Issue 6
The
Advent season is often defined as a period of "waiting".
It can be so hard for us to wait for anything - the checkout line
to move, for visitors to arrive, for the telephone to ring. The Bible
tells us over 50 times to "wait".
During this busy season, we would
do well to remember to that "those who wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31) After all of the concerts
and programs, we surely need our strength renewed! Sometimes we are
so busy being busy that we miss the point of Advent - to prepare the
way for the Lord to live in our hearts - not just during this season
but all year long.
Let's take time to let the Lord renew
our strength so that we can praise Him in all of our concerts, programs
and worship services which mean so much at this time of year. Then,
we will be able to "run and not grow weary"!
This year, our church has made a
concerted effort to celebrate Advent with music and symbols. We found
and used advent hymns from the lnwhymns.com
website. These hymns use familiar tunes with words written specifically
for the Advent season. We will be using "The Promise" as
part of our Christmas Eve prelude.
We also found a wonderful series
of readings with congregational participation to use during the lighting
of the Advent wreath candle. For our traditional Christmas Eve service,
we have asked the congregation to bring in a candlestick holder to
place on the communion table. Our hope is that we will end up with
all shapes and sizes and that these candles will remind us that the
light of Christ comes to ALL people. I am anticipating a beautiful
sight when the lights are dimmed and the congregation holds their
individual candles while singing "Silent Night."
This combination of old and new should
be worth waiting for!
Resource Alert: Did you know
that a link to the Revised Common Lectionary is available on the ABC-USA
website (abc-usa.org)?
It can
be found under "Church Life -Worship & Renewal."
This is a great resource for preaching but
is also helpful for studying the text in order to make better musical
choices.
There are also some wonderful resources
available at GBOD.com. This site has a great list of hymns and songs
that correlate with the lectionary text. There is another great planner
available at morningstarmusic.com.
This site includes choral and organ suggestions to fit the lectionary.
Music Alert: For those of
you who love to play the piano, there is a great new book called Gospel
Improv (Word Entertainment) by Craig Curry. Not only does
it include great gospel settings of familiar hymns such as "When
We All Get To Heaven" and "His Eye is On the Sparrow,"
but it also includes a bit of "how-to" for those of us who
need help in the area of improvisation. All of the selections are
useful for worship and are fun to play.
Book Alert: Try reading Reinventing
Sunday: Breakthrough Ideas for Transforming Worship by Brad
Berglund (Judson Press). In this thin volume, Berglund provides suggestions
on improving our worship experience in the areas of singing, praying,
Scripture reading, Communion, and preaching as well as others. All
of the suggestions are practical no matter the size or style of your
worship service.
I want to take this opportunity to
wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. As we look
back at this past year, let us celebrate our successes and continue
to pray for guidance to deal with our failures. May we keep our hearts
open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in all we do. I pray that 2006
will be a year of renewal in our hearts and in our churches as we
strive to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.
Any comments, questions or suggestions
email me at fbwamusic@aol.com
Mary
