Sunday, 15th September, was observed as Choir Sunday, with members of the Church Choir leading various parts of the worship service. The theme for the day was "Songs of Reflection and Renewal".
The sermon was delivered by our Church Choir member Mrs. Ribcy Shibu, based on Ephesians 4:17, "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking." She talked about the importance of singing meaningfully in the presence of God. This means examination of our speech and thoughts, whether it is acceptable to God. God expects us to lead careful lives wthout being carried away by the distractions of the world. Christ is our example for this, as mentioned in Eph. 4:20-21, "That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus." Quoting her personal experience of God's healing, the speaker mentioned that Choir Sunday is an occasion to remember that God never leaves us in our darkest times and that we can experience his presence in our hearts through joyful singing.
The rededication of all the choir members was held at the beginning of the service. The choir also rendered a special song, "The New Song" written and composed by Jesse Randal Baxter Jr. and Christopher C. Stafford respectively, based on Rev. 15:3-4 ("And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:...") and 14:3 ("...and they sing a new song before the throne..."). The hymn tells of our hope, as mortals who sing praises to God on this earth, that one day we will stand before the throne of God and listen to a new song of the angelic choir, which we haven't heard before.
A short function followed, to release the selected logo from the Golden Jubilee logo competition of the Choir. Mr. Sam Kurian (Choir Joint secretary) compered the function. While displaying all the 19 entries received for the choir’s logo competition, the choir sang the prayer song, “Lord bless our music and each listening ear, Lord bless our voices, keep our hearts in tune” and the selected logo was presented to Achen by Elizabeth Kuruvilla (Alice aunty),George Kuruvilla (Sunoj) and Sanuja Elizabeth George representing three generations of our choir. They together unveiled the selected logo and Achen announced the winner as Krupa Sara Thomas.
Rev. Raju Jacob, led the Holy Communion Service.
Photo gallery : https://www.csidubai.com/gallery/68/choir-sunday-2024
Special song video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTSOvhpsxc4
Sermon Audio : https://www.csidubai.com/sermons