Grace Lutheran Church marks milestone with concert event

The thing about anniversaries is that they just keep on coming.

And after about 500 years or so of paper, cotton and leather, a person has to start thinking outside of the box.

In celebration of yet another milestone for the Protestant Reformation, the folks at Grace Lutheran Church are turning to music — that old reliable standby that bridges the generations, cultures and now apparently different branches of the Christian church.

“To reformers, music was a very important part of worship but in very different ways,” said Laurel Sanders, the church’s worship and music coordinator.

“Faith Proclaimed Through Song: 500 Years of Reformation, Renewal and Reconciliation” will use guest speakers, visiting musicians and the occasional psalm to underline the common threads that unite people of different beliefs.

Of course, that all starts with getting them under the same roof — preferably the one belonging to Grace Lutheran at 4 p.m. on April 12 — where performers from Centre Region Ecumenical Choir, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Choir and the Penn State Oriana Singers will already be waiting.

The event is free and open to the public, including people of any faith and music lovers alike.

“Everybody should be welcomed to make music with other people,” Sanders said.

Grace Lutheran has hosted a variety of different ecumenical events over the past six or seven years, but this one is being funded by a national grant from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

The ELCA was specifically focused on initiatives that would facilitate opportunities to build partnerships with outside organizations, a chance to celebrate unity just as much as five centuries of reformation.

Fortunately, music is known for its ensembles.

Speakers like Mark Oldenburg, of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, at Gettysburg or Lou Ann Shafer, director of the Nittany Valley Children’s Choir, will take care of the discussion portion of the evening.

The Bells of Grace and Centre Brass will help cover the performance end of the proceedings.

Sanders hopes that Faith Proclaimed Through Song will help people of different beliefs realize how much they actually have in common.

“I just believe if we focus on the positive we can take tiny steps toward unity and peace,” Sanders said.

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Grace Lutheran Church marks milestone with concert event."