Thursday, December 28, 2006

A Message from Our Pastor

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I pray that your celebration of the Nativity of our Lord was glorious and hope-filled! In case you missed them, our celebrations here at LCOS were indeed glorious. The children and youth shared the Christmas message in a Christmas Around the World pageant at the 10:30 a.m. service. It was fun for me to have so many children and youth in the chancel during worship, especially as they sang! Special thanks to Rachel Spry and all the parents who helped to coordinate this year’s program.

And we were truly inspired by our Chancel Choir at the 10:00 p.m. service, magnified by the candlelight that flooded the sanctuary. Special thanks to Ginger Minneman and the members of the Chancel Choir, and members of the Worship Planning Team for helping to make our celebrations so meaningful this year!

But, as much work as goes into preparing for our Christmas Eve services, this weekend’s worship is right around the corner:

Saturday evening will feature singing Christmas carols, message, and the celebration of Holy Communion.

Both Sunday Communion Services (8:15 and 10:30 a.m.) will be held as usual, and the Joyful Noise Children’s Choir will present special music for us at the late service.

And . . . there will be a congregational meeting after the 10:30 a.m. service this Sunday, December 31, to hold an election for congregational council.

Let’s finish 2006 off in the right way by worshiping together this weekend!

In Christ,

Gary

Chancel Choir Update

Chancel Choir will not meet tonight for rehearsal, but we will sing this coming Sunday, December 31. Please meet at the regular time--10:00 AM.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Christmas is Coming . . .

The Chrismons are in place on the trees, and the votive candles are nearly up on all the window sills. The children only have one more rehearsal for pageant on Sunday morning at 10:30 am, and the Chancel Choir had a great rehearsal tonight for the Christmas Eve 10:00 pm candle light service. We hope to see you in worship this weekend!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Holiday Worship Schedule - Join Us!

There is a post below that lists our worship schedule from now through January 7. Over the holidays, please join us for worship, and remember that Christmas isn't just a day, but a season. (The old song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" at least has the timing right - unlike secular Christmas, Christmas hasn't started yet on the church calendar - we're in Advent - and continues through Epiphany.)

As always, everyone is welcome, whether you are looking for a church home or just somewhere to attend for a day; a member who has not been coming much lately; or, one of our regulars.

Sonshine Choir

The Sonshine Choir sang at the 10:30 AM service this last Sunday. Their director, Elizabeth Beal, has been teaching the children about liturgy and what it means to be a worship leader. The choir sang an acclamation before the second lesson and a response after it was read: "Rejoice in the Lord Always." They also sang as a group during the "Lamb of God" and a harmonization during the last hymn. Thanks to Elizabeth for her efforts and to the children for participating. I believe that this is one of the important things we have going on right now - it'll be a joy to watch this group of children learn more about worship and leadership in the church as they grow older. Please encourage and support them in every way that you can. To learn more and/or leave a comment, you can visit the Sonshine Choir blogsite by clicking here or by clicking the link on the right side of this page.

Update on Evangelical Lutheran Worship

Our pew copies of the new hymnal ("ELW") have arrived. A copy is on display in the narthex for you to preview.

Of the 450 copies of ELW that we have purchased, donations have been made for approximately 200 of them, so we still have 250 to pay for. Fundraising continues - if you would like to donate one or more copies of ELW in honor or memory of a loved one, teacher, pastor, choir director, or anybody who has been significant to your faith journey, please contact the church office.

We're planning on starting to use ELW at the beginning of Lent, which is February 21. During Lent, we will use Setting Five of the Communion Service from ELW. This is a chant setting based on LBW Setting 3 (which our congregation has not used) and Service Book and Hymnal Setting 2 (which we used many times before the LBW was published). This setting will work well for Lent, and we believe that those who have not used it in the past will be comfortable with it quickly.

Our plan is that during the next several years, we will establish a seasonal rotation of three or four settings from ELW. Both Setting 1 and Setting 2 from the LBW appear (with some modifications) in ELW. Setting 5 from WOV does not appear in ELW, but we'll continue to use it periodically for some time. We'll also evaluate which new setting(s) to use.

Baptismal Font

Some of you may notice this weekend that the baptismal font is not in the sanctuary. The font is being renovated. It'll be back in the sanctuary for three baptisms that will be held on January 7 (which incidentally is the day celebrated as the Baptism of Our Lord.) More information to follow . . . .

Chancel Choir and Bell Choir Schedules

Tonight is the special rehearsal and party for the Chancel Choir. The Chancel Choir will also have its regular Thursday night rehearsal this week. The Chancel Choir will NOT sing at the 10:30 AM service on Sunday, December 24. This service includes the children's Christmas Pageant. Normally, on the rare occasions when the Chancel Choir is not singing an anthem, we sit in the choir loft anyway to help lead worship. This Sunday, though, the chancel will be occupied with children who are participating in the Pageant, so the Chancel Choir will not be in the chancel.

Christmas Eve Schedule for the choirs:

Bell Choir rehearsal at 8:50 PM.
Chancel Choir rehearsal at 9:00 PM.
Bell Choir will play during the prelude time.
Service starts at 10:00 PM.

Thanks for Helping

Thanks to those who helped put up the pew candles on Sunday. The work went quickly with so many people helping, and it was fun to see the kids involved.

Thank you also to the people who helped put up and decorate the Chrismon trees. They look great! (For those wondering what a Chrismon tree is, there is a posting below about them.)

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Help Needed for Christmas Preparations

The Worship Committee would appreciate help putting up the pew candles in the sanctuary immediately after the 10:30 AM service on Sunday, Dec. 17.

Bell Choir

The Bell Choir will rehearse after the 10:30 AM service this coming Sunday, Dec. 17. We'll be working on our pieces for Christmas Eve.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Holiday Worship Schedule

Saturday, December 24, 5:30 PM: Communion Service

Sunday, December 25, Christmas Eve:


  • Our regular 8:15 AM service will NOT be held.
  • Our 10:30 AM Communion Service will feature our Children's Christmas Pageant
  • Our 10:00 PM Traditional Candle-light Christmas Communion Service will include special music by the Chancel Choir, Bell Choir, and others.

Saturday, December 30, 5:30 PM: Communion Service

Sunday, December 31, the First Sunday of Christmas:

  • 8:15 AM Communion Service
  • 10:30 AM Communion Service

Saturday, January 6, 5:30 PM, the Epiphany of Our Lord: Communion Service

Sunday, January 7, the Baptism of Our Lord:

  • 8:15 AM Communion Service
  • 10:30 AM Communion Service

Normally, at the 5:30 PM service on Saturday, we use the lectionary readings appointed for the following day, so the lessons are the same for all services during the weekend. However, because Epiphany falls this year on Saturday, January 6, we will use the readings for the day of Ephiphany at the service on that day. On Sunday, January 7, we will use the readings appointed for that day, which is celebrated as the Baptism of our Lord. Our pastor will give different sermons for the two days. Those attending each service are encouraged to independently read the lessons for the other day.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Chrismon Tree Set Up

We will be putting up four trees in the chancel on Saturday, December 9 at 8:30 AM and decorating them with the Chrismons on Tuesday, December 19 at 12:30 PM. Please come by and give us a hand.

Chrismons are ornaments in the form of Christian symbols which represent a variety of biblical and theological concepts. The Chrismons that we use on our trees have been hand made by members of our congregation. They are primarily white, with gold and silver ornamentation.

Join the Chancel Choir for Christmas Eve; Special Rehearsals

The Chancel Choir will present a number of anthems during the 10:00 PM communion service on Christmas Eve. If you are not one of the regular choir members, but would like to sing with us at the Christmas Eve service, now is the time to start rehearsing with us. As always, our director Ginger Minneman has chosen wonderful music - I'll list them in a later post.

In addition to our regular Thursday evening (7:00 PM) rehearsals, the Chancel Choir will have two special rehearsals to prepare for the Christmas Eve service:

* Saturday, December 9 at 10:00 AM at the church

* Tuesday, December 19 at 6:00 PM - party to follow (contact Ginger for the location)