00:02:23.810 - 00:02:44.520

Good morning. Welcome to this glorious occasion. The installation of Professor ERic Wall to the Gene Alice Sherman . Chair of Sacred Music at Austin Presbyterian Seminary. We even have a chair. High class special welcome

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to ERic's family. Would you mind identifying yourselves? Yeah, great. You could be here eric's parents . I'll find out your real names at after and max Sherman. Yeah, nice to have you here

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and welcome to all of those who have known Gene Alice and ERic from Montreat or from the good old days. And these are still, this is gonna be one of those good old days today. Uh

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taste and see that, that the Lord is good . Let us pray loving God, thank you for the gift of Music. How it brings people together , how it touches our hearts and informs our spirits

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, how it celebrates and comforts as jean Alice once said. And thank you for the gift of musicians who has such discipline, talent and passion serve you in your church 18 hours and Eric who worked so

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hard to bring music to us and share their joy and talents with us of this to be a day of celebration and the day of re commitment to the beauty of you and your church in christ's name.

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We pray amen. You may be seeing it on behalf of the faculty, the staff and the board of trustees of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. It is a privilege as the seminary's president to come before you

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to confirm the installation of Professor ERIC Wall to the Gene Alice. Chairman, Chair of Sacred Music Established in 2004 by the Honorable Max Sherman, a man of deep faith, a servant of the church,

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A former trustee, a supporter of the seminary and a personal friend who calls me. And I quote from our last conversation, that same crazy guy I met decades ago. But this gives to the seminary

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honors the memory of a woman of countless gifts and faithful testimony. Jean Alice, a ruling elder of the presbyterian church, a church leader, a lifetime musician and an accomplished pianist and organist today. That

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generosity takes full expression in this sharing ceremony in the professional and academic life of a faculty member at Austin's seminary. When a faculty position is supported by an indulge chair, the seminary conveys its commitment to preserve

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the practices of teaching and research in the field of the faculty members expertise. By granting this chair to Professor ERic Wall, we validate his contributions to the seminary as a teacher of worship and music. A

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scholar of the musical arts, a mentor to those who lead our community chapel services and a creative and talented instrumentalist. The longstanding tradition of awarding a faculty share centers in the idea that the person with the

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best knowledge in the discipline of study sits at the Cathedra at the chair from which all good and authoritative learning will emerge. And that is why this ceremony not only symbolizes the professorial role, but it's one

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in which we restore upon the person that is newly shared a chair an actual chair so that this material artifact, This visible sign may serve as a constant reminder of why this chair came into being what it

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means to the field of study it represents and the importance of that field in the formation of students of ministry and church leaders and what it means to those who made it possible. For all these reasons we

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are pleased more than we can express that. The first occupant of the Gene Alice, chairman, Chair of Sacred Music will be Professor eric wall and that the benefactor of this chair is here with us today

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max. We appreciate you and we welcome you and your family as we publicly express our gratitude. There may be a message here that I've been muted. Old friend and president is Aurora. Let me just

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say what a pleasure it is to be here today and let me share the notes that I prepared and a lot of this is history and it won't be that long. But I thought it would be helpful

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to everyone to to know about the dream. So let me begin by expressing our gratitude to Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary for being such an integral part of our lives. Going back many years when Jack Staats recruited

00:12:33.870 - 00:12:48.760

me to serve on the board of trustees. I'm pleased to be joined by our son lin and his friend MEREDITH and by her daughter holly via zoom and by jean Alice who is with us in spirit and

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praise that she would chide me today for what I am about to do next. So let me share a toast that I gave to her question. She's telling, you don't do this max, don't do

00:13:07.010 - 00:13:22.910

it. When she joined me for several day meeting in Annapolis Maryland. It was her 75th birthday and she was as radiant and glamorous as on the Sunday we first met so many years ago. She smiled

00:13:22.910 - 00:13:41.160

that infectious smile. And I remembered as I held up my glass to offer this toast and I'm looking in her eyes and I said, you know that I've been in love with you from our first meeting

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when you captured my heart with your radiant smile. And I had a glimpse and this is where she would get onto me. And I had a glimpse of your elegant slender ankles As she pedaled the oath

00:14:01.030 - 00:14:20.740

filled Dorian for the Child Church Service. The jail church service. She was 15 and I was 18 . We met in the church service and jean Alice was playing the organ. It was almost 20 years

00:14:20.740 - 00:14:33.180

ago that I met with Ted Wardlaw to tell him that Gene Alice and I wanted to make a pledge to create a chair and sacred music and that Gene Alice had reluctantly agreed that it could be named in

00:14:33.180 - 00:14:50.680

her for her. After a long and arduous 11 years ago, 11 years ago, I once again met with ted to deliver a check to complete the pledge? We had discussed it earlier and I knew

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that the board of trustees had very wisely decided to double the amount to create the named chair, ouch , ouch halfway there in a long way to go . So here's a letter that I sent to several

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friends that loved music of the church and that I thought might be able to help us get the second half. One of my lifelong drink goals is to have a chair and sacred music at Austin Seminary in

00:15:24.300 - 00:15:39.500

honor of Gene Alice. Presently the corpus to endow the chair is half of the amount needed. I hope you will consider helping us reach the full amount . This summer. I've been reading writings of one

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of my favorite authors, Wallace Stegner, the founder of the writing program at Stanford University. Stegner's challenge in starting that very successful program is similar to the challenge of the first holder of the chair and sacred

00:16:00.940 - 00:16:22.410

music. As you know, the analysis an accomplished musician, A pianist and organist, a wonderful accompanist . She was church organist for 20 years at First Presbyterian Church Amorello. So much of the music we

00:16:22.410 - 00:16:41.900

revered comes out of the church and in many instances from church organist who were also composers. Our dream when Jeannie and I made the pledge was that Austin Centenary might be an incubator for church musicians, some

00:16:41.900 - 00:17:03.050

of whom might have the potential to influence the music for those who will come after us here is how Stegner framed his challenge. What could I do in a provincial university 3000 miles from New York and an

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hour from San Francisco. That would help and encourage these obviously gifted people. I had the experience of Harvard Iowa in the bread loaf writers conference, as well as the example of the Hopwood Awards at the

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University of michigan to guide me and I borrowed from them all. How well he did is summarized in this quotation from the book that I'm referencing. No wonder when Richard and Elaine asked him, what is

00:17:41.320 - 00:18:12.850

it that western writers will have to do to produce a crop back on? Had to lay and ask him what is it that western writers will have to do to produce a crop of distinguished novels, stagner

00:18:12.850 - 00:18:33.900

replied, write good books. A great many of state dinner students went on to do just that. They wrote good books. Ernest gaines, Edward, Abbey, Harriet, Dore, robert stone, Tillie

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Olsen scott, mama day, Raymond carver, Judith rask or wendell berry max, apple charlotte painter, Eugene Burdick scott, turo, tom Mcguane, Pat's Elvir Evan Carnell, larry Mcmurtry jim Houston, Ed

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McLintock. Hello, Hello, Hello and stop there . The challenge for the chair for this chair and sacred music is similar because Austin is in mid America and not along the coast. The dream is that

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there might be a church musician, a window berry or larry Mcmurtry lurking lurking in some small town in texas or Kentucky gene Alice and I hope so to give birth to the potential of the gene Alice chair

00:19:42.030 - 00:20:00.050

. The corpus needs to be two or three times the size of the present endowment. The chair has the same needs that Stegner had when he started his program at stanford from scratch fellowships or scholarships to attract

00:20:00.050 - 00:20:15.920

students with significant potential and money for some visitors, musicians of distinction who could be brought to the campus for a day or a week or a term. One other note that might be this is the last

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bit from the letter. One other note that might be significant as you consider my request to breathe life into this stream jean Alice and I have recently committed to build to build out the dan garland Oregon at

00:20:38.360 - 00:20:56.580

University Presbyterian Church. Austin an organ that jerry jerry Hancock from lubbock texas, an organist and master of choristers that ST thomas church in Manhattan said was his favorite in the southwest. Jeannie chaired the committee to

00:20:56.580 - 00:21:11.410

renovate the sanctuary at U. P. C. And chose dan garland to rebuild the organ which became virtually in the Oregon. Austin Seminary has graduation ceremonies at U. P. C. So there is

00:21:11.410 - 00:21:29.080

a history of a partnership that might enhance the potential of the chair. That was the end of the letter. And just very briefly eight years ago I delivered another check to ted to fulfill the corpus requirement

00:21:29.090 - 00:21:45.360

of the chair. It's been a long road. But when I would get impatient, the Good Lord would whisper in my ear, hold on, hold on, hold on. Don't be impatient. I'm

00:21:45.360 - 00:22:22.340

located the young church musician lurking lurking in Asheville. I have, this is a Good Lord talking here . I've located a young church musician lurking in Asheville north Carolina who just might be the wall is staying

00:22:22.340 - 00:23:07.740

there. You're looking for us. So, last word and lo and behold, here we are. Harry qual. The inaugural holder of the Gene Allen Sherman share sacred music. Thank you so much max

00:23:07.740 - 00:23:22.930

for those warm and heartfelt words and thank you for naming this chair after jean Alice. It's lovely not only to have a chair in sacred music here, but to have another chair, you're named after a

00:23:22.930 - 00:23:41.930

woman, good for you. I'm here too and uh introduce someone that you know well, but I will begin this way if you serve in any capacity on this campus, whether as a student or as

00:23:41.930 - 00:24:06.430

a member of the staff or faculty and you have any outs of musical interest or ability beware at some point in your matriculation here erIC wall will come up to you with a look in his eye that says

00:24:06.440 - 00:24:23.190

, I just had an idea what if and you will be off to the races and the next thing you know, you'll be reading in chorus against the main reader or reading the lessons in spanish or canting

00:24:23.190 - 00:24:47.880

in korean in front of the entire gathered seminary on your first day as professor that is who eric Wall has been on this campus. You can read some of his biography below and I will only hit the

00:24:47.880 - 00:25:03.300

highlights. He joined the faculty of Austin's seminary a semester after I did in 2016. He is the dean of the chapel here, which has radically altered the way we think about chapel. There was a

00:25:03.300 - 00:25:18.200

time in which a faculty person was expected to do the entire worship service. The construction of a worship service now is an act of pedagogy. It's an act of mentoring of students where students get the opportunity

00:25:18.200 - 00:25:37.050

together with faculty to collaborate on what it means to bring together word and sacrament and chapel has become the most trilingual place on campus. Professor Wall earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in organ performance and the

00:25:37.050 - 00:25:53.520

master's degree in choral conducting from florida State University. He serves also as staff musician at Montreat Conference center in National Conference center of the P. C. UsA in mantra north Carolina where he spends the entire

00:25:53.520 - 00:26:11.980

summer after teaching and running chapel all year overseeing the music for summer worship, directing the summer staff choir , offering concerts and lectures and being available as a resource musician for summer events. Um He was previously

00:26:11.980 - 00:26:27.760

director at first presbyterian church in Asheville. Professor Wall just completed a term as president of the presbyterian association of musicians and continues as co chair of their D . E. I committee, he has been a

00:26:27.760 - 00:26:45.580

contributor to call to worship and to the Him society's journal him and has recently published awake and to sing introductions and accompaniments, a volume of him, introductions and accompaniments for organ, published in june by Augsburg

00:26:45.590 - 00:27:22.670

Fortress. Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you Professor eric Wall. Um y'all are very generous thanks Margaret, thanks max um to say thanks. We would have to seeing quite a few of the thanksgiving

00:27:22.670 - 00:27:40.310

hymns in these multiple hymnals in this space to approach adequacy I think for the gratitude that the occasion and the chair inspire. Um I say that partly personally um as you heard from Margaret, I've served here

00:27:40.310 - 00:27:53.990

at the seminary almost seven years, seven years, end of december. And uh and I'm so grateful for that and that's gratitude is usually of the dumbfounded variety. Um I would never have guessed being here

00:27:53.990 - 00:28:07.620

in the first place and uh but even more so I would not have anticipated the way um the work has taken shape or the ways that has changed what being a church musician even means for me or the

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rich and wondrous community of this place, that is gratitude. That's a prayer of thanksgiving on this side of heaven, gratitude goes above all to this family with us. Um Thanks for jean Alice Sherman and

00:28:22.150 - 00:28:37.740

her life of leadership and musicianship and from max Sherman whose impact on this seminary has just been profound over the years who has become a wonderful friend for mary and me and who made the chair possible, not

00:28:37.740 - 00:28:51.350

just because of his amazing institutional vision, but his love for the church and love for music and love for jean Alice. That is all personal gratitude with inadequate words. If we love music, we know

00:28:51.350 - 00:29:07.750

that words are usually inadequate. And this chair sits here because of very unusual dreams and conversations. And the way we know that they're unusual is that so few seminaries have a chair in music. I don't

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know what those conversations were like, that we've heard described, but we can be grateful for them and the people who had them again from max Sherman for ted Wardlaw for the trustees who said yes for this

00:29:19.430 - 00:29:40.670

faculty who made room at that big table over control uh, for music and for donors and supporters with this chair. The seminary makes a claim that theological education includes an art form we call music and that

00:29:40.680 - 00:29:57.400

it can prepare future pastors and anyone in the varied forms of ministry to take part in the church's music to talk to musicians. Not always an easy thing grant you to be colleagues. We are in the

00:29:57.400 - 00:30:11.790

middle of a voting week. And this chair is a vote for music. It says that music matters in this place. What does it mean to say that music matters in a place like this. A

00:30:11.790 - 00:30:27.320

theological seminary. Here are some thoughts add more in your own mind. Perhaps I think music matters because it is a gift of God and martin Luther centered his musical convictions on this before It is useful before

00:30:27.320 - 00:30:41.910

it teaches before. It equips it is a gift . It matters because it is biblical, from creation to completion. The bible is full of song and God's command. It's not a suggestion from God.

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It's a command from God, is that we take part. I think music matters here because it intersects all these other disciplines bible. Yes, but also theology, history, education, liturgy, preaching,

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pastoral care ethics, evangelism. All of these have some relationship to church music. It matters because it calls voices to life. We just did a song teaching exercise in class yesterday and students may tell you

00:31:11.330 - 00:31:26.480

that an hour before, they wouldn't have imagined doing that. And yet they did. It, seminarians are nourished and empowered in claiming their singing voices alongside their prophetic and pastoral ones as their prophetic and pastoral

00:31:26.480 - 00:31:42.350

ones so that they can help others do the same . I think music matters here because words aren't always enough. Words are everywhere in theological education, but theology and prayer take other forms as well. There

00:31:42.350 - 00:32:00.240

are sighs too deep for words laments that need sounding and mysteries that need sensing rather than defining. I think music matters because it makes us more imaginative in the pc US. A pastor's promise to serve with

00:32:00.240 - 00:32:19.840

imagination and we should cultivate a church culture. Less fearful of asking. As Margaret just reminded us what if the church needs creativity. Artistry, poetry, beauty. I think music matters because it's a way

00:32:19.840 - 00:32:35.500

that we play pun intended. I suppose we play music but we are also at play when we are participating in music which here is also participating in theology . It is joyful, inventive, curious, dia

00:32:35.500 - 00:32:52.080

, logical, full of patterns and pieces full of feeling and fun. Music is alive and I think music matters because it makes us friends. It makes us allies. It makes us community in these days

00:32:52.120 - 00:33:09.570

. We need to hear one another and we desperately need enlarged MPA these and sympathies, songs and singing . Bring us into participation with languages, sounds and people. So here sits the chair and there are

00:33:09.570 - 00:33:29.610

different ways we could think about chairs and music. Today I'm thinking of three. One way might seem really obvious the game musical chairs. I don't remember ever really liking this game. You know the game

00:33:29.610 - 00:33:37.470

you have a you have a amount of chairs and you walk around them and when the music stops, you said you take chairs away and you keep going to those one chair left and there's the winner.

00:33:37.480 - 00:33:57.020

Um, I think that is unequivocally not what this chair is because this chair is not about taking seats away. It's about adding seeds. The church musicians job is usually some form of saying, pull up

00:33:57.020 - 00:34:08.770

a chair, join the song, lend an ear raise a voice and we don't need fewer seats for the church's singing. We need more, more seats , more songs, more styles, more community.

00:34:10.370 - 00:34:21.840

Another way of thinking about chairs and music may occur to you if you've seen the current film Tar or if you've played in an orchestra or a band, the first chair, violin, the second chair,

00:34:21.840 - 00:34:37.050

trumpet and so forth. Chairs in these ensembles mean a couple of things. One is that they're the top tier players, the soloists, the audition winners . And if those chairs were only those things,

00:34:37.060 - 00:34:52.410

then I think there wouldn't be much relationship to a chair in sacred music, but these orchestra chairs are also the people who helped to shape the ensemble. The other players take their cues from the people in

00:34:52.410 - 00:35:05.610

the chairs. If you see the film Tar, you'll notice that you'll see that the people in the chairs have the communal pulse of the orchestra. They know what's going on. They're dialed into the dynamics

00:35:05.620 - 00:35:17.970

, They're responsive to people's needs, they are in the orchestra, not in front of the orchestra. And I think this chair is similar. This isn't very much though, it is sitting here now,

00:35:17.980 - 00:35:32.680

it really isn't very much about being up front or first it's about being wherever needed, inviting other voices , noticing other gifts. It's what jen, Lord says about worship preside Urz, which equally applies to

00:35:32.680 - 00:35:46.820

the church musician. The job is to see that what needs to get done gets done, which means sometimes a prominent role or a role in the front , sometimes a role on the side, sometimes a

00:35:46.820 - 00:36:02.890

role in the back but always a role that is in the community, not in front of it, but with apologies for a little preemption. The chair Image I am most drawn to perhaps is this one

00:36:04.950 - 00:36:23.920

. I think this chair is like a chair on a front porch where you sit and you swap stories . You visit with people who are coming by, you listen to the sounds around you and in that

00:36:23.920 - 00:38:25.710

warmth of community sitting there together, you may find yourself humming the heart songs. Mm hmm. Mhm mhm or mm mhm or mm and mm hmm. I think this chair exists for us to find all

00:38:25.710 - 00:38:43.910

those heart songs old and new. Near and far then and now and yet to come. My sense here at Austin Seminary just being on campus with these faculty chairs is that other people end up sitting in

00:38:43.910 - 00:38:58.480

them more than we as faculty members do. When I go into Margaret's office, I usually sit in the first presbyterian church Shreveport d thomas and professor of new testament studies chair. What am I doing in

00:38:58.480 - 00:39:17.850

a chair like that? I think the answer is it's because these chairs exist to help other people feel more at home in bible or theology or liturgical or pastoral care or hommel ethics or christian education or pastoral

00:39:17.850 - 00:39:50.080

leadership and at home in music and as the american guild of organists say in their motto, as I'm sure jean Alice knows well soli deo Gloria to the glory of God alone. Amen. I will invite

00:39:50.080 - 00:40:12.540

Professor eric wall to stand by me as we charge him into this chair, although he already sat on it eric wall. I show you in this occasion in the presence of your colleagues, your students,

00:40:12.550 - 00:40:32.110

your family and this congregation to be a model of excellence in the practice of your ministry as you use your intelligence, your imagination, your energy and your love for music and the worship of God's people,

00:40:32.120 - 00:40:52.940

for the service of christ church and its redemptive mission in the world. In doing so, remember that you share the same ministry of courageous women who once marched with tambourine in hand to lead the people in

00:40:52.940 - 00:41:14.560

joyful celebration for God's liberation. You share the same ministry of a young harpist who dare to express the sentiments of God and God's people in poetry and song . You share the ministry of Angels who eternally praised

00:41:14.560 - 00:41:36.260

the one who delivers good news of peace and joy in sharing this ministry. Be always a witness, a humble witness to the life, giving abundance of God's grace eric, we have seen the ways you

00:41:36.260 - 00:41:52.080

have faithfully carried out this ministry with enthusiasm and with a contagious spirit we know and you heard before that every time you enter into one of our offices and say, I was thinking about worship next week and

00:41:52.080 - 00:42:09.880

I have an idea, we are about to get into trouble, but it is difficult to say no . Once we understand the well thought purpose of your request eric keeps showing us the importance of us coming

00:42:09.880 - 00:42:31.040

together in the harmony of voices and the patterns of sounds as we seek to experience the mystery of the Divine among us, so that through your very pedagogy we can remember our chief and humans according to that

00:42:31.050 - 00:42:51.410

old catechism of our tradition, to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Lastly, I charge you to keep bringing your integrity, your love for the gospel, your commitment to the church and its ministry

00:42:52.120 - 00:43:10.390

, your pastoral heart, your love of music and liturgy and your appreciation for order and excellence. All of these. We need all these gifts we gratefully receive from you on behalf of the board of Trustees

00:43:10.400 - 00:46:45.670

of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. I now declare that ERic Wall sits in the Gene Alice Chairman, Chair of Sacred Music erIC. Now please officially take sit in your ca piedra be seated. Let us pray

00:46:47.990 - 00:47:07.990

glory and thanksgiving to you Almighty God. For by your word, you made all things, you called forth Beauty from chaos. You brought life into being . We join with all creation to give you praise

00:47:07.000 - 00:47:23.730

with sun and moon and shining stars with sea monsters and all deeps, fire, hail and stormy wind , mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, creeping things and flying birds, rulers of

00:47:23.730 - 00:47:45.770

the earth and all peoples young and old. We praise bless and worship you especially this day we give you thanks for the gift of song the psalmist wrote of sorrow and salvation. Your spirit sang through Hannah

00:47:45.770 - 00:48:07.760

and mary you opened the mouths of Miriam, Zechariah and Simeon to laud your saving works. We to sing of your promises. We pray that you pour out your spirit on your servant eric who with the

00:48:07.760 - 00:48:29.060

gifts of music enlivens our communal praise. Keep him attentive to your beauty, to the depth and breadth of human needs and the laments of this world and ever strengthen his ability to proclaim your truth. Bless

00:48:29.060 - 00:48:47.400

his teaching and leadership of the church's music and all the works of his heart and hands through the gift of this chair made this community continue to be gathered voice to voice binding our hearts together in love of

00:48:47.400 - 00:49:07.660

you may our part of the church's song spill forth to the ends of the earth. A sound of your righteousness and fierce love for the life of all created things. Here are these prayers of thanks and

00:49:07.660 - 00:49:24.940

supplication most Holy One for we humbly join them to the ceaseless hymns and songs of unending praise by the angelic powers and with all the saints and to you . We ascribe glory together with your christ and you're

00:49:24.950 - 00:51:19.880

all holy good and life creating spirit now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Amen. Where D I chinese? Yeah. Oh yeah,