Thank you to all who volunteered, attended and took part in our 2019 Homecoming celebration. It is always good to welcome back familiar faces, meet new people and enjoy a wonderful meal together with our Church family. It was especially nice to have as our guest preacher, the Rev. Brad Hales from the NALC staff. Thank you Pastor Brad for a wonderful message and for visiting us here at St. Jacob’s.
Worship and Music Archive
Homecoming 2019
Posted August 28, 2019 By adminUp and Going
Posted August 28, 2019 By adminThe 2019 4 Churches meeting was held on August 22nd at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, in downtown Little Mountain.
Upon arrival, we found the New Life Center was decorated with beautiful sunflower arrangements, inviting each person to come on in and prepare to have a good time together. The Theme for the day was Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often; To laugh through life is to live with smiles in your heart and enjoy life.
We were heartily welcomed by President Janet Fulmer. Each Church was introduced, with St. Jacob’s having 18 in attendance. Devotions included reading of a poem by Irma Bombeck entitled Live Life, We then sang “Love Lifted Me”, followed by a reading reminding us that God has a sense of humor and that God laughs at OUR plans. The devotions concluded with prayer. Pastor Brett Collins welcomed us and gave the meal blessing.
A bountiful, delicious meal with lots of salads, vegetables, casseroles and country fried steak with rice and gravy (provided by Holy Trinity) was enjoyed by all.
Entertainment was provided by Pastor Jackie Utley of Ascension Lutheran Church and Pastor Jason Shafer of St. Luke Lutheran. Pastor Jason played the guitar and Pastor Jackie played the tambourine and lead the singing, and sing we did! Some songs were in honor of Woodstock’s 50th Anniversary and some were just for fun. We learned a new song… The Butter Bean Song. It was different but So funny. We laughed, sang then laughed some more. Prizes were given throughout the gathering.
The meeting closed and we departed with smiles on our faces and love in our hearts. We have enjoyed the company of old friends, made new friends and simply enjoyed each other’s company. The 2020 meeting will be hosted by Macedonia.
Remember: Snoopy says: Good Laughs and long sleep makes all things better.
September is the Annual Apple Run……more details to follow.
Children’s Choir
Posted August 28, 2019 By adminTune Our Hearts Lord! The children’s choir has started its second season. This year we will be sporting our new choir robes as we help to lead worship with the adult choir. Choir practice is Sunday afternoon at 3 PM for children in 1st through 6th grade. The choir will sit together in the choir loft for worship on the second Sunday of each month. I thank the parents for their commitment to bringing their children to practice each week. We memorize all the music so regular attendance at practice is crucial. In addition to anthems we will be learning about our Lutheran liturgy. We will also work on music for the Christmas program throughout the fall. Please pray for our choir that God would tune our hearts and teach us to sing his praise.
Love in Christ, Angela
Worship And Music
Posted August 28, 2019 By adminWe had an AWESOME choir workshop on Saturday, August 17th! It sure feels good to have already looked at and worked on music for Advent and Christmas, so that when things get really busy after Thanksgiving, we’ll be ahead of the game. We also had time to work on the upcoming fall anthems, because September seems to sneak up on us when we’re on summer break (wonder how that happens?)
Angela and I have worked on the schedule and musical selections for the Children’s Choir and we’re very excited about what’s coming up this fall. From getting new choir robes to helping the children discover and develop their talents, it is shaping up to be another great year for our youngsters (and us two young-at-heart-ers!)
The Handbell Choir will be taking an extended break for the foreseeable future. I will be using this time to assess and reevaluate the role of handbells in our worship services and discern the path forward. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated during this process. As always, thank you to the congregation for your continued support of the music ministry at St. Jacob’s.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Laurie
Creating A Vision For Ministry
Posted July 30, 2019 By adminWhat is St. Jacob’s vision for ministry within our community and world? To be honest, we can’t say we have a clear vision. As a congregation of God’s people, we are all called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, follow him in faith and participate in the mission of God by doing the work of the gospel. In order to follow Christ, we must first understand God’s mission. We then must pray and discern which ministries to which God is calling us. And finally, we must create a vision, a clear understanding and strategy as to how we will engage in such ministries. For as Scripture teaches us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs, 29:18 KJV
On June 30th, a small group of church family members met to begin this conversation. We introduced the process by which our church might discern those ministries God would have us do and then created a vision as to how we will do them. Yet this task is not simply for a small group. If we are to be serious about our faith and ministry, we will all need to take part.
Creating a vision for ministry does not happen quickly. In the coming months, there will be several seminars scheduled for St. Jacob’s church family members to come listen, learn and discuss the work God has set before us. Plan to attend these seminars as they are scheduled and be a part of St. Jacob’s participation in God’s mission.
Worship and Music
Posted July 30, 2019 By adminAs we head into the month of August and “enjoy” the heat and humidity of our area, Advent, Christmas and Epiphany are in the forefront of my mind. It may seem as if those church seasons are far in the future, but time has a way of slipping by very quickly and before any of us are ready, November will be here.
The choirs and the handbell ensemble have taken time off this summer, as usual, but we will be resuming regular practices in August and September. Keep an eye on your bulletins and newsletter calendars for the most current information.
As in the past, I’d like to extend an invitation to singers in the congregation to join the choir during Advent and Christmas. I know that time-constraints and prior commitments may prevent some people from being a part of the choir on a full-time basis; if this is true for you, but you’d like to sing with the choir during December, please plan to attend our workshop on August 17 from 9 AM to 12 PM. We will be working on Advent and Christmas music and I will provide lunch for everyone who attends.
Handbells 101 Class
Posted June 26, 2019 By adminHandbells 101 is not only for people who know how to read music. No, Handbells 101 is for anyone who is interested in learning anything about handbells. Sure, the ultimate goal is to develop future ringers to keep our handbell choir full and active, but that’s not my only goal with this class. I want to share my knowledge and my skill set with others. I want people to know that you really don’t have to know how to read music in order to play bells. Does it help? Of course, it helps. But it’s not necessary.
What’s necessary is a willingness to learn, a desire to be part of a team and the ability to commit to being there for the other people in the group. See, a handbell choir isn’t about just one person, it’s truly a team effort and takes everyone’s presence to make it work smoothly.
As I said in my June newsletter article, this class is for anyone who wants to learn to play handbells OR anyone who simply wants to know more about handbells.
It’s also for current or past ringers who would like a little extra time to refresh, relearn or improve their ringing technique. So please come join me any Monday evenings in July and/or August from 6:45 PM to 7:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall.
I hope to see you there.
Laurie
In the Wild, Vacation Bible School
Posted June 26, 2019 By adminOur 2019 VBS, “In the Wild”, was held Monday, June 17th through Thursday, June 20th. We started each night with a delicious meal and then off to our encounters in the wild and with Jesus. We studied animal habitat, sounds, camouflage and learned some animal facts. Most importantly….we experienced Amazing Encounters with Jesus.
Our class rotations included lessons, music, crafts and games. Games included dodge ball, kick ball, golf, baseball, anything with a ball and running. Everyone played including the teachers.
On Monday night, we encountered Jesus in the Temple. We made traveling tic-tac-toe boards and in music, we started learning the song – “Why He Came”. Our younger children started to learn “Jesus Knows My Name” and “I Hear Stories of Jesus”.
On Tuesday night, we continued to travel with Jesus. This time we met him at the Jordan River where John baptized Jesus. In music, we started a new song, “What God Has Done” as we continued to work on “Why He Came” and the younger children continued learning their two songs. During crafts, we tie dyed our animal shirts – tiger, zebra and giraffe.
On Wednesday night, we met Jesus on the water again. But this time during a storm he walked on the water to his disciples in the boat. We made balancing butterflies in crafts and continued to learn our songs in music.
On Thursday night, we encountered Jesus at the empty tomb as he spoke to Mary and she ran to tell the disciples – “I have seen Jesus! He is alive!” In crafts, we made happy, trumpeting elephants as we celebrated and rejoiced that Jesus is Risen!
We celebrated our 2019 VBS on Thursday night, with family and friends as we presented our songs, stories, and crafts and closed with ice cream and cookies.
A very special thank you to our teachers and cooks. Without them, VBS would not have been possible for our 71 attendees who were ready and willing to experience some amazing encounters. Thank you to our parents and grandparents for sharing your children with us. We had some amazing adventures on the Wild Side! See you at VBS 2020!
Filed in Bible Study, Fellowship, LCY, Other Happenings, Outreach, Pastor, Worship and Music, Worship Service
Worship and Music News
Posted June 26, 2019 By adminThe first half of 2019 sure has flown by. We’ve had a busy year so far in the music department.
We started the year by presenting an Epiphany mini-cantata with the combined choirs of St. Jacob’s and New Hope. Angela and I have continued working with the Children’s Choir to develop not only their musical abilities, but also to foster their desire to serve the Lord with their gifts and talents. We have had illnesses and surgeries within the Handbell Choir membership and have had to make adjustments to cover the vacancies. We began a Wednesday evening service to offer another opportunity for worship; a time in the middle of the week to take a deep breath and remember that God has us in the palm of His hand.
As we enter into the Sundays after Pentecost (affectionately known by some as ‘the long green season’), we are looking ahead to the fall and exploring possibilities that will enhance our worship. For the immediate future, our summer anthems will be some of the favorite hymns that were submitted last summer (we ran out of summer Sundays before we ran out of favorite hymns!) and the Handbell 101 class will continue through the month of August for anyone interested in the history of handbells, anyone who would like to learn to play handbells or anyone who would like to refresh their ringing skills.
As always, many thanks to the congregation for your amazing support of the music ministry.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Laurie Lackey
Worship and Music
Posted May 30, 2019 By adminDid you know that handbells have been around since the late 1600s? Did you know their original purpose was as practice instruments for tower bell ringers in England? Did you know that handbells were brought to the United States in 1902 by Margaret Shurcliff? Did you know that you don’t have to know how to read music to be able to play handbells and that it is, in fact, an excellent way to learn to read music?
If you’d like to know more about the history of handbells, how they became part of church worship services and how they can be used effectively to enhance worship, join me this summer for Handbells 101. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall on Monday evenings from 6:45 to 7:30 PM, beginning Monday, June 3rd and continuing through August 26th (excluding June 17th for VBS). This is an opportunity for anyone who has an interest in handbells or learning to ring handbells to come check out the instrument (yes, handbells are considered a single instrument!).
Handbells 101 is open to all ages and all musical ability levels. For those interested in learning to ring, this is an opportunity to try it out. For current (or past) ringers, this is an opportunity to refresh/relearn/improve your handbell ringing technique and knowledge during the low-stress summer months while the handbell choir is not actively playing each month.
Some of you may know that I work part-time at Jeffers Handbell Supply, a handbell supply company based in Irmo, and that handbells are near and dear to my heart. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and love of bells with you this summer.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Laurie Lackey
