played the prelude, I felt the Spirit of the hymns. I thought of the words of the hymns, and I sought to allow my playing to be an instrument in bringing the Spirit to the meeting. I had such focus, that there were times I completely forgot the room and the environment as I played the beautiful hymns of Zion.

As the chapel and cultural hall filled during my 15 minutes of prelude, I had the most wonderful experience. I was filled with the Spirit, and was able to play my pieces with that Spirit, and without distraction. A beautiful reverence extended over the entire room, and I felt almost as though I was again playing in the temple as the adults who entered maintained the existing reverence ofis set to the text of "Our Father, by Whose Name."

Today in our worship service, the congregation was singing along, ready to begin the final verse of the hymn, but the organist was done, and not looking at the music director. After what seemed like a long time, but was only a few seconds, the music director realized that the organist wasn't planning on another verse, so she sat down.

Has this ever happened to you? I know as a beginning organist, when I was so worried about playing the right notes that I couldn't follow the verses very well (especially on hymns with a chorus, or with a music director who followed the organ's entrances), I was terrified that I would stop playing the hymn a verse early,