I did very little tonight that had to do with either the discernment committee or the pre-service singing. This should keep the entry very short...

At the request of our music director, Brooke Maxwell, my younger daughter and I went to a Gospel choir rehearsal. If you want to know my impressions, you can go check the entry in my other blog (yes I am crazy and keep up with two different blogs). The only thing I will add here is that I did not really feel like I was worshipping; probably because I was concentrating on learning the songs instead of concentrating on their meaning.


God Bless You!

"Is it just wishful thinking to believe that God loves us in the midst of disappointment, pain and tragedy? How can I trust God to be there anyway?" -- Beginnings program

"Whoever sings [to God, in worship], prays twice" -- Attributed to Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 C.E.

I guess the two people having a conversation right behind me during the singsong tainted my opinion of how things went as I have heard that, from the pews, it did not sound like there were people talking. Of that I am glad. The people at our church really like to sing, and I would hate to be the one that would make them decide to not sing with bad choices in songs.

And speaking of songs, I have decide to start early in trying to select songs for the pre-service singing. This week theme is "Can I trust God?" and the question asked is quoted at the top of this entry.

I have, in the last couple of weeks, gone back to the practice of asking people if they have any songs that they would like to hear - no, make that sing since they can listen to music anywhere. It is most important that they get involved in singing as the quote above indicates. In any case, I was given a request this last Sunday: Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) by Chris Rice. It is one of my favourite hymns/songs and I do not think it is a coincidence that I was reminded of it on Sunday. If you read the lyrics (click on the title of the song) I hope you will agree with me that it is a very good example of how Jesus is always with us in all phases of our life. So it is high on the list of possible songs for this Sunday.

One of the members of the Discernment committee as tendered her resignation. I am very sorry to see her go and will miss her valuable inputs in our discussions. I will hold her in my prayers in hoping she is successful in her spiritual quest. God speed!

God Bless You!

I must confess that I thought that people were not paying as much attention to the pre-service singing as they had been in the previous weeks. There were conversations going on all around me which sort of made me feel that I was not reaching the congregation this morning.

The service on the other hand was very good; I particularly the way the minister made Luke 24:13-35 come alive. I had been reading that Bible passage for a few days now and it made that reading so much more meaningful.

I would be very interesting in finding out what the comments were as far as the new placement of the piano was concerned. I am obviously biased since I am part of the committee that wanted the piano moved, but I think the piano worked very well from where it is now located.

It was also great news to hear that the trial period between ourselves and our music director has been extended for another month. I am pretty sure that I mentioned before that Brooke Maxwell is trying out the position of music director to see if he can fit it in his already very busy schedule. So I am heartened to hear that we made enough of a good impression that he is willing to extend his trial period. Despite some comments about a weakness that he has (he has acknowledged that he is not very good at playing what is written on a page) I think that we have overall a great opinion of him and we are glad he is staying. I know I am.

God Bless You!

I have yet to receive an email with the notes from the Discernment brainstorming. Maybe it just never made it to me. In any case, the following is what I wrote down:

Love as foundation
- unselfish
- treat people with kindness
- acceptance of differences
--- not cohersive
--- flexible
--- different needs ... met with love

Openness to goodness
Live in a Christ-like way
Believe
- that God loves us
- God is Love ...
- in Christ
--- eternal life
--- forgiveness

Shown in
- friendship
- acceptance
- kindness
- forgiveness
- compassion

I should also send it to the mailing since I don't believe everyone reads my blog.

God Bless You!

As I had surmised, finding songs that fit the theme was harder this week than in previous weeks. Even the songs I have picked only skirt the theme I feel. I guess the idea this week is to whet their appetite for what is to come in the service.

So the order of songs for Sunday is as follows:

"Majesty" Jack Hayford
"Open My Eyes That I May See" VU371
"You In My Life" Gary Sadler and Steven V. Taylor

Interesting anecdote. I was out for part of the afternoon getting guitar strings (and looking around) at Long & McQuade. When I came back I decided that I was going to work on the PowerPoint for the service since I was not sure if the youth that was supposed to work on it was back. My wife and I went out for dinner and while at dinner she mentioned that one of the members of the church had called and left a voice message while I was out. It turns out that it was the grandfather of that youth letting me know that she would not be able to work on the PowerPoint and would not be at the service on Sunday. So I would have had to do the PowerPoint anyway; interesting that I was moved to do it even though I did not know I had to.

It would appear that I need to put up the result of the brainstorming session from the last Discernment committee meeting; I have yet to see the email that was supposed to have been sent out. I will check at church in the morning and then put it in my blog tomorrow night.

Well I better go to bed as I am supposed to be up in about 3.5 hours to do stuff related to work.

God Bless You!

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" -- 1 Corinthians 15:55 [NIV]

As expected, there were some grumbling from members of the choir when they saw where the piano was. But our music director, Brooke Maxwell, explained that it was at his request that the piano had been moved. He wanted to be closer to the choir and also needed to see the congregation (he was sitting with his back to the congregation before now). This seemed to satisfy the masses. There is still the slight problem of how to sit for rehearsals, but I am sure a good solution will be found. For tonight, we just turned the chairs 90 degrees to face the piano.

During choir practice, Brooke asked if we had any suggestions for anthems for the choir for Easter. The following song came to mind: "Alive, Forever, Amen". I have listened to it again and it probably is too involved for a choir of our size. But it certainly is a nice song. And the lyrics could even be used for next Sunday's service. Unfortunately, the song is not really one that can be done easily by a congregation. I would recommend following the link and looking at the words.

I have not had much of a chance to either look for songs or work on the discernment homework. This week as been a busier week than most. I am hoping that the early part of the weekend will have some quiet time where I can figure out what songs will 1) fit the theme, 2) be easy for the congregation to sing, and 3) help get the congregation in the right frame of mind. I can say that this week seems to be more of a challenge as far as picking songs is concerned.

I have just found this song that I think is great: "You In My Life". It seems to me to fit well with the theme for this week and it is currently in the list of possible songs for the singsong.

God Bless You!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." -- John 3:16 [NIV]

Tonight was the second meeting for this year's Love Esquimalt / Vic West / View Royal event. I missed the first one as I was out of the country, so I had some catching up to do. The date for this year's event is June 3rd. If your church is in Esquimalt / Vic West / View Royal, ask about Love [Your City], there is a good chance your church is taking part. If not, there is plenty of time for your church to join in this awesome event. Check the web site, and send me an email (my email address is on the right) and I will give you some more information.

I just cannot wait for choir practice this Thursday (Feb.23). The reason for this eagerness is that our music director has moved the piano so he can see the congregation (he was sitting with his back to the congregation before). When our previous director was sitting at the organ (pretty much where the piano is now) a few of the choir members complained that they could not see her so she could "direct" them. So it should be interesting to hear the comments - I might even show up early! But seriously, we (the worship committee) have been trying to move the piano from in front of the chancel for over a year now. This will allow for so much more freedom in what can be done to make the service more meaningful. And all now without having to worry about people not being able to see the goings on.

The theme for this Sunday is "What happens when I die?" which talks about death and the Resurrection. Which made me think about a snippet of a hymn, which then brought me to the Bible passage at the top. This is just early work to get my mind wrapped around what kinds of songs I should/will pick for the singsong this Sunday.

God Bless You!

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." -- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a [NIV]

Yesterday's Discernment committee meeting focused on getting us closer to realizing what the vision of the church should be. It did take a little prodding from the moderator, but we were able to articulate how we saw the embodiment of "love as a foundation" for the church. Our assignment for the next meeting is to put into a sentence "who we are". We are not to push it but by reviewing some of the stuff we received it is hoped that will have an epiphany about the vision.

The service at church was great on Sunday; the music was fun. The gospel tune that we the choir sang was a big hit. After the service, we had the Annual General Meeting (AGM). During the AGM, the congregation was asked to brainstorm a little about the strengths of and dreams for the church. Some good information was gleaned from the session and it should help with discernment. The one thing I noticed is that the statements, except for one (I will not count the one I put forth), could apply to any club - not only the church. I think it took us in the discernment a little while to nail down what differentiates the church from clubs. I think it will be obvious for them once they really think about it.

Well I better let my spiritual friends what they missed.

God Bless You!

"But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, `Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.`" -- Luke 19:8 [NIV]

Luke 19:1-10 is the thematic Bible reading for this Sunday's service and I have chosen to concentrate on the passage above to choose what I will sing in the singsong. So the line up is as follows (in the order they will be sung):

"Come, Let us sing of a wonderful love" Robert Walmsley [VU574]
"I have decided to follow Jesus" Anonymous [FWS2129]
"Cry of my Heart" Terry Butler [FWS2165]

I finally managed to make it to a men's breakfast at church. I had said when asked that I would go to the one before Christmas, but I completely forgot about it and slept right through that one. So I made sure this time that I woke up in plenty of time to make the breakfast. I enjoyed myself. I must say that there were more people there than I anticipated - talk about being pleasantly surprised. I guess the biggest surprise is that there were 4 youth there amidst a group that consisted mostly of men with gray hair. Kudos to them for coming as I must confess that at their age I would not have come to such a meeting.

I guess I better finalize my thoughts on the discernment committee as the next meeting is this Monday.

God Bless You!

I have not been posting anything for the last few days. First, I was out of town visiting my older daughter at the United Church camp, Naramata Centre. And now, I am back at work. It is taking me some time to get used to the fact that I do not have as much free time as I have had while I was on vacation. So I find myself not having done anywhere near as much as I had hoped I would do and the evening is long gone.

Not that I have not been thinking about discernment, or singing; because I have. I just have not had the time to put my thoughts down in the blog. And tonight is no different. But I wanted to let everyone know that I am not deserting this blog, just re-adjusting to my work schedule.

God Bless You!

"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship." John 4:23b [The Message]

The Scripture extract above is from the chosen Bible reading for this week: John 4:1-41. That was the verse that stood out for me.

Now I am out of town on Sunday so I will not be doing the singsong, but I thought I would have a look at which songs I might have chosen. The title of this entry is the theme for this week so I thought that this song might be suitable:

"Majesty" Jack Hayford

The following song seems to have been written as an answer to that very question:

"It is You" David Edwards

We have sung "Majesty" before, but "It Is You" is new to the congregation.

I have purposely not posted anything about discernment as I did not get a chance to pursue anything further and I am still mulling things over.

God Bless You!

I have been thinking about doing a review of the phrases the group picked out of the vision statements that were shown to us from different types of churches. The reason behind it is that I remember the facilitator saying that we were all on the same page; that it would be easier for us to come up with a vision statement since we all seemed to be wanting the same thing. Which of course brings us back to the fact that we have not yet been able to articulate that statement.

What I would like to do is pick just a few of the phrases that were listed; the ones I feel best exemplify what I think the vision statement of the church should be. And I think everyone else in the Discernment committee should do the same. If we are as close as we have been told we are, then the phrases we pick should be very similar and it should not be too difficult to come up with a vision statement.

The reason for not coming up with a vision statement myself is that I really feel the vision statement should be a group endeavour. To use an analogy: having my own vision statement would be like presenting the group with blueprints to a house and saying that this is what I think the house should look like. Bringing the few select phrases is like coming to a meeting to decide what the house should look like with some general ideas on what should be included in the plans. It would seem to me that it would be easier to build consensus that way rather than having each person try and defend their own plans.

Oh well, enough for one night.

God Bless You!

"Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness." -- Ephesians 4:6b [The Message]

Tonight was the discernment committee meeting. It was an interesting meeting in the sense that we found out that pretty much everyone was confused, and then we got to find out why we were confused.

We have been presented with a lot of different information about churches: types of churches, models of churches, etc. and it seemed to me (and from the comments I might say us) like we were not making any progress and that things were getting more confusing. That on top of the continuing work done by the group to continue to build trust, and practice discipleship among other things.

I think, for me at least, it helped to see the "bigger picture". That we are in an information gathering phase - collecting data needed to help planning happen (as mentioned on one of the many sheets of paper that were handed out). I am heartened to realize that we are, I hope, in the latter stages of the second phase of planning.

One of the frustrating things though is that there needs to be a consensus for the vision statement for the church. The frustrating thing is not that we don't agree on one, but rather that we have all voiced the same vision for the church in previous discussions and are currently unable to articulate it. The facilitator has recognized it, but cannot (or rather will not) tell us what it is because then it would not be "our" vision.

God Bless You!

Today was our first Sunday with our new organist/choir director. I don't know about anybody else, but I really think that it went very well. I do not know the details of the try-out period, but I certainly hope that we can make it work. For those who may have missed the previous post, our new music director on a trial basis is Brooke Maxwell. He covered one Sunday for our recently resigned previous director and he made such a good impression that I think it is a great thing that he is willing to give this a shot.

The singsong went okay, although I started 10 minutes late. This was really due to the fact that the mixing console had not been used since I had to leave and some of the cables had been "repositioned". Once I found out where the cables were, things ran relatively smoothly. I still think however that it probably would be beneficial if those scheduled to use the mikes would do sound checks before the service. Now it would not have helped today as we (by that I mean me) were late getting the equipment set up, but being able to set the mikes up so that the softer of the two voices doing the talking could be heard clearly would have helped tremendously.

We had, once again, issues with kids distracting from the focus of the service. Our minister is trying to make things better and I think that the solution being put forward by the Worship committee should go quite a ways towards helping solve that problem.

At the Worship committee meeting, we agreed to add a Maundy Thursday service to Holy Week. There is more information on Maundy Thursday at the top of this web page. Our church has not celebrated Maundy Thursday in quite a while - I do not remember there being such a service ever since I have attended Esquimalt United - I would guess at least 20 years. Many other things were discussed, but I think I will bring them up as they occur (just a coward's way of getting out of remembering all that was discussed).

God Bless You!

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." -- Psalm 42:1b [NIV]

Since I only had 2 songs selected so far by the time I made my blog entry yesterday, I still had to come up with one more song. And also, it had to be a song that the congregation knew as I am already singing 2 songs they are not familiar with.

One of the Bible readings for tomorrow is Psalm 42:1-5. This gave me the third song I needed for the singsong: "As The Deer". I know, it is very obvious, but sometimes you should not overthink things. That makes the song selection for tomorrow thus:

"The Heart of Worship" Matt Redman
"As The Deer" VU766
"I Will Celebrate" Rita Baloche

There a links to the authors in the blog entries for yesterday and the day before if you would like to get more information about them.

God Bless You!

PS: After much thought, I am afraid that I will have to turn down the offer of a position on the Ministry & Personnel Committee. The main reason being that at times I already feel like I have taken on too much as it is.

I mentioned yesterday that I would sing "I will celebrate" during the singsong as that song is new to the congregation. That still leaves me with having to find a couple more songs. I happened to tune in to one of the local Christian radio stations (Praise 106.5FM) and this song was playing:

"The Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman

It struck me that the song would fit well in the theme of the week "So, is this all there is?". I particularly like the line "It's all about you, Jesus". I would think that this song will be in the singsong unless I get an epiphany about something else. Of course, this means that I will be singing 2 new songs during the singsong, which is something I usually try to avoid.

God Bless You!

Tonight was the first choir practice with our new interim organist/choir director: Brooke Maxwell. It will be a very interesting time, one that I hope will not be limited to the month of February - which is the time period Brooke has agreed to so he can see how things work out in his schedule and if he is comfortable doing the work.

One of the things that will change with Brooke is how hymns are being played. Brooke does not usually follow what is on the page, but rather improvises based on the chords of the hymn. This will make for an interesting time. I dare say that "Come, Now is the time to worship" by Brian Doerksen has never sounded at our church like it will on Sunday; a lot more drive, a lot more energy. I just cannot wait!

Another song that has been selected for the service is "I will celebrate" by Rita Baloche. It is a nice song, but a new song. I have decided that I will go over it during the singsong so that people will have an idea as to how the song goes when it is sung during the service.

God Bless You!

I have been trying, without success so far, to find my(our) copy of the companion book that was used for the Beginnings course that my wife and I took last year. I remember that we did not have a copy when the course started, but I am reasonably sure that we did get a copy towards the end of the course. The reason to look for it is that our minister is going to do a series of sermons over the next few weeks based on the course. I figured that re-reading the book would help me get into the right frame of mind to help me come up with songs for Sunday. For those not familiar with that course, let me point you to its website so you can read about it: Beginnings.

I was looking at the material that was left for me after the last Discernment Committee meeting, a meeting which I had to miss as I was out of town. I still feel somewhat disconnected with the whole process as I am not sure what the next steps are (not that I have gone out of my way to find out though). However, on the back of the papers was the first page of an article by Paul Baloche, "The Heart of Excellent Worship". I include the link to it as I think it is a great article. I know I have felt many of the things he mentions in getting ready for the "singsong" so it was great to read how others deal with those things.

I am still having trouble deciding about the M&P position. I guess my problem is that I have some many negative thoughts about that position (which are listed in yesterday's entry) that I wonder if I would even hear any answers to my prayers. I'm still not very good at this praying thing; or maybe it is just the part about opening yourself to the answers that I have trouble with.

God Bless You!