There were giants who were formed by faithful catechesis, faithful worship, faithful preaching, and faithful inspiration. I knew some of them well enough to call by first name. Ralph was one but only one of so many. It was a profound moment in the history of Missouri when excellent teachers and musicians graced our parishes, colleges, and publishing house with excellence. How sad it is that church music programs either disappeared or were left a shadow of their former selves. Bronxville had dispensed with its own church music programs and organ instruction long before its demise. I do not blame the administrators but we must acknowledge that something has happened along the way. It is not merely a shortage of money and I do not believe it is a shortage of talent. Could it be that we have lost our way as congregations and a church body? Do we value as highly the lively interchange of Word and music that marked the character of church life a few generations ago or so? Do we encourage the cultivation of music within the congregation's life and worship or view it as a non-essential budget line? Do we laud the talents of those still among us whose gifts of word and song continue the faithful tradition in which Doc Schultz once stood?
Many years ago in the little parish I served in the Catskills of NY not far from the Hudson, we ventured forth to sponsor annual church music seminars for other church musicians and choir members throughout our area (not just Lutheran). Doc Schultz led several of those choir workshops along with the likes of Gerry Coleman and others. We had many folks show up for those. Would they now? Has our love for good church music been replaced by the playlist from the local evangelical Christian radio station? I find a sadness not because there is a shortage of wonderful people with great talent and ability but that the Church of Pachelbel, Bach, Walther, and so many others seems to have lost its heart for their music and so has no attention left to give those who follow in their line. It has been the greatest of joys in my ministry to have known wonderful parish musicians of great ability and dedication -- Pamela Slater, Rocky Craft, and now Jonathan and Katie Rudy. What wonderful gifts to be recognized and cherished. They are worthy of our respect, appreciation, and support (not in the least financial!) for they are great partners in the ministry of the Gospel.
2 comments:
The disappearance of church music programs could have been The disappearance of church music programs could have been predicted when the Missouri Synod's financial support for its Concordia schools dropped, and the schools were forced to support themselves by competing with secular colleges for students (and their tuition) who were largely nonLutheran.
The programs needed to attract these students were non-religious (e.g., nursing, business). Music and pre-sem departments had fewer and fewer (Lutheran) students. Eventually, some Concordias, like Bronxville, had to make a choice of using their limited funds to grow programs that were attracting more (nonLutheran) students or to support the decreasing number of church worker undergraduates (e.g., 2015-16: https://web.archive.org/web/20180604142834im_/https://steadfastlutherans.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Chart12.png)
Many years ago my husband was a student at Bronxville and helped with the lighting crew when Dr. Schultz had choral concerts. When he started it was an unpaid position but Dr. Schultz was able to make it into a paid position. My husband was even invited for dinner at the Schultz home. Such a kind and generous man.
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