turning 64

How often do you play a Bach prelude, accompany Barb on the recorder, bang out a rousing spiritual on the piano ("Welcome Table"), and lead two hymns totally acappella ("I love to tell the story" and "For Christ and the church") and then have your 64th birthday party at a fancy schmancy eatery in Skippack?

Well, once, if you're lucky.

And I am. Most of all I had my family with me. Here's son Joel. Around the table, too, was his wife Stephanie and daughter Sarah and her husband Ryan and of course Dorcas.

how hymns get chosen

Tuesday evening the worship planning committee met in the library. Nate joined us.
Also around the table were Nancy, Joyce, Jennifer, Kevin and myself. Hunter was pursuing D. Min. work in California. Edie was engaged in Mennonite Church USA board work.

So, six of us paged through blue and green hymnals, referencing the scriptures and themes of the services planned for July. I said, let's suggest what comes to mind and edit ourselves as we go around this at the end.

That's how the hymns were chosen for July.

just a weekend

I'll be somewhere close to Katie's shakes and banana splits in Grantsville, Maryland, on Sunday. There's Dorcas far left. Then my son, Joel, and his wife, Stephanie. Then my daughter Sarah and her husband Ryan. That's me in the green shirt.

Grantsville is where Dorcas hails from. It's a town in western Maryland, in lovely, pastoral, rolling mountains.

Her extended family, the Millers, plans a weekend of reunion activities.

I spent the regular Tuesday and Wednesday at Zion. Since Hunter is away in California, my work was more intense with Beth and Scott as we finalized the details of the worship service bulletin. I also had a chance to meet intern Nate and show him the conference center, and, most important, Bakers on Broad, where I treated him to a croissant.

While I'm gone for one Sunday, I'll be back on Tuesday. This is not a vacation; just a weekend.

Choir attendance awards

Drum roll, please...

And the Adult Choir high attenders, out of a possible 20, for the period of time from January through the end of May (rehearsals and Sundays each count) are...

Nancy Fridey, 19
Bill Fridey, 18
Floyd Landis, 17
Royden Nyce, 17
Brad Alderfer, 17
Mary Jane Koehler, 16

And the prize is...getting your name online. Thank you to one and all of the singers.

church in the field

Sometimes church plays baseball. Here's Zion in red. We have two teams this year.

If we only had as many basses (singers) in choir as we have baseballers.

a modest proposal

How's this for a modest proposal--let's stop killing people. Doesn't surprise me that Zion people would want to suggest that to the neighbors.

Here's Russ, Joyce, and Mary holding up the standard. You've convinced me.

sounds of music, earth and heaven

Sometimes our sounds in public worship take us away from the daily grind, to “a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God” (hymn #5). We might hear soft music and see beautiful colors. But just turn the page in the hymnal to #6 and we have sounds “not in some heaven, light years away, but here in this place.” We might hear chords and drum beats and be reminded that all energy belongs to God who created all. That's just what we heard this morning.

Young people can help the congregation see that the heavenly and the earthly are both part of worship. In today's worship we sang two Marty Haugen hymns from the early 1980s, “You are salt" and "Here in this place."

This morning our prayer chorus changed to hymnal, #353, "Lord listen to your children praying."

Summer music begins June 1

Right off the first day of June, music at Zion kept on singing and ringing. At left is the upper bells of the adult handbell choir. At right is guest soprano Pam Smith of Quakertown who sang two Bill Gaither songs.

June, July, and August are good months to explore music in our community and church. If you have a suggestion, let me know. Or, volunteer yourself.