Singing in church stems from our Hebrew tradition, where prayer isn’t prayer unless it’s chanted. 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)
Sung Eucharist
Our principal Sunday service is a Sung Eucharist at 10:00am, with congregational hymns and a mass ordinary led by the organ and supported by the choir. On high feast days, this becomes a Choral Eucharist, featuring communion settings sung by the choir.
Choral Evensong
The SJS Choir leads Choral Evensong at 4:00pm on the first Sunday of every month. Evensong is a music-centred service comprising sung responses, psalms, canticles, and anthems. There is no Eucharist or homily/sermon at this service. *Note: Incense will be used for these services.
Join the Choir!
The SJS Choir comprises both paid and unpaid singers who, week in and week out, commit their time and talent to glorifying God in his music. A typical week involves singing psalms to Anglican chant plus an anthem during communion; most months include a choral communion setting in addition to Choral Evensong. Our repertoire spans the history of church music, from Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony through to 20th-century and contemporary choral music.
If you are interested in joining the choir, you can find out more in our Choir Prospectus and email our Director of Music to set up a brief meeting.