Today’s offertory anthem is a jolly piece of nostalgia. Martin Shaw, its creator, was a prolific English composer with over 300 published works. He studied with a great generation of composers that included Stanford, Holst, Vaughan Williams, and Ireland. He also had a career as a theatrical producer, composer and conductor, and was the uncle of the British actor Sebastian Shaw, who played the unmasked Darth Vader in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi.

“With a Voice of Singing” is not only a romp of a good time, but it’s one of those anthems that transports me back in time. Isn’t it funny how the senses do that? You hear a piece of music, smell a certain fragrance, or taste something, and a fond memory emerges. This anthem does that, it reminds me of “church.” I remember church being the center of life’s activity, a great place of energy, filled with families and children. The eyes of my inner child remember the stained-glass windows of our little church, with grand figures of angels and prophets. My distant memory still clings to the images of Sunday school rooms stuffed with art supplies, colored construction paper, and flannel graphs with removable, felt figures of the Old Testament – Jonah, Noah, David and Goliath.  I still remember a brightly, sunlit sanctuary of coats and ties, the well-dressed packing the pews with bowed heads, folded hands, and raised voices. I remember a time when church had robust hymn singing accompanied with pipe organs, and had choir lofts, filled with robed choristers of all ages. Do you remember those days, when there really was a voice of singing, a collective energy in the church that seems to have withered?

My elementary school band director, Mrs. Prado, wore a particular kind of perfume that I still remember. Strangely enough, I also remember that she had trouble walking in a straight line, and if you walked next to her on the sidewalk, her diagonal gait would eventually nudge you into the grass. It is funny what sticks to an immature mind! Incidentally, I eventually discovered the name of Mrs. Prado’s preferred perfume. Whilst walking past the cosmetics counter at Macy’s, some years later, I got a whiff and learned that it’s called “Red Door.”

Every time I smell “Red Door,” Julie Prado’s influence comes into my mind. She let me play the little spinet organ for our school masses, and one time she let me conduct our 5^th grade band! She gave me my first hymnal, inscribed with the words, Ryan – for your help and service. I still have that hymnal. There are so many markers of nostalgia for me. Every time I see a red door, I think of The Episcopal Church, and how grateful I am for having been introduced to its fine music and sacred liturgies. Every time I hear Martin Shaw’s “With a Voice of Singing,” I think of growing up in a bustling congregation. Every time I smell onions, green bell peppers, and celery sautéing together, I think of Anna Lee Hebert, my sweet grandmother. Those hallmark ingredients, known as “the trinity” of Cajun cuisine, warmly welcomed our noses into her kitchen, each time we came for a visit. Her love was expressed in preparing food. How did I miss that simple gesture? Now, I can’t even tell you how much I miss everything about her!

I have few regrets, but one of them is that I didn’t cherish the formative things that gave me a sense of awe, a sense of safety, a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, and a sense of being loved. But those kinds of senses are often awakened by the real senses. The five senses themselves simply serve as the window through which God whispers into your heart, inaudibly. Can you hear that voice of singing? The key is to cherish the savory nature of the present moment, and to soak in its sweet simplicities, as they shape who you are. Don’t allow the profoundness of people and experiences to only exist as fond memories. Cherish everything as it is right now – life is too short to spend time regretting that you missed it. Soli deo Gloria!