Holy Trinity Orthodox Church

Last month we sat down to catch up with Zach Mandell, who is serving as Holy Trinity’s Choir Director as part of a two-semester internship. Here are some excerpts.

What have you enjoyed most?
On one hand, getting to know people a little bit better… we do have a large parish so it’s been nice to get to know people better. It’s been really fun working musically with people… There is a varying level of musical training and musical knowledge so it’s been enjoyable to teach and learn how to teach… [I’ve also enjoyed] just being a part of the service [as director] and being engaged… To be at the heart of everything, of the prayers, of the Psalms—it’s just been a real blessing…That is one thing I really love about this parish. So many people in the congregation sing. They are very engaged and that is very encouraging and I think that is very important for one’s spiritual growth.

What are some of your objectives for Lent?
One thing is to work with the choir so we can conserve our voices and use our voices properly. It will be a combination of things like musical technique so that when we have all these services we make sure we aren’t overdoing things. [To help with this] I may break things up a little bit and have smaller groups do services at times. Also, this semester I really want to reach out to the congregation to get more people involved in the choir, especially when [we are entering] a time when there are so many services. I want to take this opportunity to extend a hand to the people who might be interested but haven’t come forward for whatever reason.

Why is rehearsing so important?
When you are singing, you aren’t just performing, it is a sacred office so you need to know what you are doing and be committed to what you are doing… We want to sing to the glory of God, not for entertainment… What is the center is the Eucharist and the service itself. The choir is there to lead but not be the focus of everyone’s attention. You are a part of a much larger thing happening. If you (prepare), knowing what you are doing is prayer, you are able to garner the spiritual benefits.

What is the best way to join the choir?
If you have any interest whatsoever, talk to me, talk to Deacon Alex, talk to Father John—if you have  any interest in the slightest, you are welcome. All you have to do is ask and I’ll be there. We will also have a social at the rectory on Meatfare Sunday (February 23) at 6 p.m. for all current and prospective singers.

This internship is an experiment for the parish. Would you recommend the parish doing this again in the future?
It’s been very good for me and my perception is that it has been good for the choir. When you have an internship you know you are going to do things differently than they used to be, and if you do it again, that person is also going to do things differently. I think that is an important thing for a choir as well. A little bit of change is a good thing within context.

by Fr. Basil Biberdorf

February 2 marks a confluence of special events this year: the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple, Groundhog Day, and Super Bowl Sunday. This particular year brings with it the surprise—and perhaps the disappointment—of hearing the reading of the Gospel telling us about that short tax collector, Zacchaeus, and his climbing of the tree. The very next Sunday will begin the three pre-Lenten weeks.

The problem with pre-Lent for most of us is that it makes us think of Great Lent itself, and particularly of the deprivations of the season. As a result, a common attitude toward the pre-Lenten weeks is one of “indulge now, for tomorrow we can’t.”

The Orthodox Lenten journey officially starts several weeks before “Clean Monday” with the Publican and Pharisee parable found in the Gospel of St. Luke. The pharisee, who looked down on the publican, felt justified because of he kept the law and external religious observances, but it was the publican’s humility and repentance which  led to his salvation. Repentance is the door through which Orthodox enter the lenten season (image courtesy of oca.org).

And, so, during the fast-free week of the Publican and the Pharisee (February 9-15), the temptation is to eat as much as we can, gratifying each desire for food, whether steaks, burgers, desserts, eggs, or cheeses. The fast-free Wednesday and Friday provide merely more opportunities to enjoy. The week of the Prodigal Son (February 16-22) brings us back to a regular schedule, with abstinence from meat and dairy on Wednesday and Friday, and our desire to make full use of the non-fasting days therein.

The undercurrent in all of these perspectives is that Lent is a time of deprivation, and, therefore, we must indulge our desires, satiate our bellies, and, indeed, distract ourselves from the difficult reality we need to face. This is a reality that is being held up before our faces in these pre-Lenten Sundays.

We have the image of the Publican and the Pharisee, which gives us the picture of forgiveness of the repentant sinner, and the failure of the attempt to become self-righteous before God. We have the Prodigal Son, which shows us not just the value of repentance, but indeed the expanse of the Father’s love and forgiveness toward the one who did not deserve it. We have the Last Judgment, which reminds us of our callousness, along with the fact that our insensitivity to those who bear Christ’s image will result in God’s denial of us at the Judgment. We have Forgiveness Sunday, and the recollection that without forgiveness, we will not be forgiven.

Our perspective changes if we think carefully about these pre-Lenten themes. If we contemplate these days, our thoughts move away from the idea that we must indulge as a defense against deprivation. Rather, we come to learn that we prepare in these pre-Lenten weeks for an arduous task. We develop the sincere desire that our hardened hearts not receive what they so clearly deserve: separation from God, and the torment of hell.

Lent in such a view comes to be not a time of deprivation, but an entire season of renewal and even comfort. In those transitional weeks between Zacchaeus and Forgiveness Vespers, we have the opportunity to cultivate our minds in the desire for God and a love for our brethren that is not conditioned on what they can give us in return. We  have the opportunity to clean house by removing the temptation to the rich food and general laziness that too often distracts us from the tragic state of our souls. We can use these pre-Lenten weeks to guide ourselves in prayer, so that when the Lenten effort (and Lenten blessings!) begin, we are ready to participate fully, having set aside all earthly cares.

If our time in the pre-Lenten weeks is spent thinking upon what we’ll miss in the season to come, we will find ourselves burdened unnecessarily. Let us think instead upon Christ, and the Cross that awaits him, and embark on that journey, eager to receive every word he gives, never balking when those words interfere with our own plans for our lives. Let us turn instead to the prayer he gives us: “Thy will be done.”

May these weeks of preparation be filled with joy (and even food) at the prospect of growing in love for Christ and the salvation that exists only in him.