Dear CCPC Family,

"You turned my wailing into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever."
-Psalm 30:11-12

On Sunday, August 26, the day we celebrated in worship the installation of our new Associate Pastor for Youth and Families, Jeremy Wilhelmi, the Sanctuary Choir's anthem was "Sing and Be Not Silent."  It paraphrased verses from Psalm 30, "... sing to the Lord and be not silent; sing to the Lord and glorify.  Sing to the Lord, all you His people, sing to the Lord, O Most High."  This coming Sunday, the Sanctuary Choir's anthem will be "My Heart Is Steadfast, O God."  It too uses some of Psalm 30 in its text, "O my heart must sing to You and be not silent." This psalm -- this song of King David written for the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem -- tells beautifully of God's steadfast love for us.  It also tells what our response to Him should be.   

On Heritage Sunday, our sanctuary was chock-full and the congregation was gloriously singing God's praises. This is what we were created for -- to worship God -- not to sit in pews and 'watch' or 'listen' to what is happening.  We were meant to be actively and experientially worshiping the living God, and 'BE NOT SILENT.'  It is often easy to express our joy for the Lord in a crowd, and conversely, not so easy to sing to Him as one or two or three.  But that is His wish for us... to raise our voices with whatever ability has been given us. The psalms do NOT say to us, 'sing to the Lord only if you are a trained singer or have a degree in music.'  No, it is His pleasure that we ALL make a joyful noise in whatever way we can... that we ALL sing to Him and be not silent!  

O Lord, may we always be worshiping You in spirit and truth,
that our lives and lips may sing to You and be not silent. Amen.

David Hays
Director of Music Ministries