Dear New Philadelphia Family,

“Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.” Psalm 66: 1,2

This watchword for the week that begins this Sunday is extremely appropriate as we will be celebrating Moravian Music Sunday during our 10:00 live-stream service. All the music in our service will be written by Moravian hymn writers and composers or performed by Moravian musicians and singers. Our service will be all about making a joyful noise to God.

We celebrate Moravian Music Sunday every spring as we thank God for the rich musical heritage of the Moravian church over the past 500 years. Our Moravian ancestors have shown us how to make that joyful noise to God for many generations.

Yet this year is different. Everything this year is different. As we continue to deal with the impact and effects of the COVID 19 virus, as we watch the number of people infected rise, as we see the death count increase day after day, as we mourn with those who have lost so much- family members, friends, jobs, graduation ceremonies- as we ourselves mourn our own losses, the loss of the lives we once knew, it is hard to “make a joyful noise” to God or to anyone or anything else. We can’t make a joyful noise when we aren’t feeling joy.

For this year’s Moravian Music Sunday, instead of focusing on making a joyful noise to God, let us listen to the joyful noise that God is making for us. Let us listen for God speaking to us in the midst of our sorrow, our grief, our loss. Let us listen for God to tell us that he is with us, he is wiping away our tears, he is comforting us in our grief, and he is loving us through our loss. Let us listen to the joyful sound of our God who assures us that he will never leave us or forsake us.

Pastor Joe