the balcony. We are currently sorting out the costs and promises of either placement and giving people the opportunity to ask questions and express their opinions before we make a final decision. Whatever we do will result in some changes to the way our worship space looks, and this is not a step to be taken hastily or lightly. WW: Why do you feel music is so important in a service? FLANDERS: I think music, even more than words, speaks to our emotions. There are words that we would sing in music that we wouldn't say, such as in Abide With Me: "Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies." It's a beautiful phrase that if taken literally and spoken prosaically people wouldn't accept. Music is a way of making worship more participatory. It stirs people. I believe our liturgies should be very alive and relevant to our lives today even as they preserve the beauty and dignity of our tradition. The degree to which certain hymns are familiar and beloved is really important. I think Sunday morning needs to be a mixture of predictable, familiar things that people have always loved, as well as new things that are engaging and thought-provoking, and music can facilitate that blend. That's why, for instance, we're doing more informal music at our 9 a.m. service and our 5 p.m. "Come As You Are" service, while continuing with more traditional music at our 11:15 a.m. service. WW: So, music is a means of reaching people in different ways. FLANDERS: And reaching new people, especially our younger children. We now have the "Angel Choir" of three and four year olds, who sing about every six weeks. We try to involve them before soccer and all the other many activities available to them fill up their schedules. They stand on the chancel steps and sing out and it's wonderful. WW: St. John's just started an adoption ministry. Tell us about that. FLANDERS: That program came about through the efforts of a couple of our lay parishioners. We have a fair number of adoptive families, and I'd say in at least half of those, the adopted children are from other countries. Several of our adoptive parents got a support group together, and the parish has given them meeting space and a small stipend to cover the cost of an occasional speaker. It has been a way of bringing folks with common concerns together. WW: And there's your adult education program. FLANDERS: We're trying to provide a fuller adult education program than we've had before. One thing we've used this spring with great success is the "Living the Questions" curriculum, which gives people permission to ask questions and talk about their faith. We're trying to support that approach, although we are also fine with people who are traditional in their beliefs. Our whole approach is that it's really about how we treat one another more than about believing in doctrines. WW: Outreach is a major part of your mission, isn't it? FLANDERS: Our mission statement is a short one: "Building community at the crossroads of faith and life." I think our many and various outreach projects are ways of reaching out and building ties. Our Opportunity Shop is our oldest and most successful outreach effort. I don't think of St. John's as a niche church, in that we do one thing that nobody else does. But we are very good about hospitality and being welcome and open to all who come. [Back to index of June articles]
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