We moved a grand piano yesterday. It seems like I am often involved in moving pianos. I am not a professional piano mover, but I’ve been involved in the process enough times to understand it. A grand piano is moved by being gently tipped onto one side and strapped to a moving board that is attached to dollies. The legs and lyre are removed. Everything is carefully covered with furniture pads and the piano is rolled. A 9’ concert grand piano weighs 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. That means that you don’t really lift it very often. When you do need to lift it, it takes 10 to 12 people to do so. Using levers and dollies, a crew of four to six persons can move a concert grand safely unless it has to go up or down stairs that cannot be bridged with a ramp.

There are three concert grand pianos in our town. One spends its life at the Civic Center and belongs to the Rapid City Concert Association. Another lives at and belongs to our church. A third has been provided for our community by a generous donor and travels from venue to venue as needed. That’s the piano we moved yesterday. There is a fourth concert grand that is in private ownership in a nearby community.

Piano movers usually talk about Liberace’s piano. He played on a custom-made piano that had to be moved for each of his performances. It was 12 feet long and weighted 1500 pounds. It was three feet longer than a standard concert grand piano because he wanted the longer bass strings that would provide louder and more resonate bass pitches. The longer the length, the better a wound string resonates. Most of the weight of a piano comes from the cast iron harp that holds the strings. The wood furniture that surrounds the harp is usually finished with a shiny lacquer and can easily be scratched or damaged if the move is not done properly. Pianos can be permanently damaged by being twisted or suffering falls, though despite all of the sit-com storylines, pianos are rarely dropped. A good piano mover knows how to move the instrument safely.

I love piano music. And lovers of the music sometimes need to work for the joy of sound. On Saturday evening Dakota Pianist Eugene Gienger played the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto with the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra at the Civic Center. The community’s moving piano was moved to the Civic Center and used for the concert. A gifted pianist needs just the right instrument and Mr. Gienger has provided the inspiration that brought the 9’ Yamaha piano to our community, so it was appropriate for him to play that particular piano. With the concert over, the piano needed to be moved from the Civic Center.

The next scheduled use of the piano is an exciting concert at our church in two weeks, on April 28, when Caribbean-American pianists Michelle and Kimberly Cann will play on two 9’ grand concert pianos. So into our sanctuary the piano came. It will be with us for two weeks before moving on to its next venue after the duo piano performance.

I am sure that concert goers will be thrilled as the exciting duo performs works by Lutoslawski, Ravel, Delores White and Rachmaninoff.

But moving the piano yesterday was far from the most important encounter with an instrument of the day for me. As much as we enjoy concerts and brilliant artists, the instruments in our sanctuary, including our concert piano are called to a higher purpose. We have worked hard to have instruments in our sanctuary that are matched to the size and acoustical properties of the room. We are deeply committed to music as an expression of worship. Like other elements of worship, we belive in bringing the best that we have to offer before God.

Yesterday we teamed up with our own church member and pianist Justin Speck, Brother Emil from the Taizé monastery in France, Rev. Steve Miller from Vermillion, and a young man from Deadwood currently studying at USD in Vermillion to offer prayers in the midst of our congregation. The prayers were offered in congregational song, in words, in silence and in jazz piano improvisation. As is true with much worship in our sanctuary, the process involves the collaboration of many different worship leaders and no small amount of inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to share worship leadership with so many talented persons. Each week, I work with a gifted organist, an imaginative and experienced choir director, a talented bell choir director, other pastors, a dedicated administrative colleague and dedicated lay leaders to produce worship. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that is required for an hour of worship. But worship cannot be forced. It must be allowed to flow. People need to trust one another and listen carefully to each other and to the congregation in order for worship that is meaningful to emerge.

Yesterday was a day when all of that hard work faded into the background. The muscle power of moving pianos was forgotten. The hours of practice were behind. The planning and collaboration were completed. We took a deep breath, said our prayers and began our worship service. As is our custom we were led into the sanctuary by our children. The candles were lit, the congregation sang and we listened together to the scriptures. Our lay liturgist was well prepared and read beautifully. The time came to began our jazz of piano and spoken word. The Holy entered our lives and the timing worked perfectly. We didn’t have to look at or signal one another. It was as if we were speaking with one voice. The congregation didn’t need to be told when to sing, they sensed it from the flow of music and word. I’m just glad I was there to experience it all.

I took years of piano lessons, but have never mastered the instrument. There are some who have learned to play the piano and that is a gift and a pleasure. There are a few who have mastered technique and artistry sufficiently to become concert performers. Their gifts of music enrich us all. And there are a few more, a small group of artists, who go beyond playing the instrument. Yesterday we were in the presence of one who prayed the piano.

If I have to help move a hundred more pianos in the time that is given me, the work will be nothing in comparison to that moment of prayer we shared yesterday. Some things in life are simply worth all of the work.

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