On Sunday September 11 we re-gather for the coming year. We renew contact with friends and pew mates, with church school classmates and teachers, with choir members and many others we encounter less often over the summer. It is good to re-gather. Just as it is good to let the fields lay fallow at the appropriate time in the life of a farm, it is important to plan your crops and work the soil.

One of my favorite aspects of worship planning is selecting music for the sacrament of communion. The music needs to set a mood and encourage contemplation, but it should not call too much attention to itself. An added difficulty is that the time required for passing out the elements varies somewhat, so pieces usually need to be either extended or finished up early. Many organists solve this timing problem by improvising during communion services, creating effective and often elaborate pieces on the spur of the moment.