Christ Church Greenwich is launching a casual and uplifting 5:00 pm come-as-you-are worship service called “Joyful Noise.”
The liturgy is led by Christ Church clergy and the contemporary music is led by famed Greenwich resident and Emmy award-winning and Grammy-nominated musician Rob Mathes, who has worked with musical greats Sting, Bruce Springsteen and more, who will participate in the service once a month, along with Soloist/Violinist, Anna Leinbach, on alternate dates.
Understanding that people are often busy on Sunday mornings, this service provides a relaxed worship experience later in the day, one that will be more informal and include music not normally associated with the extraordinary Episcopalian tradition that Christ Church is famous for.
Rob Mathes in the Christ Church Main Sanctuary on Sept. 29, Oct. 27 and Nov. 24. Anna Leinbach in the Chapel on Oct. 6 and Nov. 10.
These performances will. Only be live, in-person, not livestreamed.
“I like the phrase ‘church for the rest of us,’” Rob said. “Many of us grew up in a religious household and have left the church for a myriad of reasons, me included. Yet that tradition contains so much food for the soul. I can listen to Aretha Franklin’s ‘Amazing Grace’ or go to Christ Church on Christmas Eve and feel close to something ineffable, purposeful, full of love and grace.”
Rob Mathes has amassed a large body of compositions around the subjects of faith and worship. “My life as a music producer and arranger became intense,” Rob remembers. “I started working with bands like Panic at the Disco and Train, and giants like Sting and Bruce Springsteen. I also finished up my long 13-year stint musically directing the Kennedy Center Honors. My work with those extraordinary artists was the most important work of my life. So much of it is melodic, warm, and deeply felt music.”
“We are extraordinarily blessed to have Rob, Anna, and this group of talented musicians join us for the new Joyful Noise services,” Rev. Marek Zabriskie said. “We are bustling on Sunday mornings and this is another offering to bring people closer to God, wherever they are on their spiritual journey.”
The event is at Christ Church Greenwich Main Sanctuary, 254 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT