Music & Worship

Sundays and Special Days

Music and worship are a central part of the life and fellowship of Walker Chapel.  With its classic architecture and sparkling arched windows the sanctuary is a peaceful and beautiful space for worship.  The small balcony is sometimes used for overflow crowds and also provides space for the ethereal sound of the handbell choir ringing out over the sanctuary.  Worship is tied to the cycle of the church year with scripture readings from the revised common lectionary.  Members of the congregation serve as lay leaders in worship reading scripture, leading Calls to Worship, providing testimony, and leading in prayer. And while every Sunday is a celebration, we pull out the stops for Christmas and Easter.  Our traditional celebration of Christmas usually includes a Lessons and Carols worship service that features music by the Walker Chapel Choir and the Falls Church Concert Band.  The week of Palm Sunday leading up to and including Easter provide a special time of celebration and holy worship. 

Music at Walker Chapel

Congregational singing is supported by piano and organ and includes traditional Wesleyan hymns and contemporary gospel tunes and choruses.  The Walker Chapel Choir provides a solid foundation for congregational singing and offers a variety of spiritual songs and anthems for worship, communion and prayer.  The Walker Chapel Handbell choir provides special music for preludes and offertories, and also accompanies congregational singing and choral anthems.  We are blessed with the talents of professional musicians who contribute to Walker Chapel music and worship regularly with original compositions, vocal and instrumental offerings, and opportunities for collaborative music making.  Our partnership with the Falls Church Concert Band is a traditional part of our celebration of Christmas with a festive service of Lessons and Carols.  Easter of 2021 provided an opportunity for collaborations with the musicians of Mt. Olivet Methodist and featured a piece for combined choirs and organ, and a contemporary Easter Song performed by members of Mt Olivet’s contemporary worship band and featured singers and soloists from Walker Chapel. All of the music was prepared and recorded and mixed electronically for streamed worship during this time of Covid-restricted activities.  Easter and the risen Christ were proclaimed with the sounds of choir and drums and instruments and heart-felt alleluias.

Walker Chapel Choir

The Walker Chapel Choir has a long tradition of leading the congregation of Walker Chapel in worship and song.   From traditional English choral music to contemporary American gospel, from Taize to South Africa, our repertoire is varied and vibrant.  The Choir has remained active during this past year, meeting regularly for zoom rehearsals and adapting to virtual rehearsing and music making by recording and engineering music for worship throughout this time.  We typically expand our numbers for special festive Sundays and Seasons including Christmas and Easter.  As part of our Christmas celebration of 2019 prior to Covid 19, the Walker Chapel Choir presented a program of music at The Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.  We have collaborated with the choir of Mt.Olivet Methodist Church in presenting combined choral anthems.  In addition to our tradition of joining with the Falls Church Concert Band for  the traditional Lessons and Carols service, the choir sponsored the Band in an appropriately distanced,  meticulously planned outdoor concert in November 2020 - an idyllic and rare gathering during that time of distancing.

Walker Chapel Handbell Choir

This eclectic and wonderful group gathers from all ministries and disciplines of Walker Chapel and is the first ensemble to be rehearsing regularly in person again (small group, masked, distanced, and gloved).  A lot of our music is grounded in hymns and carols.  But we have also prepared and presented show tunes, spirituals, and anthems.  Working with traditional English handbells and hand chimes, the Handbell choir enjoys preparing music for bells and chimes alone, but also accompanied by organ or piano, enhanced with percussion or solo instruments.  We featured handbells in the contemporary Easter Song presented in 2021. 

Dawn Kyser - Director of Music and Worship

Dawn Kyser has served in Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Episcopal churches for more than 20 years.  Trained at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ and Drew University in Madison, NJ, Ms Kyser holds graduate degrees in Sacred Music and Liturgical Studies.  As a teacher in Arlington Public Schools, she ran an innovative Fine Arts program for secondary students.  In addition to her work at Walker Chapel, she is Facilitation Coordinator for a non-profit advocacy group, Challenging Racism.