The sound track of faith always matters, but never more so than during the period between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. This month expresses through music much of what we hold to be true.

“We gather together” — the fundamental action of faith — and we do so “to sing the Lord’s blessing,” not to argue or worry about the institution.

“Come, ye thankful people, come” — we are different, we have different attainments, we receive different benefits, but we are all called to be thankful, to “raise the song of harvest home,” because in the end, we cannot save ourselves, we depend entirely on God who gives us land, seed, water and sunshine.

These are just two examples of a sound track that speaks volumes. The closer we get to Christmas, the more we yearn to sing about a birth, a baby, joy come down, angels singing gloriously. We want to hold candles and sing, kneel and sing, and go out into the night singing.

Of all the best practices that I could lay before you, none is more important than this best practice: let the people sing. Let them sing hymns ancient and modern, no matter how much Christmas has been co-opted by commerce. In singing, believers do indeed climb a stairway to God.

When the people sing, they hear their need for “joy,” for a “silent night” when God’s gentle presence drives the shadows away. They will keep singing, and now voice confidence in a presence that will “overcome” the darkness, a “precious savior” who will “walk” with them, a “friend” who will “abide” with them, whose “blood” and “everlasting arms” carry them through the night. “Help of the helpless, O abide with me,” a Scottish star sang at the London Olympics, and a nation torn by warfare understood the hope.

I once thought that this deeply emotional season was about liturgy and my preaching. Then I listened one Sunday as people were filing up for communion, and the music minister just began playing a song from his Baptist tradition. Without any books or prompting, they began singing along. He had tapped into the sound track of their faith.

Soon the entire church was filled with singing. The answer came through, “The circle will be unbroken,” in that “great bye and bye,” when we “gather at the river” of God’s choosing and take a “closer walk” with Jesus.

I think Christians learn to sing — and to love singing — during this month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. My counsel to church leaders, then, is this: let the people sing. Let them sing their faith and their yearning.

About the Author

Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the publisher of Fresh Day online magazine, author of On a Journey and two national newspaper columns. His website is Church Wellness – Morning Walk Media