July 2020: A Lifetime of LSM

By Krista Bernthal, LSM ‘85-’86

Greetings to you all in the name of Christ! My name is Krista Bernthal, and I’m writing to you as a multi-year LSM alumna (oboe), first attending in 1985. After multiple years as a student, I served in other capacities, including intern and counselor, and am honored to currently serve on the Advisory Council. My continuing involvement with LSM over my life stems from how incredibly important I believe LSM to be in sustaining the future of the rich liturgical and musical heritage of the Lutheran church. Today, we see many churches devaluing this heritage and its importance because it is increasingly seen as “out-of-touch” with current trends in Christian music (i.e., contemporary), particularly as those trends are assumed to be particularly attractive to younger Christians and seekers as church enrollments decline.

Given this momentous trend, LSM is one of the key organizations that substantively contributes to a revitalization and revaluing of Lutheran liturgical and musical heritage through encouraging, teaching, and developing young musicians in the practice of faithful and intentional liturgical and musical excellence, and critically, teach them why this liturgy and music is important to faith formation. This contribution may be in the form of LSM alumni who become cantors, music directors, vocalists, or instrumentalists in their own churches, which reach across the country. Even if an alumnae doesn’t choose this path, the foundation LSM provides lays a strong foundation for why this heritage is worth preserving.

Besides learning a love for sacred church music and the use of my musical gifts in worship at LSM, I also met many wonderful people who, by their very presence at camp, shared many common interests and values with me. My sense of community was strengthened at LSM; through worshiping each morning and evening in a strong community of faith, participating in small and large ensembles, recreational activities, communal dining, and the always fun and boisterous weekend caravan, LSM is indeed the epitome of community. In fact, I met the man who eventually became my husband at LSM! He too has worn many hats at LSM besides student, including intern, counselor, member of the Board of Directors, and also current member of the Advisory Council. I’m grateful that this relationship that sparked at LSM eventually led to four wonderful children (a couple of great dogs too!), many more years of playing music together in church, and a strengthened, shared faith that is at the center of it all. We are about to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary (July 28, 2020) and the 35th anniversary of our first meeting at LSM. Our strong core set of values, fostered at LSM, laid a strong foundation on which to build a fruitful life together. For this I am most grateful.

Music, Community, and Faith. These are LSM’s core values, and they could not be more reflective of what LSM is all about, and why I (we) are grateful for it and will continue to support it in time and treasure. What we return to LSM could never match what it has given to us, nor what it has given, continues to give, and will give in the future to the church-at-large.