Reformation Hymn Festival in Arlington Heights marks 500th anniversary

Marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the public is invited to a free Reformation Hymn Festival 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, 1234 N. Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights.

"May God Give Us Faith To Sing Always" is the theme of the event, led by Joel Martinson, a music director and organist at an Episcopal church in Dallas, Texas. He will be accompanied by the Our Saviour's Brass Ensemble and other instrumentalists.

The Reformation is the 16th-century religious and intellectual upheaval put into motion by the 1517 publication of Martin Luther's "95 Theses." The key ideas were a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible - and not tradition - should be the sole source of spiritual authority.