Guest Contributor: Karl Bruhn
At the church where I have played (and directed) for the past 15+ years, I felt the need to “do something” this past year (plus)—since the covid pandemic had struck. As with probably all of you, our worship services were cancelled. No one knew what was ahead of us. After a few weeks an idea popped into my mind—on one of those sleepless nights. What would happen if I presented short weekly video organ programs primarily aimed at the Seniors from our church? The folks at home could view the programs on the church’s web site, and feel “connected” with our church and our music.
The plans developed quickly, and we were off and running. Eventually we “did” 56 such programs called, “Music of Hope and Comfort.” The “we” means I invited several others to help with the playing—after going it alone” for the first couple of weeks. I had no idea what would happen, but it seemed that week by week our viewership continued to grow. The “word” about the program spread among our congregation (not just Seniors) and beyond.
Every week we had a different “theme” for the day. Almost all the programs were based on hymn melodies. Topics we covered included:
“Peace,” “Faith,” “Trust,” “Morning Hymns,” “Evening Hymns,” “Invitation Hymns” (that included the word “Come” in the text),” Hymns with the texts written by women poets,” “Easter Hymns,” “Hymns with texts by Martin Luther,” “Hymns translated into English by Catherine Winkworth,” “Hymns written by Carl Schalk” (the week after he passed away), “Hymns with a Welsh Hymn Tune,” “Children’s Hymns,” etc. A lot of different topics—56 in all.
We recorded our program—of about 30-35 minutes—each Wednesday at 11 am, and then two retired engineers (from our congregation) who were our videographers and are tech geeks (!) would edit our program (“get rid of the dead time” between pieces), and they would have it up on our church’s website by the following morning, and also on YouTube.
I would write the script each week, and tell about the hymn’s history. (I am a retired history teacher). Several other organists joined in the playing including Paul Frese, the previous organist at St. Johns (and a fellow AGO member).
We had a wide range of how many people watched the program from week to week. (I think our “peak” was around 300.) Weekly I would get comments/e-mails from out-of-state folks in Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, etc., and even as far away as Florida. (One fellow who watched weekly is an organ builder.)
As the pandemic was winding down this Spring we decided to take a summer break. (I was worn out!). These weekly programs with practice time, and time to research and write the script would take 12 (or more) hours a week—and I am only part-time at the church.
Anyway, it seemed to “fill a niche” with our congregation and friends. With the recent resurgence of covid (the “delta” version this time) we might re-start the program; or maybe it will just remain a good memory.
If you would like a list of our 56 topics, I would be glad to send it to you. If you want to watch a program or two, just check it out at: “Music of hope and comfort” on the internet. If you have any questions, I would be glad to respond to any and all. This is/was a different kind of music ministry that was well received by our congregation—and particularly the Seniors.
Best,
Karl Bruhn
St. John’s Lutheran
Lombard, Illinois
karl.bruhn.ago@gmail.com