Posted by wcanady |
Cue the "The Phantom of the Opera" and along comes the organ melody of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. This invasion of silence by the grandiose presence of the pipe organ is the most well-known song of the organ. If Toccata in D Minor doesn't click for you, just think … dah-duh-dah … dah-dah-dah-duh … dah ...
The organ is much more than background music in a movie, or even…
Posted by hlewis |
There aren’t many songs that we sing in both the traditional and contemporary services, but we will this Sunday, “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” by Peter Scholtes:
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, and we pray that all unity will one day be restored.
Salem is a Reconciling in Christ congregation. Our mission…
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:4
There have been so many times in my ministry as a parish pastor that people have given thanks to me for just showing up. Sometimes there are no words…
When I’m feeling depleted — which I am — and the weight of life seems too much to bear — which it does — I turn to writers whose words lift me up.
Lysa TerKeurst is one of those writers. And because I have no words to give right now, I’m borrowing some of hers. This was from her Facebook post on Saturday, Jan 4. It speaks to me, and I hope it does to you.
“When…
Posted by svanbaale |
Do you remember all of the chaos and concern as the new millennium approached? Everyone feared their computers and appliances with dates would shut down and fail to work again, as they only were set up to go to 1999 when they were created. What would happen when the first two digits changed to 20? No one knew, but a large amount of fear ensued.
We all survived that chaos, and here we are…
Posted by wcanady |
In just a few days we will be singing that old song, “Auld Lang Syne,” and welcoming the new year. Before we set our focus on new year’s resolutions, goal setting, and, of course, dieting, let us take a moment to thank God for the year that we have survived. The reality of the ending of 2019 is that this year had highlights and drawbacks.
Personally, this year began on a high note,…
I love Christmas. Everything about it. The smells, the food, the music, the many different ways to worship; I even love the cold weather! Hats and sweaters and gloves, oh my!
I have always loved my family traditions like overflowing stockings, the fireplace roaring — regardless of weather — family games, and Christmas breakfast together. It’s all wonderful! But as the 25th draws…
Posted by hlewis |
I grew up in a military family, moving every 1 to 3 years, leaving friends behind for new adventures. I learned from my parents to take lots of pictures, keep addresses and phone numbers, and stay in touch by sending Christmas cards every year. When we lived away from our grandparents, which was almost always, my mom wrote long letters to them every weekend to keep them updated, as long-distance…
Posted by tgraham |
Driving to my youngest daughter’s house for our traditional family Thanksgiving dinner, I was thinking about the prayer I would deliver and how wonderful the day would be. At some point we would hold hands and sing, circled around the Christmas tree just like the citizens of Whoville. Expectations rarely, if ever, live up to the hype in my head. First of all, one of my son-in-laws was asked to…
Where is God? This past Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, I preached about seeing glimpses of God’s kingdom. There were all kinds of glimpses in our worship Sunday at both services! Did you catch them? Were you paying attention? At the font and at the table, in the pew and in the aisle (a child dancing in the second service), in the watching and the speaking, in the singing and the praying — glimpses…