Part of the fantastic atmosphere in Night Church is created by a wide variety of musicians who come to play for us. Some are individuals while others come in small groups, but what they all have in common is a huge amount of talent. We are so very grateful for them giving up their time to come and play.
In April we had some really amazing music, I would happily have paid to listen to it. We had violins, trumpets, flautist, guitars, vocalists...it was brilliant. One visitor arrived in Night Church saying that someone in a nearby bar has told them to pop in because there were some really good live sets happening. That's a great recommendation and a really big compliment to our musicians.
The Bible talks a lot about music and songs. Music is such a wonderful part of the world God made and it can speak to us in ways that are very special. At Night Church a man came in and listened to the music for quite a long time. As he left, our door staff noticed that he was quite upset and invited him back in to chat with someone. It took quite a while for him to say anything but he gradually shared how his dad was dying and how impossible he found it to accept the situation. We chatted for a long time and I encouraged him to read the Psalms which have examples of people crying out to God in times of desperate struggle and need. Of course some of those Psalms were oringinally songs of praise or lament, reminding me that music can span such a wide range of emotions and speak to our very souls. Beethoven said that 'music is a higher revelation than philosophy' and Leonard Bernstein comments that 'music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable'. In Night Church I see how music can connect people to God and speak to them in ways that simple spoken words alone can't - that music can indeed name the unnameable.
