The Children’s Choir will practice each Sunday afternoon at 3 PM in the Sanctuary. We are looking forward to having so much fun learning new songs and lifting our little voices to the Lord.
Worship and Music Archive
Children’s Choir
Posted September 27, 2019 By adminWorship and Music
Posted September 27, 2019 By adminOctober is upon us. Cooler fall temperatures, leaves changing colors, high school and college football games, the State Fair – all serve as reminders that the year 2019 is rapidly nearing its end. But just because all the anthems have been chosen through the Christmas season doesn’t mean that I, or the singers, can rest on our laurels.
Church music isn’t like any other kind of performance. When you go to a concert, the band, orchestra, or choir have been rehearsing for months and the concert is the culmination of those months of practice. Once the concert is over, they move on to the next concert.
The foremost difference between church music and other vocal or instrumental groups is that church music is NOT a performance. It is, in its purest form, our prayer, our praise, our expression of gratitude to our Lord and Savior for His unconditional love, mercy and grace. For me, it is an ongoing, constant looking ahead to the next season, and the one following; always working ahead so that the musicians have ample time to develop the musicality of each piece that we sing or play. It is a challenge to look so far ahead and choose hymns and anthems that will not only compliment but enhance the Scriptures, and sometimes, I do miss the boat. But it’s those other times, the times when everything fits together like a giant puzzle; I know that the Holy Spirit was guiding my choices.
For that, I can only say …Soli Deo Gloria (to God Alone the Glory),
Laurie
Filed in Other Happenings, Worship and Music
From the Pastor’s Heart
Posted September 1, 2019 By adminThe reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. 5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:4-6
Within the Rite of Holy Baptism, parents of small children, sponsors and congregations promise that we will lead the child into a healthy life of faith in Christ Jesus. We promise that we will bring the child to God’s house for worship, teach them the Lord’s Prayer, Ten Commandments and the Creed. We promise to place the Holy Scriptures in their hands and help them learn from them by reading the Bible together. We promise to provide for their instruction in the Christian faith so that they would live in the covenant of their baptism and in communion with God’s people. Parents of the newly baptized children especially bear responsibility for these promises; promises their parents first made on their behalf years ago.
The Proverb above speaks to the importance of such promise keeping. Usually, when the Proverb is spoken of, it is verse six that stands alone; “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” But when we read this verse in its fuller context, we soon realize the importance of a young life being provided a strong foundation of faith. The world is filled with powers that defy God, temptations that are overwhelming and so many of the devil’s false promises. We all want our children to have a good life, a full life, one that brings pleasure to their selves and to others. But as we read in Scripture, and know through our experience, the devil and his minions set thorns and snares along the pathways of God’s people. On our own, we are no match for them. Left to fend for ourselves, we will fall deeper into sin without even realizing it.
For several decades now, there has been a worsening condition permeating the Christian Church, one by which we have seen ever increasing numbers of our younger members fall away from faith. I believe it is so important to address this condition that I have devoted my doctoral studies to develop resources for pastors, congregations and families to bring about faith formation for our children and children’s children.
I think we can all agree that we would love to see more of our young people in worship and Sunday school. The trouble is that so often we don’t know how to encourage them. Instead, we sometimes inadvertently enable them in their staying away. Truth being told, children, especially teens, earnestly desire to have a healthy relationship with church families, one centered upon Jesus Christ and one that shares a desire to grow in relationship with God and his people.
Over the years, I have ministered to parents whose children have fallen away from the church. I have ministered to grandparents who faithfully bring their grandchildren to worship often (and that’s a good thing). I have also heard questions from such children that ask, “If mommy and daddy don’t have to go to church, why do I have to go?” This is a heartbreaking question because at the root of it lies a deeper and more central question, “Why don’t mommy and daddy WANT to go?”
Jesus says, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). The riches, honor and life the Proverb speaks of is a life lived eternally in the presence of God. When we fail to keep our baptismal promises, we hinder our children; we keep them from growing in a life of faith in Christ. And not only that, first and foremost, we break the promise we initially made before God and one another.
People of God, I know this is a sensitive issue. I myself have had to face this truth in my own life. I know first-hand the difficulties of keeping such promises, especially when children grow older and become more independent. That is precisely the time when parents should strive to keep the promise they made to their child. Train them up in the way they should go. Encourage them when they are older, and faithfully come to God’s house together and enjoy a life lived among God and his people. Doing so will bring us to the reward God has in mind for all his people; life in his kingdom forever.
Grace to you and peace, Pastor David Nuottila
Homecoming 2019
Posted August 28, 2019 By adminThank 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.
Up 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
