Anthem debuts at Westlake UMC
on World Communion Sunday

World Communion Sunday was celebrated Oct. 2 at Westlake UMC, Austin, with a premier presentation of the new anthem, “Celebration Praise,” by Joseph Martin.
This anthem, also called “Alabanza de Celebracion,” was commissioned by the Chancel Choir of Westlake UMC to honor the memory of the late Hortensia Sanchez, beloved mother of Music and Worship Director Diana Sanchez-Bushong.
With Sanchez-Bushong conducting, the anthem, which incorporates both English and Spanish text, was performed by vocalists from the Chancel Choir and Youth Fuego; pianist David Weigle; hand bell accompanists Susan Finnigan, Charles Yarbrough and Leslie Smith; and drummer Zack Yanez. Sanchez-Bushong’s husband, Tim Bushong, also sang and accompanied the singing on guiro.
Sanchez-Bushongwas honored to have her daughter Monica singing with the group. Her daughter Emma and other family members were in the audience.
The morning’s worship celebrated the connections to the world through the sharing of Holy Communion and through the saints who have gone before us but with whom we will always be connected.
The Rev. Sue Wells, pastor of Westlake UMC, connected the events through her message of “Holding Hands.” Wells related stories from Philippians 3 to modern-day dating and the memories of mothers’ hands, such as the caring ones of her own late mother, Neva Swayze, and of the late Hortensia Sanchez’s healing hands as a “curandera.”
District Superintendent Robert Hall and his wife, Carol, joined in the worship celebration, as did Dr. Whit Bodman of the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Bodman was completing a three-week Sunday school series entitled “Religious Diversity in our Midst: What Does It Mean for Christians Today?”
United Methodist heritage is one of past, present and future—a circle that is eternal because it is shaped by Christ’s love for all.