Thanks and Best Wishes to a Good Friend

One of the great aspects of Christian ministry is the many different people God places in our lives.  In serving together and alongside one another, we are bonded together in a unique and mysterious way through our common relationship to God and his Son, Jesus Christ.  But as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is a time and season for everything.  Sadly, one is now coming to an end.

Since my arrival in the fall of 2012, I have had the privilege of serving alongside Tom Brooks in the music department.  As many of you know, he has served the music department for many years before my arrival.  Although I find it difficult to imagine the role of music ministry here without Tom at my side, I am faced with that reality as Tom steps down to pursue the enjoyment of life and his retirement in other areas.  His service to us will be greatly missed.

As we move forward to another day, I trust God will once again place those people in our lives who like Tom, prove for a time to be indispensable. Thank you Tom for the gift of your life first to the Kingdom of God, and secondly to his Church.  May God richly bless you as you move forward into new pursuits beyond the music room files, paper, and computers.

We love you!

A Pastor's Christmas Card...

I have to admit, my Advent preparation has not been what I would like it to be.  Waiting is hard, and current cultural trends bring Christmas forward so fast that I constantly fight the temptation to celebrate it too early.  Christ will come, but for now, we live in the span of time between that first Advent and the second.  I do not want to be like the virgins who thought they were ready for the coming of the bridegroom, but deceived themselves only to find they were without oil.  Are we truly prepared for the coming of a holy, almighty God?  Are we so anxious for the celebration that we are missing something important?  Are we truly prepared?

We've all experienced times when we have performed a special program for Christmas, Easter, or other holiday, but felt ill prepared.  Preparation takes forethought, planning, and sacrifice of time.  Of all appointments we need to prepare for, there is none more important that our reunion with the Savior.

I've been with you a little more than a year now and seen a good choir become even better.  I am confident that as we continually give ourselves over to the Lord's service, learning and growing in excellence, the musical tools we perfect as ministers will be used of the Lord to bring about the preparedness we so desperately need.

May God bless you and your family, and may his presence with and among you give you peace.

Merry Christmas,

Todd

Thank yous...

Why does the choir sing from memory?

Everyone knows that eye contact is vital.  If we tell our spouse, "I love you," yet we look at the floor while saying it, our words have little impact.  Each Sunday, hen we are telling people "I love Jesus," or "Listen to what I am saying about Jesus," yet we don't care enough to look at them...the message is watered down.  The following is how we help you learn notes, rhythm, and words on a weekly basis without being stressed out!

• An audio demonstration and online copy of the music is available for your weekly rehearsal on this blog.  Please do not download or copy these, but use them online.  This is the agreement we have with the publishers/copyright holders.
• We try to rehearse the songs a minimum of three weeks in advance in our Wednesday rehearsals.  Repetition is the best natural teacher.
• We are fortunate to have a stage display TV on the back wall to feed us words and minimal cues to help us sing our anthems.  While it is a great help, it should not be used as an excuse for not memorizing music.  It's purpose is to provide us confidence.  Basically, you only have to memorize the notes and the rhythms.

A final reason for memory is that this format is the only hope for a decent sound mix each week.  The choir mics can't pick up sound from the top of your head...only your mouth.  

Special Note:  There may be weeks when we just can't pull of the musical demands of a certain song.  Thus we may use music and folders.  Remember, when you enter the loft, carry folders in the hand which is away from the congregation

David Phelps in St. Petersburg

Damaris Carbaugh in Venice

Damaris Carbaugh has sung with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and you may know her from her recording of He's Been Faithful with them.

Neewollah

The choir's primary responsibility for Neewollah this year is to provide staffing for the Baby Changing Station that will be in the choir room.  This is a very easy position in an air-conditioned room.  We need at least one volunteer for each half-hour time slot between 6 and 9 pm on Friday, October 25.  Please click here to sign up.

Wanted - Choir Members

POSITIONS OPEN:  In soprano, alto, tenor, and bass sections. No other need apply.

PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS:  Must be able to carry light musical notes part way across church. Must have good vision to see the director 10 feet away.

EXPERIENCE: No applications accepted from persons who have not sung in the tub or shower at some time.

BEGINNING WAGES: Guaranteed satisfaction and joy in the service of the Lord.

ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITY: Members who demonstrate unusual ability/courage might sing a solo sometime.

FRINGE BENEFITS:  Social Security - We promise you the security of fellowship with other fine members.

RETIREMENT:  After your voice reaches the place where it can hit two notes at once, you may sit in the congregation and listen to others use their God given talents.

Choir Proficiency Test

I can't believe that fall is on its way.  Choir rehearsals begin anew next Wednesday (Aug 14).  In light of this, I thought it apropos to post this choir proficiency test.  Enjoy.

Pastor Todd

CHOIR PROFICIENCY TEST

In order to measure your level of proficiency as a member of a choral group, this test has been carefully developed by experts. Read and reflect on each situation, and then select the option that you think will enhance the quality of performance.

1.      You are in a choir processional and suddenly you trip on your robe and fall down.

You should ...

a.       assume a kneeling position and break into fervent prayer.

b.      pretend that you've had a heart attack.

c.       begin speaking in tongues.

d.      crawl under a pew and remain there until the congregation has departed.

2.      You are a soprano and count incorrectly. As a result, you boom out a high C a

measure too soon. You should ...

a.       look triumphant and hold the note.

b.      stop abruptly in mid-squawk but keep your lips moving.

c.       sink to the floor in shame.

d.      rip off stole as if it had been choking you.

3.      You are conducting the choir and orchestra in a very important performance when suddenly you lose your grip on your baton and hurl it into the audience. You should ...

a.       grab the cellist's bow and proceed with aplomb.

b.      without acknowledging the loss, cooly continue and occasionally flex.

c.       inform the impaled individual that you own a piece of the rock.

d.      signal the engineer to turn on the house lights while you crawl about on the floor searching for the baton.

4.      After all those long, hard rehearsals, you show up twenty minutes late for the concert.

You should ...

a.       climb into the back row of the choir from the baptistry.

b.      slash your wrists in the choir room.

c.       enter pretending to be a sound technician checking the cables and then subtly insinuate yourself into the choir.

d.      Find a seat in the audience and applaud loudly after each number.

5.      The person sharing your music in rehearsal had a garlic tamale for lunch. You

should ...

a.       pass the offender a hymnal opened to "Purify Me, Lord."

b.      sing without inhaling.

c.       ask for the recipe.

d.      switch sections and become a bass for the evening.

6.      While singing, you discover that the librarian has provided only one page of a two-

page piece. You should ...

a.       sing "watermelon, watermelon, watermelon."

b.   improvise an obligato to sing an "00."

c.       mouth the first page again.

d.      hum for your life.

7.      Inevitably, that dreaded big sneeze occurs toward the end of "God Be in My Head."

You should ...

a.       come down hard on your neighbor's instep while you sneeze, to create a

diversion.

b.      cram the hem of your robe into your mouth to stifle the noise.

c.       try to make it harmonize.

d.      it doesn't really matter, because the conductor is going to kill you anyway.

SCORING INSTRUCTIONS

Count the number of As, As,C, and Ds you checked.

            a ___________ b __________ c ___________ d ___ _

4 or more As: there is nothing more you need to know to be a first-rate member of a world-beater revival choir.

4 or more Bs: your church choir reflexes are fully developed and you should do well in a sanctuary choir in a medium-sized church.

4 or more Cs: your church choral experience is spotty, but your team spirit is right on target. You would be an asset to a choir with a strong gospel bent.

4 or more Ds: Have you thought of taking up soccer?

356

Let Freedom Ring

Thank you everyone for your hard work and commitment.  I believe we offered a great program for our church family and community.

Pastor Todd

Brian and Jan Ripa - Thank you for the Anniversary Potluck

Dear Choir Family,

Thank you so much for the wonderful "surprise" 50th Anniversary Celebration.  You definitely did surprise us and we will always treasure and remember that special day.  Thank you for your love and support to us. 

God bless you,
Brian and Jan Ripa

Lost in America

Hi all.

This old guy told us about the scenic road he likes taking in his truck. I do not know when he took this ride, but ours was something else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well we drove through the mountains to where this road turned off the main road. It turned into a nice dirt road through the back country. We had driven about 40 miles, seeing no signs of human life except one SUV.

 

 

 

We came to where the dirt road divided. The road had a nice big sign and was wider, so we took it.

 

 

 

About ten miles later after seeing deer we came to this beautiful mountain lake with the tall mountains beside it. We enjoyed our lunch beside it. Then we continued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can to a big waterfalls, about 200 feet drop. Enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then continued through the wood, through streams and mud holes for about another ten miles. Then it came to a creek and just stopped.

 

 

So we had to turn around and go back out to were the sign was and contiunue down the other road. Then about 25 miles later we came upon two people on 4wheelers. We stopped them, asked where were we, they really did not know, except ahead there was a sign to the road about 14 miles ahead. So we continued on. We came to where the road divided again.

 

 

The road was narrow at time but passable. So we took the road marked to the main hyway. We went about 15 miles and started working our way through snow drifts, until it became totally snowed shut. There was no way we better try to go farther. So we turned around and worked our way back through the snow and got back to the road divid. We now had traveled over 140 miles in nowhere. So we took the other road, because I was not sure by now if we had gas to go all the way back since we knew what we came through. So off we went.

 

 

 

After about another 15 miles we came to another big snow drift. We had come down out of the mountains now quite away. I told Sandy, if we could get through this one, it should be the last of the snow. So growing up in Pa driving in the snow leason came to play. We hit is running and blasted through, Came out sideways, Sandy screaming. But we made it. It was the last of the snow. The road started getting better dirt road, but no signs of human life. Sandy started saying. Is this a road to the end of the world.

 

 

 

After about 40miles we finally saw a ranch house and then came to a main road. Took it into a town got gas and headed back to the camp.

It was awesome back country. We did enjoy it, especially when we found life.

We had fun with the old guy later.

Here are some shots.

Chuck and Sandy Donaldson

2013 God and Country Presentation

Freedom is the most cherished of all American principles. It is the dream that launched the birth of our nation, and the prayer we all hold for our children's future. It is the hope by which we live, and the cause for which so many have died. Freedom is, quite simply, who we are. 

First rehearsal is Saturday, Apr 13 from 9a-3p.  Bring a potluck dish to share. 

Rehearsal tracks will be provided.  Listening CDs are available for purchase.

Samples of the audio can be found here.

A Rich Life

“God’s blessing makes life rich;
Nothing we do can improve on God.” (Proverbs 10:22)

The desire to live a rich life is natural. In fact, it is godly. In Genesis 1:28 God commands Adam to prosper! But, as with most things in this world, Satan has turned it into something ugly, something meant to blind us, confuse us, cause us to take our eyes off the Creator of rich living.

“God’s blessing makes life rich;
Nothing we do can improve on God.”

The key to rich living is a trust and dependence on our magnificent and loving Father, who want nothing more than to pour blessing upon blessing into the lives of His faithful children. Do you believe that?

“God’s blessing makes life rich;
Nothing we do can improve on God.”

But we try to improve on it, don’t we? Sometimes we have thoughts and desires that seem so good, and we head off in pursuit of our own ideas of goodness and happiness. And in the pursuit we forget Him.

“God’s blessing makes life rich;
Nothing we do can improve on God.”

It’s the richest life you’ve never imagined!

“God’s blessing makes life rich;
Nothing we do can improve on God.”

Be blessed!

Reflective Thoughts on Lent by Henri Nowen

I found the introduction for the Lent devotional we are going through motivational and thought I would reprint it here for those who may not yet have a devotional booklet.

Lent is the most important time of the year to nurture our inner life.  It is the time during which we not only prepare ourselves to celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but also the death and resurrection that constantly takes place within us.  Life is a continuing process of the death of the old and the familiar, and being reborn again into a new hope, a new trust and a new love.  The death and resurrection of Jesus therefore is not just an historical event that took place a long time ago, but an inner event that takes place in our own heart when we are willing to be attentive to it.  True repentance is an interior attitude in which we are willing to let go of everything that prevents us from growing into spiritual maturity, and there is hardly a moment in our lives in which we are not invited to detach ourselves from certain ways of thinking, ways of speaking, ways of acting, that for a long time gave us energy, but that always again need to be renewed and recreated.

Lent offers a beautiful opportunity to discover the mystery of Christ within us.  It is a gentle but also demanding time.  It is a time of solitude but also community.  It is a time of listening to the voice within, but also a time of paying attention to other people's needs.  It is a time to continuously make the passage to new inner life as well as to life with those around us.

When we live Lent attentively and gently, then Easter can truly be a celebration during which the full proclamation of the risen Christ will reverberate into the deepest place of our being. 

Henri J.M. Nouwen
September 1996

Understanding Ash Wednesday



Join us for the service in the FLC, Feb. 13th at 6:30p.

For some, the observance of Ash Wednesday may be new, especially those whose background is in "free" church traditions.  In the past decade, a huge resurgance of its observance has been seen within the many churches including the Church of the Nazarene.  As with most periods of the Church Calendar outside of Christmas and Easter, some people view Ash Wednesday as an exclusive tool of Roman Catholicism, or at least “High Church” traditions.  But the Church Calendar is an effective way to preach the full gospel to yourself, your family and the church. It focuses our attention on all aspects of Christ’s earthly ministry, from the promise of His coming (Advent) to the gift of His Spirit to the church after his ascension (Pentecost).

 

So What Exactly Is Ash Wednesday?
 

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. The date is set by counting back forty days from Easter (excluding Sundays), which takes you to the Wednesday seven weeks before Easter. The church arrived at this determination in the fourth century. Why forty days? Each day symbolizes one of the forty days when Christ fasted in the wilderness, before Satan tempted Him (Mark 4:2).
 

Three Purposes Of Ash Wednesday:

• to reflect on our sin and the resultant death that reigns in us, and our need for Jesus to save us.
• to renew our commitment to daily repentance — to “die daily,” as Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:31).
• to remember that Christ conquered sin and death.

When do we eat?
 

Ash Wednesday is typically observed as a day of fasting. Which is why a lot of people pig out the day before (“Fat Tuesday”).
 

Why Is It Called “Ash” Wednesday?
Why Do Christians Put Ashes On Their Heads?
 

Ashes are a reminder, in scripture, of our mortality and frailty resulting from the curse of the Fall (Genesis 3:19; 18:27). The Bible also uses ashes as a sign of sorrow or repentance (2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1-3; Jeremiah 6:26).
 

Putting ashes on your forehead or the back of you hand in the sign of the cross is not some kind of magic charm. It is simply a visible reminder of our condition and the power of the cross to forever change that condition.

Performance at the Jewish Federation Shuk

Israeli Fair  at Robarts Arena, Sarasota

Just a quick reminder about our performance at Robarts Arena on Sunday, Jan. 27th.  If you have music with you, please be sure to bring it Sunday and it to Tom or Bev on Sunday, otherwise you will not have music for the performance.  We are not taking extras.  We will take all music in binders on the bus with us.  The bus is scheduled to depart immediately following the morning service. 





Please were black and white, and accent with royal blue if you have it.  Additionally, there will be food booths at the shuk, however, you may pack a lunch if you prefer.

If you are driving, please meet us in back left side of the arena through the cyclone fence gates at 2:30 p.m. 






The platform is just inside the back doors.  There will be stairs onto the platform.  There will be no risers, so we will arrange ourselves in 4-5 rows by height, etc.  We will be singing three songs:

Great is the Lord Almighty
(modified lyrics with Hebrew text)

 

The Majesty and Glory of Your Name

 

Days of Elijah

 

 

 

Be a Squealer

A Time for Recruitment

I have found that many people will not simply join a choir on their own--even if they want to be part of it.  Bulletin or pulpit pleas are also nigh to worthless as well.  I've found that many are just waiting to be asked and want to feel they are personally wanted.  This personal contact is the key to helping people find their way into our choir family.  Never undersestimate the power of that personal invite. 

I'm calling on our church family to "Be Squealers" on those who they know sing well or just love to sing.  We will be placing cards on the chairs for our church familiy to help us in our recruitment process by having them suggest names for us to contact.  We can then contact these individuals personally to extend that personal invitation to join us.

 

This spring, I'm asking each of us as choir members to seek out and personally invite two people to join us for our spring project (only a 4 month term).  If and when they come to our choir room, it is important that we personally come alongside them for a couple of weeks (or better yet, the four month term).  Coming to an existing is like going to a new church; there is some anxiety about not knowing what to do, where to go, etc.  It is our job to be concious of new people and help put them at ease by removing those scary "unknowns."  Look for those you've personally invited--be with them in choir--pray for them at home.

 

BEFORE YOU INVITE, spend time in prayer.  Your inviting efforts alone will not be as effective without the annointing of the Spirit upon that invitation.  Pray that you may have the Lord's eyes to see as he sees and reveal to you those to whom you can reach out.

 

Lastly, dream big!  Don't feel limited by simply inviting two people.  Invite as many as you feel comfortable with.  However, don't be trite.  Remember, just asking everybody for the sake of asking is really no different than a mass pulpit plea.  People don't simply want to be part of another group or organization, they want to belong to a family where they feel wanted, needed, and cherished.

 

Today, as I write this, I am personally lifting us up in a special prayer asking that God would help us better serve his church by giving us insight into loving his people and helping them answer their God-given ministerial call.  May God go with you and grant you success.