Music for 020115

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
Jikelele

Opening Song
I could sing of your love forever

Prayer of Confession Response
Jubilate, everybody

Psalmody
Psalm 111: Our God is an awesome God

Offertory
Hallelujah, your love is amazing

Closing Song
There is a balm in Gilead



            
11AM
Hymns
662, Christ whose glory fills the sky (RATISBON)
180, Silence! Frenzied, unclean spirit (AUTHORITY)
792, There is a balm in Gilead (THERE IS A BALM)

Response to Forgiveness
Jubilate, everybody

Psalmody
Psalm 111: GtG 652, A grateful heart (ROCKINGHAM)

Doxology (FOREST GREEN)
In gratitude and humble trust we bring our best today,
To serve your cause and share your love with all along life’s way.
O God who gave yourself to us in Jesus Christ your Son,
Help us to give ourselves each day until life’s work is done.

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: singing: Jikelele
Offertory:  Donald Busarow, He comes to us
Postlude:  TBA Organ

How my mind works (when planning music)

Today's (1/18/2015) gospel reading was John's telling of Jesus gathering the first disciples, and it was the Sunday before the MLK, Jr. holiday. So thematically we had the whole call/follow thing and the social justice thing. I wanted to sing a South African prayer song, from the anti-apartheid era (Thuma mina) mostly because it's been a few weeks since we sang at the prayers. The liturgy (compiled by the preacher for the day) included a collection of statements from MLK Jr that were crafted into a brief statement of faith. From the prayer song I took a step back to another South African song, "Come with me for the journey is long." With the gospel lection, I opted for a new (2004) hymn by Mel Bringle ("From the nets of our labors/We will rise up and follow") which also included a social justice theme. From that wonderfully Hispanic-sounding song (music by John Kleinheksel) I leaped to William Farley Smith's exuberant setting of "Cantemos al Senor." I heard Smith play the piece with its downright wicked chromaticism and parallel octaves at a Lake Junaluska conference some years ago before his untimely death. He was ebullient an African-American man whose musicological hand hovers over the current UM hymnal. The appointed psalm was 139, which made an appearance in our spoken call to worship, confession rite, and as the choir anthem at the offering (setting by Allen Pote). So many themes, so much music! Wow!

Advent II visuals, 2014

 

The Martin family created our Advent visual this week. They focused on the Isaiah passage and explored themes of making straight, comfort and sheep. They included their own nativity set from home as part of their installation. Here are some pictures.

Advent Wreath and Visuals 2014

Spring-boarding off something I saw in a workshop setting this fall, our Advent wreath at FirstLight this year is a "found art" installation. Families have been given the readings for a specific Sunday, and have been asked to read together and mark concepts and images that could be conveyed visually using items found around their homes. One item specifically each week is a candle. The display changes weekly, though each candle will stay. Here are some images from the first week. Key words the Lindsey family used are: star, leaves, potter, clay, word of God, and mountains. Here are some pics. We're off to a good start!

Music for 11/02/2014 All Saints

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
Forever

Opening Song
We fall down
Holy, holy, holy (NICEA)

Prayer of Praise Response/Confession
Surely it is God who saves me

Offertory
Give thanks

Communion
Responses: Kriewald
Distribution: On Jordan’s stormy banks (Promised land)

Closing Song
Wade in the water

11AM
Hymns   
65, Guide me o thou great Jehovah (CWM RHONDDA)
694, Great God of every blessing (AURELIA)

Confession Response
71, refrain Surely it is God who saves me (FIRST SONG)

Doxology
In Gratitude and Humble Trust (FOREST GREEN)

Communion
Responses: Eslinger (images)
Distribution: Jesus, Priceless Treasure (JESU MEINE FREUDE)
Jesu, Meine Freude, Organ setting by Michael Burkhart
GtG 830, Stanza 1
Jesu, Meine Freude, Organ setting by Johann Gottfried Walther
GtG 830, Stanza 2
Jesu, Meine Freude, Organ setting by JS Bach
GtG 830, Stanza 3
Jesu, Meine Freude, Organ setting by JS Bach

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Singing GtG 375, Shall we gather at the river (HANSON PLACE) Libby Barker, flute

Offertory: Jason McCoy, Come, ye thankful people, come
Text by Henry Alford and Anna Barbauld
Karen Boyd, piano
Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin. God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied; come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home. All the blessings of the field, all the stores the garden yields, all the fruits in full supply ripened ‘neath the summer sky, all that spring with bounteous hand scatters o'er the smiling land, all that liberal autumn pours from its rich o'erflowing stores. These, to thee, O God, we owe, Source whence all blessings flow; and for these our souls shall raise grateful vows and solemn praise. Come, then, thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home! Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

Postlude: William Mathias, Fanfare

Music for 10/19/14

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
I will call upon the Lord

Opening Song
Bless the Lord, O my soul (Ten-thousand reasons)

Prayer of Praise Response/Confession
Halle, halle, hallelujah

Prayer for Illumination
Listen to the word that God has spoken

Offertory
Here is our King   

Closing Song
Seek ye first

11AM

Hymns   
611, Joyful, joyful, we adore thee (HYMN TO JOY)
716, God whose giving knows no ending (BEACH SPRING)

Confession Response
591, Halle, halle,hallelujah (HALLE, HALLE)

Peace
Arr. Sharon Elery Rogers, Peace like a river (HB)

Prayer for Illumination
455, Listen to the word that God has spoken

Doxology 712.3
In Gratitude and Humble Trust (FOREST GREEN)
In gratitude and humble trust, we bring our best today,
To serve your cause and share your love with all along life’s way.
O God who gave yourself to us in Jesus Christ your Son,
Help us to give ourselves each day until life’s work is done.

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: (Singing) I will call upon the Lord (GtG 621)
Offertory: Douglas E. Wagner, Tallis Canon (HB)
Postlude: Michael Barker, Grand March

PipeScreams, the untold story

When I was in divinity school in Washington, DC I attended an American Guild of Organists event at the Kennedy Center with friends. It was billed as Pipe Screams and involved several prominent organists in the area sharing the program. I don't remember too much more about it, other than my reaction being that if I were going to ever be involved in church music again, one of my goals would be to do a concert like that.

Fast forward 5 years or so and I had indeed left ordained ministry and was back in church music. It took a couple more years, but when I was in Ashland, VA I did my own PipeScreams concert. I strove to target the children and youth in our congregation as attendees and got a handful of older students to help with set-up and decorations. The second year I borrowed a fog machine from my wife's work (Richmond Ballet); the kids hung all kinds of spooky decorations in the organ chambers. We all had a blast with it.

When I landed in Black Mountain, NC 8 years ago, I began PipeScreams again, in my third year. It's been a big hit. A couple of years in I got a church member to construct a couple of home-made fog machines. We invite everyone to come in costume; plenty of folks of all ages do. We have tried getting flyers in the hands of school students to encourage them to attend. We've tried newspaper and radio publicity. But the biggest thing that has drawn folks has been word of mouth, as the event has held steady over the years.

I have tried different gimmicks along the way. One year a young attendee was so struck by the fog that she draw a picture of the organ with "smoke" coming out of it. The next year, I used that image on the cover of the program. Three different years I have had piano students of mine play one of their "spooky" sounding pieces on the organ as part of the program. Most years I do a short introduction to the organ about halfway through the event: I explain some basics about the instrument, let a couple of kids blow a pipe; that sort of thing. The repertoire has held steady over the years with some perennial favorites. I have introduced different music and rotate through those titles over the course of several years. If you're interested you can view my working repertoire document here.

 PipeScreams is one of three organ events I do during the year. I do a child-friendly Christmas concert in December. I also do a more formal "sacred concert" for Good Friday most years. I feel that PipeScreams and JinglePipes lay the groundwork for a child or older student to experience the Good Friday concert. I haven't had this pattern in place long enough to really see folks (children) making that connection and making the transition from the "fun" concerts to the more "serious" one. But I am hopeful that I'll see that soon.

We've begun our publicity for PipeScreams this year, but I could use some help with a title. Read below for the previous year's names. Drop a note in the comments if you have an idea.

PipeScreams

PipeScreams II, Scream Louder

PipeScreams III, Nightmare on Montreat Road

PipeScreams IV, Smokin' Pipes

PipeScreams V, Mikey's Back

PIpeScreams VI, ????