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Q&A with Kantor Christina Roberts By Amy Bird CHRISTINA ROBERTS has served as the kantor of Our Savior Lutheran Church and School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for over two decades. Her position allows her to do the things everyone expects of a church musician: play the organ, direct choirs, teach music, and plan services. But it also means that she gets to sing kyries with preschoolers, pair preteens and senior cit- izens together in folk dances, assemble pipe organs, speak and play for other church workers, oversee instrumental lessons, compose new Psalm settings, lead a daylong hymn sing of the entire hymnal, post videos of introits on social media, edit bulletins, act as a human metronome, recite the catechism, and do a plethora of equally wonderful and diverse activities that help her neighbors sing of Christ. Q: Briefly share your journey of becoming a musi- cian and a kantor. Is this something you've always wanted to do? Did someone encourage you along the way? A: I was in my first year of teaching public school band when the music director at my congregation died from cancer. The Sunday after the funeral, her widower, along with our pastor, asked me to take on her job so the church would not be without a musi- cian. The solemnity that accompanied my career shift taught me from the beginning that in our work, we serve fellow Christians when their souls most deeply need the comfort and joy that only Christ can give. Q: What is a kantor and how does a kantor sup- port the life of the church? A: Kantors are the church's chief musicians, but really, all Christians are given the role to sing and make music to the Lord. So while kantors often pro- vide music for the church, we do so with the goal of helping the entire congregation lift their voices in proclamation and praise. Q: What's your favorite part about being a kantor? A: Nothing beats the experience of making beau- tiful, well-crafted music with others. This is especially true when the others are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and the music you are making sings forth Jesus' saving work. Those moments allow us to hear tiny sound bites of the glorious symphony of the new song we'll experience in the resurrection. Q: What formative role can hymns play in the life of the church for all ages? A: Hymns use the best of poetry and music to implant the promises of God into our entire lives. Newborns hear the strains of "God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It" (LSB 594) pealing over their wet little baptized heads. Later, their parents will lull them to sleep with the gentle melody "My loved ones, rest securely, For God this night will surely From peril guard your heads" (LSB 880:5). As the young Christian grows, he can face life's temptations by boldly singing out, "Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word" (LSB 655:1). And as this life on earth draws to a close, even our weak, 8 Lutheran Life

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