By Bryan Anderson, Director of Music Last Sunday at St. Thomas, we sang and read Psalm 42, “Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God.” Such expressions, comparing the need for God’s presence to physical needs, are common throughout Scripture. Another that comes to mind is Psalm 84: “My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.” Whenever I read these sentiments, I am reminded of my grandfather, who, in advancing stages of ALS, and home-bound for some time, was asked by visiting family members if he wanted to be taken to church. His response, typed on a keyboard, as he could no longer speak, was: “I am hungry for church!” I wonder how many of us have ever found in ourselves such a “desire and longing” to engage in public worship. It is so easy to blame our rare appearances at worship on our schedules or our fatigue; at St. Thomas it is easy to rationalize…
