Interview with Sandra Rhein
We spoke with Sandra Rhein, Deaconess and Sacred Music Educator, LCMS Asia. Sandra, together with her husband Rob, a retired professor of music, recently travelled to Australia to present sessions at ‘Sacred Song,’ a Creative Word Fellowship Young Adults and Families camp.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.
I grew up in a rural German Lutheran community south of Fort Wayne, Indiana. My undergrad degree, 1980, is in Music Education with a flute major (University of Nebraska), and my Master of Arts in deaconess studies, 2010, (Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne). In between the bachelors and masters I married Robert Rhein. We have been blessed with four children, whom I homeschooled. All are grown and on their own and we have ten grandchildren.
Q: What drew you to working for the church?
I grew up in a pious household. My parents attended church and were always volunteering the time there. My paternal grandfather was a huge influence. He was a Lutheran school teacher, church organist and choir director. He taught me to play organ. My mother taught me piano. Attending a Lutheran grade school and high school meant that my teachers - all the adults I looked up to - were Lutherans.
Q: What training did you have to do to become a deaconess?
A master’s degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Q: What kinds of roles do deaconesses fill?
Some serve in congregations where their typical work is teaching Bible studies for women, teaching children, visiting the homebound, and working with the youth. Some serve in institutions such as nursing homes, women’s shelters, or hospitals, where they are chaplains. Some teach in preschools. Some serve on the mission field.
Q: How has God surprised you in your role? Are there tasks you've done that you never dreamt of when you first began?
I had no idea I would be sent to the mission field as a deaconess and was utterly surprised when first asked to go to Kenya. I’d been a church organist and choir director for many years, but didn’t have any experience or skills in music software or copyright laws or working in foreign cultures and languages, let alone developing an entire hymnal. I’ve now travelled to many countries and been given the opportunity to sing hymns and teach hymns with Lutherans around the world.
I sometimes compare developing a hymnal to homeschooling children. The task is too big and overwhelming, so the challenge is to break it down to smaller and smaller tasks, until you find something you do know how to do. Each day do a small bit towards the bigger goal, and by the grace of God, He uses us to accomplish His will.
Q: What connections do you see between music and faith?
Music is a beautiful gift of creation. When it is combined with God’s Word, it has the power to drive that word deep into our hearts and souls, shaping faith and piety. Lutheran hymns proclaim the Word of God, so they catechize us. They strengthen and sustain our faith. The tunes help us remember the words, so that the words can resonate in our hearts long after we have finished singing them.
We confess our faith to each other when we sing. Hymns pass on the language of our faith. They interpret Scripture so that Christ and His cross always at the centre.
Hymns help form and confess our unity as the body of Christ. They express our corporate nature. We sing together, as one voice. When some in our midst are suffering, others carry the singing for them, serving them and lifting them up.
Q: Do you have any words of encouragement for the people of LM-A?
Paul Gerhardt has an amazing gift with words and his hymns are rich in encouragement. I’d like to commend to the people of LM-A the hymn “Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me”.
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me
No thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Unite my thankful heart to Thee,
And reign without a rival there!
Thine wholly, Thine alone I am;
Be Thou alone my constant flame.
O grant that nothing in my soul
May dwell, but Thy pure love alone;
Oh, may Thy love possess me whole,
My joy, my treasure, and my crown!
All coldness from my heart remove;
My ev’ry act, word, thought be love.
This love unwearied I pursue
And dauntlessly to Thee aspire.
Oh, may Thy love my hope renew,
Burn in my soul like heav’nly fire!
And day and night, be all my care
To guard this sacred treasure there.
In suff’ring be Thy love my peace,
In weakness by Thy love my pow’r;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
O Jesus, in that final hour,
Be Thou my rod and staff and guide,
And draw me safely to Thy side!
Q: Do you have a particular Bible verse which you go to often or which sums up your vocation?
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-17