Come As You Are, Leave Uplifted.
   
   

We at St. John’s, Shaughnessy, are committed to the excellence of music in our liturgical life. Even in an increasingly secular society, humans long to see and feel the presence of the divine. We believe that excellence in music can help us experience a narrowing of the gap between the imminent and the transcendent, bringing us closer to God. Such experiences of the beauty of holiness in our worship life not only refresh us as worshippers, but also inspire us to carry out God’s mission in our daily lives.

Our auditioned choir sings music from early polyphony to contemporary compositions, in the Anglican cathedral tradition. The choir supports the 10am Eucharist, and regularly sings evensong and at special services.

Why is congregational singing such an integral part of our worship?

Singing in church stems from our Hebrew tradition, which says that a prayer isn’t a prayer unless it’s intoned. This tradition was adopted into the early church and thus continues in our present liturgy. There are over 200 scriptural references to music, such as:

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart(Ephesians 5:19)

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!”(Psalm 150:1-6)

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name(Hebrews 13:15)

Music serves as the ultimate medium to unite everyone in corporate worship. Hymns give expression to our praises and confessions, and assist us in reflecting on the Scripture readings of the day as well as the liturgical season. St. John’s is one of few Anglican churches that not only has Common Praise hymnals in every pew, but also provides an all-inclusive service leaflet, encouraging singing in harmony by those who are musically inclined.

Our Organ

The pipe organ has served as the primary instrument for leading worship in the Anglican tradition for the past several hundred years. When the present doors of St. John’s Memorial first opened at Granville/Nanton in 1949, a used three manual Estey reed organ was brought up from the United States. In 1967, a $120,000 contract was awarded to Hallman Organ Company of Ontario to build the current fine organ. It has a four manual moveable console, with the great, an unusual divided swell with two swell boxes, and the positiv high on the north wall above the transept, plus a gallery division with copper State Trumpet and gallery console.