St. Philip Presbyterian Church presents ‘Ars

St. Philip Presbyterian Church Honors Virgin Mary with music (Photo by Jon Tyson from Pexels)

The St. Philip Presbyterian Church hosted the Ars Lyrica Houston’s ‘A Marian Feast’ concert.

A Marian Feast

According to 365 Houston, the concert is set for 7:30 P.M., Tuesday, December 13 at the church premises. The concert explores the significance and influence of the Virgin Mary when it comes to music, from medieval to contemporary. This includes carols and anthems, with the ‘main course’ of the event being Claudio Monteverdi's 1610 setting of the Magnificat for six voices and continuo.

On the page of Ars Lyrica, it says that the concert features Julia Fox, Alexandta Gorman, Michael Skarke, and Kyle Stegall, among others. There’s also musical accompaniment by Mario Aschauer on the organ.

The concert tickets at $40 and up.

Philip Presbyterian Church

On the church page, it says that the church is a congregation of followers of Jesus Christ that seek to create an ‘inclusive, grace-filled community engaging the world with open minds, willing hands, and generous hearts.’ It is a member church of the Presbyterian Church – USA or PC (USA) and as such, it says that it seeks to advance the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ in the church.

It is also a member church of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians and More Light.

The church itself is led by ‘The Session’ as its spiritual oversight. This organization is made up of elected ordained and installed Ruling Elders and Teaching Elders who take part in leading the congregation when it comes to ministry and discipleship. The electorate body is ordained and installed every year, traditionally every January.

Within The Session, there are committees that are in charge of different undertakings such as education, fellowship, finance, and mission work, among others.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

According to Brittanica, the denomination started in the United States back on June 19, 1983, from the merger of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in New York City and the Presbyterian Church in the United States in Atlanta. This merger is said to be the end of a split of the North and South denominations that go back to the American Civil War.

In the article, it said that like other denominations, the PC (USA) also had to face the issues brought about by homosexuality, specifically allowing the ordination of homosexuals. In 1997, the denomination answered this by amending its 1997 amendment that barred LGBTQIA+ from ordination to the church. This also applied to any members who had a sexually active life outside of marriage.

Because of this, the denomination ordained its first openly gay minister in 1997.

Ars Lyrica Houston

According o the Ars Lyrica Houston page, it is a music organization that provides classical music to a diverse audience in Houston and all over the world. Through this, it aims to make the city an ‘international destination city for imaginative, world-class performances of early music, including fully-staged Baroque operas.’

The organization started in 1998 through the efforts of harpsichordist and conductor Matthew Dirst. Today, it is a Grammy-nominated ensemble made up of world-class performers that creates and performs dramatic, sacred, and chamber works.