It might have been St. Augustine who said, “Those who sing, pray twice.”  Offering something beautiful to the glory of God is an integral part of the fullness of worship in the Episcopal Church.  For most of its history, St. John’s has been blessed by the musical offerings of a choir made up of members of the congregation.  Click here to go to a selection of the choir’s anthems in MP3 format.

The visual arts have also played a role in Christian worship throughout the Church’s history, helping to teach the faith as well as inspiring prayer and meditation among the faithful.  In the fall of 2005, as the culmination of our priest’s sabbatical, an ethereal and diverse group of saints joined the celebration of All Saints Day. While on sabbatical, Fr. Matt created a liturgical art installation of six fabric panels, with painted figures of people representing modern-day saints. They floated over the sanctuary on invisible monofilament suspended from the church’s rafters.

How Bright Their Glories The work is inspired by the words of a hymn by Isaac Watts: “Give us the wings of faith to rise within the veil, and see the saints above, how great their joys, how bright their glories be.”

Fr. Matt prepared to work on this project by studying with Nancy Chinn, an artist who has been creating work for worship settings for 30 years. Seeing her work was what inspired Fr. Matt to spend his sabbatical time creating art.

Recently, several parishioners joined with Fr. Matt in working collaboratively as the Visual Arts Choir to create a 12 foot-tall paper lantern reflecting on the life and witness of St. Francis of Assisi.  This work was used to provide a focal point for the parish’s celebration of the Feast of St. Francis.  The Visual Arts Choir will continue to create visual art offerings to enhance and support the worship of the parish.

“INSPIRE” GOSPEL CONCERT  In addition to visual arts, St. John’s has a history of presenting a variety of performing artists as well. In recent years, St. John’s has presented the North Carolina Boys Choir, an up-and-coming harpist, and a variety of gospel singers and ensembles from as far away as Hartford, CT, and Washington, DC.

“Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the LORD—be exultant before him.”
– Psalm 68:4