Music for 041512

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
Alleluia, alleluia (Sinclair)
Holy is the Lord

Opening Song
Forever

Prayer Response
Halle, halle, halleluja (STF 2026)

Scripture/Proclamation
More precious than silver (STF 2065)

Doxology
Alleluia, alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord (in E)

Closing Song
Jesus Messiah

11AM
Hymns
104, Christ is risen! Shout hosanna! (HYMN TO JOY)
399, We walk by faith (DUNLAP’S CREEK)
371, Lift high the cross (CRUCIFER)

Response of Praise
2026, Halle, halle, hallelujah (HALLE, HALLE)

Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: JS Bach, Christ is arisen
Offertory: JS Bach, Christ is arisen
Postlude: JS Bach, Christ is arisen
The chorale "Christ ist erstanden" is itself based on a plainsong sequence. The three stanzas of the hymn each have a different melody, but based on a single hymn text. Thus Bach has created three pieces for each of the three stanzas, each building in intensity.

Music for Easter 2012

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
He is exalted
Lord, I lift your name on high

Opening Song
That’s why we praise him

Prayer Resposne
Halle, halle, halleluja

Scripture/Proclamation
Glorious day

Offertory
Alive forever amen

Communion
Responses: Leon Roberts
During the distribution: You are holy, you are whole

Closing Song
Christ the Lord is risen today (EASTER HYMN)


11 AM
Hymns
Christ the Lord is risen today (EASTER HYMN)
Thine is the glory (JUDAS MACCABEUS)

Prayer Response
Halle, halle, hallelujah

Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow (with Alleluias)
(LASST UNS ERFREUEN)

Communion
Responses: Eslinger, in C
During the distribution: Sing the joy of Easter Day and
You are holy, you are whole

Benediction
GF Handel, Hallelujah, from Messiah

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Sigfried Karg-Elert, Praise the Lord
CrossRoads Brass Ensemble, Michael Barker, organ
Offertory: Arr. Lynne Trapp, The Day of resurrection
Chancel Choir, CrossRoads Brass Ensemble
Postlude: Guilmant, Voluntary on Thine is the glory

CrossRoads Brass Ensemble:
Julie Howard and Michelle Haddad, trumpets;
Herb van der Ven and Chuck
Pofalh, trombones; Will Talley, tuba

Stations of the cross

I read in Reformed Worship journal of a church that put together a Protestant Stations of the Cross (based on the Catholic devotional practice) for their worshiping community. I knew I wanted to do something similar here in Black Mountain, given the abundance of talented and dedicated artistic folks in our congregation. The plan morphed over a period of several weeks, but finally culminated in a series of five stations in our fellowship hall for Palm Sunday worship at FirstLight. We have kept the stations in place during Holy Week; the plan is to start dis-assembling them tomorrow. Folks at the early service on Sunday seemed to appreciate the experience (it took the place of a sermon on this day). And there has been a trickle of folks all week to stop in and see them also.

The first station was the upper room, site of the last supper and where Jesus washed the disciples' feet. David Kaylor used his wood carvings to create a tableau.



The second station was Jesus at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Fred Barkley used elements from the forest around his home to create a miniature garden that transitioned from a place of prayer, to a valley of shadows and ultimately the mount of Calvary.

The thirds station was Jesus' arrest in the garden and his trial. Gene Schimpf made a multi-media installation that included a flaming torch and a recording of a rooster crowing (emblematic of Peter's denial).


The fourth station was Jesus on the cross. Martha Jane Peterson created a new fabric banner that symbolized the torn shroud in the temple as well as the crown of thorns with which Jesus was mocked.


The last station was Jesus in the tomb. For this Andy Gwynn created a wood and wire frame for paper-mache which our children completed; all the remained was a little bit of staging to complete this tableau.



We also created a very impressive printed guide which provided scripture readings, pastoral reflections, prayers, notes about the installations and an appropriate hymn text for each station. As with any venture there is room for improvement, but we were all very pleased with this experience as the main content of a worship service for Palm Sunday and as a devotional tool during Holy Week.

You can see and read the complete descriptive piece we prepared for the stations experience here as a pdf file.

Last of the Lenten banners

These are the last two in our series of seven banners for Lent. These images were keyed to the sermons during this season, a series called "We were there." The last two are the centurion at the cross, and the women at the tomb on Easter Day. Thanks to the entire team who created these.

Farther afield

The hymn commissioned by BMPCNC is spreading. We asked Carolyn Winfrey Gillette to write a text for us dealing with the slave who was injured in the Garden of Gethsemane, and how Jesus responded to that act of violence. We sang the hymn as part of our Lenten sermon series back on March 4. Word of the hymn has gotten around Sojourners makes mention of it in this recent post. The formatting is a little messy, but the church gets a shout-out.

Stone

It started with an idea to create a "stations of the cross" experience for our FirstLight worshipers. We wanted an experiential worship service for Palm Sunday this year derived from the rich Roman Catholic "stations" devotion. We pared ours down to five stations and asked our artists to each take a station. The final station, "Jesus is laid in the tomb," I have managed sort of in-house. Andy G took my idea for the stone and created the framework. After we loaded it into my pickup for portage to the church, Andy said it looked like some sort of redneck airboat!


Over the course of two weeks, the kids in our Logos program applied the paper-mache.



Today children from our weekday school painted on the base color.


Next up: some faux-stone paint and faux-moss and then staging in the fellowship hall. It's been a neat process that involved lots of exuberant participants, and just a little mess! Four other artists are working on different stations. They will be installing them later in the week. Worship at FirstLight on Palm Sunday will allow folks to explore these stations. The stations will remain in place throughout Holy Week for the whole congregation to experience them.

Offertory switch

As I am wont to do on occasion, I played a piece for the offertory last Sunday different from what was printed in our worship bulletin. It being the week during which we organists celebrated the 327th birthday of JS Bach, I knew I wanted to play a chorale prelude but changed which one at the last minute. I went with "Christus, der uns selig macht, from the Orgelbuchlein collection. Here is the text and English translation of the first stanza of this hymn:

Christus, der uns selig macht,
kein Boes hat begangen,
ward fuer uns zur Mitternacht
als ein Dieb gefangen,
gefuerht vor gottlose Leut
und faelschlich verklaget,
verlacht, verhoehnt, und verspeit,
wie denn die Schrift saget.

Christ, who makes us blessed,
and who had done no evil,
for us was taken at midnight,
like a thief,
led before godless people,
and falsely accused,
jeered, mocked and spat upon,
as the Scripture says.

The coolest part of this particular setting of the chorale is a point near then end when the soprano voices contains a G and the bass an F-sharp; the alto a C-natural and the tenor a C-sharp! The chorale prelude is treated as a canon (two voices contain the melody but follow each other in this case by two beats), and is full of dissonance. But that moment is special to me.