While there are not too many things that I miss about Goshen, one would be the community/congregational singing. Regardless of your theological bent, there is something special about 1000+ folks singing a cappella in multiple-part harmony. Here is a clip of a favorite hymn sung at the Sauder Music Hall on the campus of Goshen College - best if played through good speakers or earphones. Lyrics provided below for sing-along!
Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father, thy child may I be
Thou in me dwelling and I one with Thee
Be Thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight;
Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, oh power of my power
Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart
High king of heaven my treasure Thou art
High king of heaven, when victory is won
May I reach heaven's joys, oh bright heaven sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, oh ruler of all
Doug,
ReplyDeleteI heard the singing with amazement in the YouTube clip in your blog.
Was that a bunch of choirs there for a contest or some such or was it
a bunch of people from the community around there?
The mere ( well... "mere", I said :-) ) fact that they all kept time
and tune makes me think it couldn't have been a bunch of people off
the street, given what you hear when your typical group of wait people
in restaurants get together to sing Happy Birthday to a customer or
even in a typical church on Sunday morning.
If it was, then there is something very different going on in Goshen.
Mark
Mark - the audience is not a bunch of choirs, but rather is pretty much just people off of the street :-) But, with the Mennonite tradition of four-part a capella singing, the local folks do pretty well when invited to sing along. Bill Crofut made an album of his Goshen concert, I think because he enjoyed singing along with the audience.
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