By Osifuye Samuel Olamide
The auditorium of Christ Apostolic Church General Headquarters, Ebute-Elefun, Lagos State was filled to capacity as the Akinyele Regional Musical Department held her annual conference with the theme "The Choir And Clergy: Striking A Balance For Effective Worship" on Saturday 17th February 2024.
In his welcome address, the Regional Choir Master, Elder Bidemi Oyesanya (SAN), appreciated the leadership of Christ Apostolic Church at the National and Regional levels for their support at all times.
He said the Choir Department is so blessed in that the President of the church, Pastor S.O Oladele, and the Finance Director who doubles as the guest speaker at the program, Pastor J. F. Omitinde, were members of the choir and also organists before becoming ministers and Principal Officers of the church.
According to him, the attendance at the program greatly exceeded the expectation of the planning committee, adding that the members of the choir are people ready to learn and to serve God with their talents and skills.
In his words, "the theme of the program was necessitated by the various reports gotten from time to time from some choir masters who appears to have no cordial relationship with their pastors and minister-in-charge to the extent that it sometimes affects the growth and development of the choir. It takes a lot of sacrifice and years of effort to build a good choir. It is therefore a great tragedy when a choir that has taken years to build suddenly disintegrates because there is no understanding between the minister-in-charge and the choirmaster, and the choristers."
He concluded that "The pastor of an assembly is called a 'minister-in-charge' because in the true sense of the word, he is in charge of all the departments of the assembly. The earlier the choir master and the choristers realize that, the better for everybody. So the choirmaster and the choristers must always defer to him. After all, Romans 13 vs. 1 says, 'let all souls be subject to the governing authority for their authority is of God’. The minister-in-charge cannot function in isolation; He needs the support of his subordinates to succeed. With particular respect to the choir, he needs to be understanding and patient for two reasons; the choir is a specialized group, in that it comprises persons who have special talents and are trained in the art of singing. The more trained choristers a church has, the more blessed that church will be. Such a group should be encouraged to keep improving the skills and of course, in the knowledge of God.”
While delivering his welcome address, the Superintendent, CAC Akinyele Region, Pastor S.A Adedayo who was ably represented by the Secretary, Akinyele Region, Pastor E.O.O Oyedeji emphasized that the theme is "necessary in our church today because of the gradual loss of synergy between the ministers and the choristers in leading the congregation to quality worship."
He further said “when the choir is used to its fullest potential in support of the pastoral ministry, only then does the Kingdom gains.”
According to the clergy, “the choir is responsible for more than making music. It has the potential of being the dynamo of spiritual energy in the worship life of the church. Striking a balance for effective worship involves creating an environment that fosters a meaningful and spiritually enriching experience.”
Pastor Adedayo further said “a choir must promote mindfulness through prayer and meditation, must foster an inclusive environment that welcomes people of diverse background, belief, and experience; incorporate various worship styles and cultural elements to appeal to the broader audience; must liaise with the clergy to select appropriate hymns, anthems, and other musical elements that align with the focus of the service.”
Speaking to the ministers, he said, “the ministers must be able to work closely with the choirmaster to align sermon themes with musical selections, creating a soulful worship experience; ministers must ensure that the choir’s contributions align with the church’s tenets of faith; must recognize and openly express appreciation for the choir’s contributions to the worship service; must encourage the inclusion of diverse musical genres and cultural expressions in collaboration with the choir.”
Also addressing the conference participants, the Music Director of Christ Apostolic Church Nigeria and Overseas, Pastor Tope Dada, expressed a deep appreciation for the love and unity displayed among all choirs within the Akinyele Region and Lagos State as a whole.
He admonished all conferees to ensure they unlearn and re-learn, share knowledge with others, and build relationships with fellow choristers and instructors.
With a spiritually and musically charged atmosphere, the Guest Speaker for the event, Pastor J. F. Omitinde and delivered his lecture on the theme of the conference.
Pastor Omitinde said “the choir and the clergy are the principal actors in the art of effective worship. Praise is to eulogize God; worship is to honor and show reference for God. The first thing we are meant to do in a service is to worship God. We are to worship Him for being our God.”
He furthered that “the second thing we do in a service is to pray. We tender our supplications to God through prayers. While the third thing we do in a service is to listen to God speak to us through the message by the clergy.
In his etymology of the word "choir, the CAC Finance Director explained that "Choir is described as a musical ensemble of singers; an organized group of singers, especially singing in church services," stating that the word comes from the Latin word ‘chorus' which itself came from Greek name for a group of singers and dancers.
“If worship will be effective, the choir has more than 90% role to play. The choir must motivate itself to lead and enlivens congregational singing,” he said.
While defining the operations of the clergy, he said that, “the clergy are responsible for leading people in worship offering with them a spiritual sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. One thing the Choir needs to know is the leadership role on the shoulder of the clergy. In 2 Chronicle 5:11, it was revealed the priest came out of the Holy place, then the choir perform. This indicates that the priests are in the leadership position in worship. The choir needs to recognize this and give them the honour.”
In striking the balance between the choir and the clergy, Pastor Omitinde said there must be mutual respect.
"The choir must recognize and respect the fact that the clergy is the spiritual head of the church and he leads the service, while the clergy must also recognize the fact that the choir is also the music minister that put incense into the sacrifice of praise the congregation offers. The clergy or the pastorate should take the choir as partners in progress."
According to him, “clergy should see the music as a course, a profession people went to higher institution and trained for, and a career on which people earn their living just like the clergy went to theological seminary to train and earn his living.”
On hymns and anthem selection in the church, Pastor Omitinde said “in our church; Christ Apostolic Church, the usual clergy's reaction is that, it is the Spirit that directs, so the topic or bible passage of the sermon cannot be released in advance to allow the choir select and rehearse the right hymn/song that matches the sermon”.
Another highlight of the conference was the workshop session where conferees were grouped into different categories based on their interests. The categories were ‘the use of organ and its registration’, anchored by the organist of The Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos State, Mr. Jola Adeosun; ‘the use of choir library’, anchored by Deacon Kayode Abolarin; ‘sound system operation’ anchored by Mr. Olusola Michael Ajayi; and ‘educating talented young stars on how to discover their talent’, which was anchored by Mrs. Itunu Olufemi and the Music Secretary of Christ Apostolic Church Nigeria and Overseas, Evangelist Elisha Igbokwe.
Adding to the beauty of the program was the presentation of statement of result and gifts to three individuals who performed excellently at a grade-3 musical examination conducted by the Music Society of Nigeria.
Brother Moses Toluwanimi Aremu who scored 96% was the overall best student in Nigeria; Oluwadamilola Favour Awofodu scored 90%, while Ayoola Samuel Majekodunmi scored 82%. These music students were trained by the erudite music instructor, Pastor Timi Ajayi under the umbrella of C.A.C Akinyele Regional Music School.
Some notable dignitaries at the program were the Finance Director of CAC Nigeria & Overseas, Pastor J.F Omitinde; Secretary, Akinyele Region, Pastor E.O.O Oyedeji; Music Director C.A.C Nigeria & Overseas, Pastor Tope Dada; Deputy Music Director of CAC Nigeria & Overseas, Pastor Paul Bankole; Akinyele Regional Choir Master, Elder Bidemi Oyesanya; Assistant Regional Choir Master, Akinyele Region, Elder Sesan Taiwo; Pastor Rotimi Oluseye; Pastor Falobi-Jesulowo; an Erudite Music Instructor, Pastor Timi Ajayi; C.S.P Adedeji; Pearce Regional Choir Master, Elder Charles Amudipe; among many others.
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