There are many good reasons to sing in church besides your mom or the pastor told you to. There are loads of benefits—both physical and spiritual. First, did you know that electric signals travel to many areas of the brain that work together so you can recognize the organist’s introduction as “Holy God” and not “Silent Night”? Say hello to your amygdala which processes deep emotions like joy, anger, and fear. It releases dopamine when you hear a beautiful melody. Have you thanked your hippocampus that helps your memory remember how to sing “Happy Birthday”? Now multiply these wonderful things when the whole congregation sings together. Then your body lowers the level of the stress hormones, it releases endorphins that make you feel happy, it boosts the immune system, it increases lung capacity. Do you ever feel lonely or long to belong? We bond through community singing. Believe it or not, singing causes the synchronization of participants’ heartbeats.  You’re no longer strangers (Eph. 2:19). You are one in the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5). Nourish your faith by opening your hymnal.