“Therefore I will offer in His dwelling an oblation
with sounds of great gladness;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.”

Fr Ps 27

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

For more than three decades, the Houston Lutheran Chorale has sung God’s praises and brought God’s Word to the Greater Houston Area through music and song.  From Bach to Vivaldi, from Gershwin to Sousa, from the Classical to the Contemporary, we’ve provided God’s people with top-notch performances of both sacred and secular music through our annual Christmas and July 4^th concerts, national and overseas tours, and festival and seasonal events.  We are the only Lutheran singing group of our kind in our region.  Our membership consists of Lutherans from all synods and associations; what once began as a Missouri Synod Lutheran music ministry has broadened over the years to encompass the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Wisconsin Synod, the North American Lutheran Church and other Lutheran churches.  Our membership is intergenerational, including teens and octogenarians and every age in-between.  Our membership is open: we are novices, seasoned singers and experienced professional singers.

Given this strength of quality and reputation, people are often surprised to learn that the chorale is an entirely nonprofit operation. It's true. Each member of the chorale contributes his or her talents entirely out of personal passion and out of the desire to profess Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to the world and pays their own personal expenses.  However, as you know, even nonprofit organizations need a solid financial foundation with which to pay for common expenses. As a ministry chorale, our ordinary expenses include materials, publicity, special musicians, orchestra, the occasional soloist, our director, accompanists and those pesky operational costs.  Our annual expenses average $20,000.  For The Houston Lutheran Chorale, the endowment represents less than 5% of our annual income; the bulk of necessary funds are entirely the result of offerings and love gifts – from YOU. This is your chorale, really. By God’s grace, our faith, servant spirit and your financial support, we exist. Thank you for your past support.

So, it is with heavy hearts and humble voices that we share news of the chorale’s financially tenuous position as we begin 2023 Fall Season. The past six years have seen membership, attendance and opportunities diminish.  Just when we hoped to expand our footprint and performances, the whole world shutdown and retreated.  Our director retired and our leadership was forced to cope with no meetings, no support and no direction. Not being together and not having the fellowship and friendship connectivity was agonizing for everyone, and your chorale suffered too.  With tremendous faith and unwavering hope, we came together in the Fall of 2022 with an interim director, but fewer members, fewer concert goers and much less auxiliary support from family and friends to volunteer behind the scenes.     

Now that we have a new fulltime director to lead us into the future, we are reaching out to every Lutheran and every Lutheran congregation asking for your ardent prayers and financial support so that we will have that future.  Our goal is to raise $25,000 by the end of the year through fundraising and monetary donations.  There are various ways to help:

· One time monetary gift

· Regular annual sponsorship or patronage

· Donation of Thrivent funds, directed to The Houston Lutheran Chorale

· Congregational giving through Love Gifts, Noisy Offerings, fundraising or budgeted support

· Schedule the chorale at your congregational event

· Concert offerings

· Promote and encourage concert attendance

· Join our volunteer auxiliary team

Please save The Houston Lutheran Chorale and this vital music ministry by mailing your gift to us at the address below. Our need is urgent and immediate.

Yours in Christ,

Barbara Breuer Scott
Vice President, Houston Lutheran Chorale