“I never thought I’d see a banjo at Emmanuel. But I like it!”
I heard some version of that line more than once these past four Sundays. When I wrote about Tom Eure and Amelia Osborne before they arrived, I called that article “Something New (That’s Not So New).” Four Sundays later, the title holds up.
Here’s a quick reminder of why they came. When we said goodbye to Ford and stepped into this season of transition, our Worshiping Ministry decided it was the right time to experiment. To stretch a little. To find out what worship might sound like if we let someone lead us in a new direction for a few weeks. So we invited Tom and Amelia, and they made the long drive from Matthews week after week to lead us.
They played hymns we didn’t know, including several Tom wrote himself. They played hymns we know by heart, but in ways we had never heard. (That banjo version of “Earth and All Stars” is still rattling around in my head.) They also learned Setting 12 from All Creation Sings, the liturgy we’ve been singing for months now. It’s become a favorite here over the past few years, easy to sing and lovely on the piano. With strings and percussion under it, though, it became something else. Same words. Same tune. New meaning.
And people noticed.
“They have helped make worship more fun and lively.”
“These weeks have helped me rethink what worship can be.”
“They’re very good at what they do, and it’s clear God has blessed them with gifts for leading worship.”
One person put it about as honestly as you can:
“I wasn’t sure how I felt about this music idea. But I’ve actually really enjoyed it, and I’ll be a little sad to see it end.”
That was the goal. Try something new. See what it stirs up.
By that measure, this was a success. Jackie, our music minister, has already asked Tom for permission to keep using some of the songs he shared. And the experience proved meaningful for Tom and Amelia, too. Tom told me these weeks inspired him to write his own setting for the liturgy, and he’s already finished several pieces. I told him to keep us posted, because we would love to help workshop it and sing it when he’s ready. There’s already talk about how to get them back, and I look forward to our next Worshiping Ministry meeting.
But the music was only one part of what we were up to. Our Worshiping Ministry called this a holy experiment, and the real aim was bigger than any one banjo, drum, or unfamiliar hymn. We wanted to try something new and let it change how we think about worship, in big, small, and in-between ways. As we pivot back toward more traditional music in the coming weeks, that discernment keeps going. Something got planted these four Sundays. I don’t think we’ll know the full shape of it for a while, and that’s part of the gift.
We tried something new. It turned out to be not so new after all. And I’d think we are not quite the same congregation we were four Sundays ago. And that’s not a bad thing, because as Lutheran Christians we do believe that we are always being made new.