Contemporary Music and Worship

The best music is any genre of music that draws us nearer to God. Music has a way of opening the heart in a moment. People can give us all sorts of advice, preach excellent sermons and give us amazing teachings, but sometimes all we need is a song, a chord, a particular lyric, and the Spirit of God takes that and uses music to touch us in profound ways. I'll never forget the night I attended a local church concert in Linlithgow, Scotland. I had newly graduated from seminary and was waiting for a call from my bishop here in the USA. The months passed, and I thought that perhaps I'd never get back to the USA. Maybe my desire to be in America was not God's plan for me. I was discouraged, downhearted, and at a loss what my next step should be. A friend called me and invited me to a concert at a local church. The singer walked on stage, sat by the keyboard, and began to play. The words and melody of the song spoke directly to my discouragement. Days later, I was still basking in the strengthening presence of God. It was the most transformative spiritual experience I've had. From that day on, I realized how powerful music is in worship. God uses music to communicate with us. Music inspires us, comforts us, and gives us a way to express ourselves. Songs of joy, lament, praise, affirmation, confession, and love all help us give voice to the varied and ever-changing landscape of the heart.

We enjoy a wide range of music here at St Luke's. Most of the songs are accompanied by piano and guitar, while the more traditional hymns are accompanied by organ or piano.

We find our music from many sources from Wild Goose Publications, Iona Abbey, Scotland,  to Hillsong Music Australia, from the Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship to Bethel Music here in California.  We are fortunate to have a highly accomplished composer on the staff of St Lukes, Dr Ann Callaway. Ann accompanies us on a weekly basis in worship.  She arranges, composes and we haven’t found anything she can’t play! You can access Ann’s web site here annmariecallaway.com. Take a look at the Contemporary Classical Page for more information.