Parades and Prices Paid

Today is Memorial Day.

Americans are charged with taking the time this day to remember the men and women of our armed forces who have died in pursuit of the American ideal of freedom.

It is a solemn day. 

It is a day of patriotic remembrance and pride.  We remember that many men and women have paid the ultimate price so that we may have the freedoms we daily take for granted.  We participate in and attend parades and ceremonies of remembrance which honor these people and celebrate the values for which these brave Americans have fought and died. 

I live in a lake community in a section of a very large town.  Our town, Parsippany, begins its Memorial Day celebration at Veteran’s Park with a Memorial Day Ceremony of Remembrance.  My community also holds a parade and ceremony on the Saturday before Memorial Day.   At each, members of our armed forces speak to the courage and valor of those who have died, pleading with us not to forget these fallen champions of freedom.

The news has frequently reported in recent years that we are losing those who fought in World War II at an increasing rate.  Their stories, and the stories of their comrades who fell on the battlefield, are being sought, so that we will remember, and never forget the price of freedom.

As I watched several of the older members of my community who have served in our armed forces this weekend, I was, and will continue to be, humbled by the way they have served our country, both during their active duty and their continued lifetime of service to their community.

“Freedom isn’t free.”  We know this today as well as the citizens of the 1940’s or the 1770's.

Don’t skip the ceremony.  Take your children and teach them what price has been paid for them.

Your freedom to worship as you choose, was purchased with the blood of thousands of men and women who believed in the ideal of freedom enough to march behind a United States flag and stare tyranny in the face.

Your salvation was purchased with the blood of the innocent Son of God.

Grasp the gift purchased for you.

Come and worship.
Sundays, 9:30 am
www.elcaAndy.org

Will I See You in Church Tomorrow?

Ok, so there’s so much going on today, who can sit still?

It’s Armed Forces Day…remember and thank all those who serve.

The Preakness race is on tonight.  Got a favorite horse?  Are we likely to be headed toward a Triple Crown, or will the excitement be dashed tonight?   I don’t bet the races, I just get excited to see history made.

Or, we’ll all be either raptured or left behind around dinner time so I wonder who will be left to watch the race, or even jockey the horses.

Hmmmm…I wonder if I’ll see you in church tomorrow.

Good grief.

Are we to believe this so-called prophet predicting our demise for this evening?  I won’t even mention his name so that the search engines don’t give him one more byte of credibility.

But, you know he’s right in one thing.  Christ will come again.  I just don’t think that it’s going to be tonight.

Why not?  Because:

“if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his home to be broken into.  You too, be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”  Luke 12:39-40

 “you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.”  1 Thess. 5:2

“This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah (a call to repentance).”     Luke 11:29  

We will not be told of the date for our judgment.  But we ARE to be ready...

We are to live EVERY DAY as if it would be our last chance to right wrongs, love one another, and choose Jesus for our savior…

Thank you to the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces.  I’m praying for your safety and a swift reunion with the people you love.

My home brewer hubby is cooking up a new batch of golden delight this afternoon.  It will be ready to drink and share with friends in a couple of weeks.

The choir is singing a really cool song at the 10:45 am service at church tomorrow.   Come, listen and enjoy.  Better yet, bring a friend.

I’ll see you in church tomorrow.

www.elcaAndy.org

Join us for worship tomorrow at 8:30 and 10:45 am.

Summer Worship Schedule begins May 29 with ONE service at 9:30 am

Change or Challege - It's all about the attitude

Today we tried a few new things in our worship service at St. Andrew.

(Gasp! New things?!!! In a Lutheran church?!!!)

We projected our worship service up above the cross on the front wall of our sanctuary and eliminated the bulletin. (Our bulletin is printed in its entirety…we do not use hymnals. Visitors have thanked us profusely for this consideration.) The choir led a few gathering songs and our choice of music leaned more toward the contemporary. The choir sang its anthem from a different spot in a different formation.

We handed out a survey and asked for a response to how people felt about the new style and format.

The service itself was not altogether different. We added two gathering hymns. Otherwise, worshippers experienced the same order of worship featuring our normal Lutheran order of worship.

The survey responses that were turned in, so far, were generally favorable…especially to do something like this once in a while, but not every Sunday. There were a lot of good comments about the logistics of the video presentation, in particular the size/placement of the projection and words and some people having difficulty viewing from the front without getting a pain in the neck.

Lutherans are often labeled the “singing Christians.” For all that many people don’t sing up, or sing out, they do prefer to see their music notes. Even if they can’t read music, being able to watch the dots go up or down helps them anticipate where the music is going. But for others, this didn’t seem to be a problem.

There were a lot of good comments that our Worship and Music team can now look at for how we might like to progress. Truthfully, many of these comments confirmed what we already know from previous surveys of new worship trials.

Unnfortunately, I know of a least two people who were extremely put off by what we attempted to do today; and yet, they did not fill out a survey. How can the Worship and Music team balance out those grumblings if we don’t have concrete comments/suggestions for what was unsettling or displeasing? How many people do those two represent? How many others were displeased and did not comment. Hopefully, those responses will filter in over the next two weeks but I am guessing maybe not.

Interestingly, the parents of two children in attendance (two separate families) commented that their children were really engaged in worship today and found it fun.

Lutherans have a lot of jokes to the tune of “change being a four-letter word.” It generally doesn’t sit well with life-long Lutherans.  But, St. Andrew is a mutt of a congregation, gathering people from all walks of life, backgrounds and religious upbringing. We are NOT all life-long Lutherans.

Being the church of the 21st century means being open to CHANGE, while still holding on to the values and traditions that define us. The CHALLENGE is in finding a way to do it well while respecting all viewpoints.

I believe St. Andrew is capable of navigating that path. It’s all a matter of attitude.

Has your church tried new worship formats? How were they received? How did you make changes and transitions?

http://www.elcaandy.org/