ELCA Glocal Musicians bring song to the assembly

“Como busca la cierva corrientes de agua, asi mi Alma te busca a ti, Dios mio.”
“As the deer seeks after streams of water, so my soul seeks after you, my God.”
–Psalm 41:2

As the 2018 NC Synod Assembly opened in worship, the ELCA Glocal Musicians led God’s people in this beautiful refrain of Psalm 41. It was an auditory expression of the theme for this year’s assembly of “We are church for the sake of the world.”

The Glocal Musicians (“glocal” combines global and local) are an expression the ELCA’s Global Mission. This ecumenical group represents different cultures, backgrounds, and traditions. They seek to bring the global church to the congregations and synods in the ELCA. The Glocal Musicians sing hymns and songs from around the world, in different languages, with drums and other uplifting rhythm instruments. In their music ministry, they desire to make global music more accessible, and encourage congregations to incorporate the church’s song into their worship life.

Over the course of Friday and Saturday, the assembly will worship, learn, and gather to do the business of the NC Synod. Throughout our time together, we will be blessed by the voices of the Glocal Musicians, showing us a fuller view of God and God’s Church. Through God’s gift of music, they will remind us of the diversity of God’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, and how we are called to be church, together, for the sake of the world.

Story: Deacon Katie Rivers is the Director of Discipleship and Faith Formation at St. Mark’s, Asheville.
Photo: Pastor Thomas Nelson is a retired pastor living in Raleigh.