Tuesday, May 29, 2007

From Our Pastor - Ministry Update

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It was a wild weekend in worship, as we celebrated the Festival of Pentecost. Saturday night worship moved outside for the first time this year, and it was grand!

On Sunday, at the 10:30 service, five of our youth affirmed their baptisms in the Service of Confirmation. The five were Andrew David Dickerson, Emily Susan Kugel, Nicole Joann Martinez, Morgan Leigh Nandrasy, and Alec John Snead. In the worship procession, 3 of the confirmands carried poles with red streamers, and on one pole was also attached a dove kite, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. I am thrilled to announce to you that before the procession reached the chancel steps, we had captured the Holy Spirit(!), as the streamers from one pole became completely tangled up with the dove kite. It was great to watch from the rear of the procession! Needless to say, our five new adult members of Lutheran Church of Our Savior are ready to serve the congregation in their new capacity, and I am proud to have had the privilege to work with them in Confirmation over the last two years! And it was a joy to worship with their extended family members yesterday. Special thanks to members of the Christian Education Committee, who hosted a reception in the confirmands' honor after worship.

NEXT SUNDAY, JUNE 3 OUR WORSHIP SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR THE SUMMER – 9:45 A.M. There will be no 8:15 or 10:30 Sunday worship throughout the summer. Saturday worship continues at 5:30 p.m.

Next Sunday, is also Music Sunday in worship (9:45 a.m.). The Chancel Choir, Hand Bell Choir, Sunshine Children's Choir and Joyful Noise Children's Choir will lead us in worship. Also, during worship, we will celebrate with Sharon and Pat Griffy as they affirm their marriage vows on the 25th anniversary of their wedding in the midst of our community of faith. Following worship, Sharon and Pat invite everyone to join them for lunch on the Parish House west patio. Your prayers and presence are the only gifts requested.

And also next Sunday, after worship (9:45 a.m.), the Youth Group will be holding a Bake Sale to support the HVAC project. So, stay for lunch, and then buy some dessert to take home with you!

Please keep in prayer the Southern Ohio Synod, which meets in assembly this Friday and Saturday at Capital University in Columbus. Terry Bruns is our lay representative.

May the Holy Spirit move you this week to share the Good News of Jesus with at least one person!

In Christ,

Gary

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Music for Pentecost

  • 10:30 service: Setting Four of the service of Communion from ELW.
  • Prelude: Pentecost, by Everett Titcomb
  • Entrance Hymn: ELW #367, Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds
  • Hymn of the Day: 8:15 service, ELW #396, Spirit of Gentleness; 10:30 service, Veni, Sancte Spritus (Taize)
  • Offertory: 8:15 service, Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest, by Paul Manz; 10:30 service, Chancel Choir, No Rocks A'Cryin, by Rollo Dillworth
  • Sending Hymn: ELW #400 God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind
  • Postlude: Toccata Giocosa, by Gilbert Martin

Today's prelude, Pentecost, makes use of the chant Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest). Titcomb's choral anthem I will Not Leave You Comfortless, which our ChancelChoir sang two weeks ago, uses the same chant.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

A Message From Our Pastor - Pentecost; Confirmation; Saturday Service Moving Outdoors

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
This weekend, we celebrate the 3rd major festival of the church year: PENTECOST. This marks the day in which God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the believers in Jerusalem, and that same Spirit is still poured out upon believers in baptism today. The color of Pentecost is RED, and I encourage everyone to wear that color to worship this weekend. Red is the symbol of the blood of the martyrs. The word martyr comes from the Greek, meaning to witness one's faith. By virtue of our baptism, we are all martyrs – witnesses for Jesus.


During the 10:30 a.m. worship service we will celebrate with 5 youth who will affirm their baptismal vows in the Service of Confirmation. A special reception will be held in their honor following worship.


The Saturday (5:30 p.m.) service moves outside in the Memorial Prayer Labyrinth this weekend. Special thanks to Judy Ault, Karen Roberts, and Rachel Spry, who filled the flower beds with new soil and flowers, as well as picked up plenty of debris from the trees. And special thanks to Carl Ault, who helped me clean out the pond.


REMEMBER!!!!!!! THIS IS THE LAST WEEKEND FOR 8:15 AND 10:30 A.M. SUNDAY WORSHIP – WE MOVE TO THE SUMMER SCHEDULE (9:45 A.M.) ON JUNE 3.


May God bless you this week, and may you follow the Spirit's prodding to join us in worship this weekend!

In Christ,

Gary


Monday, May 21, 2007

Pentecost

Acts 2:2-4. "And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability."

This Sunday, May 27, is Pentecost. The banners that will be hung in the sanctuary were made several years ago. Members of our congregation traced their hands on red fabric. The flames on the banners were made from the tracings.

Bell Choir

Just a reminder that the Bell Choir will rehearse after the 10:30 a.m. service this coming Sunday, May 27, and at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 31. We will play at the service on June 3.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

The Ascension of Our Lord

This weekend, we celebrate the Festival of Ascension of Our Lord. The following is the music for our services on Sunday:
  • ELW Communion Setting Four (10:30 a.m. service)
  • Prelude: Deo Gratias, Healey Willan
  • Entrance Hymn: Hail Thee Festival Day, ELW 394
  • Hymn of the Day: Allelulia! Sing to Jesus, ELW 392
  • Offertory: organ at 8:15 a.m. service, Lobt Gott, Ihr Christen, J.G. Walter; Chancel Choir at 10:30 a.m. service, O Clap Your Hands, John Rutter
  • Hymns during Communion: Lord Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor, ELW 475; Like the Murmur of the Dove's Song, ELW 403
  • Final Hymn: Crown Him with Many Crowns, ELW 855
  • Postlude: Toccata, Gordon Young

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Ascension; Saturday Service Moving Outside - A Message From Our Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

This weekend we celebrate THE FESTIVAL OF THE ASCENSION, the second of the three great festivals of the church (Easter, Ascension, Pentecost). Just as the disciples were beginning to understand Jesus' resurrection, he left them. But his visible absence made it possible for him to be in the world in a new way – through his Spirit. Even today, Christ is present with us through the community that gathers to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism and Holy Communion, and receives the living Word of God's forgiveness and love.

We plan to move outside for Saturday worship on May 26. In preparation for that move, we will be working in the Prayer Labyrinth next Wednesday, May 24 in the afternoon, filling the raised flower beds with topsoil, planting flowers, and cleaning the pond. If you can help, stop by the church in the afternoon, or contact the church office.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
In his daily devotional book, Beyond Words, author and theologian Frederick Buechner writes, Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it's like to live inside someone else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.

May God bless you this week, and together may we celebrate in worship God's endless blessings for us.

In Christ,
Gary

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Saturday Evening Service Moving Outdoors

Assuming that the weather cooperates, Saturday evening (5:30 p.m.) services will return outdoors to the memorial labyrinth on Saturday, May 26.

Our Saturday evening services are informal Communion services that follow the ancient four-fold pattern of gathering, Word, meal, and sending. The sermon is the same semon that is given at the Sunday services. Songs are accompanied by acoustical guitar and keyboard and range in style from folk to contemporary, with some "golden oldies" added to the mix. Some of our members attend this service regularly, and others attend it when they can't make it to church on Sunday.

As always, visitors are welcome.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Blessings on the Prayer List

One of the members of the Worship Committee pointed out the other day that our prayer list includes almost exclusively people who need help - people who are ill; people who have lost loved ones; people who have experienced a natural disaster; etc. She pointed out that we can also lift people up to God in thanks for blessings that have bestowed on them. We talked about this at our meeting today, and decided that we like the idea. So, be aware that you can put people on the prayer list when you want to thank God for blessings that have occurred in their lives.

Please communicate prayer requests directly to the church office. [Do not put any requests on this blog.]

Friday, May 11, 2007

I Will Not Leave Your Comfortless

The Gospel lesson this weekend is John 14:23-29. In this lesson, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit:
"I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you . . . ."
Reflecting this lessson, the anthem that our Music Director, Ginger Minneman, has chosen for the Chancel Choir to sing at the offering at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday service is I Will Not Leave You Comfortless. This is one of Six Short Motets for the Greater Festivals of the Church by Everett Titcomb (1884-1968).

Everett Titcomb was director of music at the Boston Church of the Society of St. John the Evanglist for 50 years. His compositions were the outgrowth of a scholarly interest in plainchant and liturgy. First published in 1936, I Will Not Leave You Comfortless pays homage to the masters of Renaissance music with imitative, overlapping voices. At one point, the bass theme is the plainchant from the ninth century Veni Creator Spiritus. The motet is in a minor key that resolves on the last chord, and has been described as being achingly beautiful. It is sung a cappella.

Other music this Sunday:
  • ELW Communion Setting Four (10:30 a.m. service)
  • Prelude: Awake, My Heart with Gladness (Auf, Auf, Mein Herz), Paul Manz
  • Entrance Hymn: Come, We That Love the Lord, ELW 625
  • Hymn of the Day: Day by Day, ELW 790
  • Offertory (8:15 a.m. service): The Savior's Blood and Righteousness, Margaret Vardell Sandresky
  • Hymns during Communion: When Peace Like a River, ELW 785; O Day of Peace, ELW 711
  • Final Hymn: We are Called, ELW 720
  • Postlude: Christ Has Risen, Alleluia (Mfurahini, Haleluya), Keith Lolander (based on a traditional Tanzanian Tune) - piano and tamborine

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

A Message From Our Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The photos from Greensburg, Kansas, or what used to be Greensburg, are eerie reminders of the 1974 system that spawned over 100 tornadoes in the Midwest and South, wiping out Xenia and doing 100 million dollars of damage to Hanover College (southern Indiana) where I was completing my junior year. Lutheran Disaster Relief (LDR), a collaborative ministry of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, was on site yesterday to assess the situation and begin planning for assistance. You may make monetary relief donations through the church, and designate them for Greensburg; we will inform you when donations of food, clothing, etc. will be accepted. For more information, check out news on the ELCA website: http://www.elca.org/news/blog.

The lessons for this weekend all revolve around visions: in our first lesson, Paul receives a vision from God telling him to visit another continent to share abroad the Good New of God in Jesus; in our second lesson, John the Seer receives God's vision of a new Jerusalem – an image of what it means to live with God. And in our Gospel lesson, Jesus provides for his disciples a vision of what life will be like when he is no longer bodily with them, as the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit are promised, and faith in Christ will be deepened.

And . . . don’t forget . . . this Sunday, May 13, is MOTHERS’ DAY!

Thought for the week:

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. – Pablo Picasso

Let’s gather together in worship this weekend to celebrate God’s creative Spirit within each of us!

In Christ,

Gary

Monday, May 07, 2007

Worship Committee Meeting

The Worship Committee will meet this coming Saturday, May 11. The meeting will be at 10:00 a.m. at the church.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

The Beginning and the End



See below for more information on the banner we used as a frontal on the altar this weekend.

We Filled the Cart!

Thanks to those who brought cereal to worship this weekend for the New Hope Food Pantry.

Friday, May 04, 2007

The Beginning and the End

This weekend's second lesson is Revelation 21:1-6, which includes the passage: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."

Earlier this year, eight of our Sunday School classes made banner panels representing different names of Jesus appearing in the Bible. The picture above is the panel that our Sr. High Sunday School class made. It represents "the beginning and the end," and will be displayed this weekend.

The class spent time over several weeks discussing the design for this panel, which evolved considerably from their first ideas. They used fabric paints, blending colors to produce a vivid effect. Members of the class are currently planning banners for a future occasion, and we look forward to seeing and displaying what they create.

Ubi cáritas et ámor, Déus ibi est.

This weekend's Gospel lesson is John 13:31-35. At the end of this passage, Jesus says:
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
The title of this posting translates into English as: "Where charity and love are, God is there." It is the first line of the anthem that the Chancel Choir will sing this Sunday at the offering during the 10:30 a.m. service. Ubi caritas is from Four Motets on Gregorian themes by Maurice Dureflé (1902-1986) and is based on an ancient plainchant melody.

Other music this Sunday:
  • ELW Communion Setting Four (10:30 a.m. service)
  • Prelude: This Joyful Eastertide, David Cherwien
  • Entrance Hymn: Son of God, Eternal Savior, ELW 655
  • Hymn of the Day: All are Welcome, ELW 641
  • Offertory (8:15 a.m. service): Christ is erstanden, Johann Kaspar Ferdindand Fischer
  • Hymns during Communion: Will You Let Me be Your Servant, ELW 659; Blest Be the Tie that Binds, ELW 656
  • Final Hymn: Where Charity and Love Prevail, ELW 359
  • Postlude: Grand Choer, William Faulkes

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Bring Cereal to Church This Weekend

The Social Ministry Committee is asking that everyone bring breakfast cereal when you come to worship on May 5 and 6 to stock the shelves of the New Hope Food Pantry. Add a box (or more) to the grocery cart in the narthex. Any kind you'd like to share will be welcome. Hot cereals like oatmeal or grits; cold cereals – flakes, puffs or whatever shapes you like. Any and all kinds will help feed those who are hungry.

We had a great response on "Super Bowl Sunday." Let's fill the cart again! Remember: "Where charity and love are, God is there." (See the posting above entitled "Ubi caritas . . . .")

For more information about the work of our Social Ministry Committee click here.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

A Message From Our Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Special thanks to Pastor Robert Neeb for leading worship in my absence last weekend. I was out of the office for most of the week, working on/around the house, and (more important) getting in some great fishing (there is no other kind!). Saturday, I took some time to work with Lutheran sisters and brothers in the Rebuilding Together house that was sponsored by the Dayton Conference, and "captained" by our own Doug Hammer, with organizing help from Lee Scamp and Donna Gorrell. 76 Lutherans (yes, that's seventy-six) showed up to help, with 20 of them being LCOS member-disciples! A power-point slide show will be running in the narthex this weekend before and after worship, so you can see the work that was accomplished by congregations working together, which happens to be the theme of our lessons in worship this weekend.

This weekend, our Social Ministry Committee is sponsoring Cereal Days – bring one or more boxes of cereal (hot or cold) to worship and place in the grocery cart in the narthex. This is one more way we can help feed the hungry population in Dayton.

And . . . this Sunday, the Youth are hosting their annual Mothers' Day Brunch (yes, one week early) from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the Fellowship Hall. Proceeds will go to help fund their annual mission work. This summer, the youth will be attending the ELCA Global Mission Event, at The Ohio State University.

Thought for the week:
The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless. (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)

Come together in worship this weekend, when we can celebrate God's boundless grace-filled imagination for each of us!

In Christ,
Gary