The Choir Window

THE CHOIR WINDOW

"The Lutheran Church"-(a) A Missionary Church, (b) A Confessional Church, (c) A Singing Church.

The central panel shows Christ sending out disciples: "Preach the Gospel to every Creature."

The left panel brings the outstanding scene of the quadricentennial of the Augsburg Confession: Chancellor Bayer reading the Augsburg Confession to Emperor Charles V on June 25, 1530. King Ferdinand of Austria stands at the side of the Emperor.

The other panel shows three great musicians of the Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Church is known as the singing Church, and it has reason to be proud of its musical heritage. Luther, the father of the choral, is the central figure of this group. Before Luther's day the congregation remained silent during the service. Through his endeavor the congregation again received the right to "come into His presence with singing and into His courts with praise". Not only did Luther write many chorals himself, but he also urged his friends who were musically inclined to do the same. We have thirty-seven of his hymns in our hymnal. His" A Mighty Fortress is our God", of which he composed both the words and the mu­sic has been translated into many languages. Luther is pictured with a lute in his hand, the instrument of which he was so fond. At Luther's left stands Paul Gerhardt, the Asaph of the Lutheran Church, 1607-1676, whose hymns, though composed in days of storm and distress and persecution, nevertheless breathe the wonderful comfort and courage of a trusting child of God. We have hymns by him for almost every occasion of the Church year, forty-two in all. The best known of his hymns are, "0 Bleeding Head and Wounded"  (0 Haupt voll Blut und Wunden) and "Commit Whatever Grieves Thee" (Befiehl Du Deine Wege). At Luther's right, nearest to the organ console, stands John Sebastian Bach (1685­1750), the great Lutheran organist, whose masterpieces excell in more than one respect anything that has been written for the organ since he composed those grand religious oratorios, like the Matthews Passion or the Christmas Oratorio. most of Bach's compositions were written for his own use in the St. Thomas Church and School at Leipsig, where he was organist and choir director" None of his music was given into print during his lifetime, Land only in recent years is his music being appreciated, as it deserves to be appreciated. The Lutheran Church has received a rich heritage of organ and choral music this genius of the organ. This legacy continues at Zion Lutheran Church in her various choirs and instrumental music groups that use their gifts to celebrate God's love in worship.