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hermionesviolinThis was the first time I'd noticed the bulletin denoting it a "worship" service rather than a "prayer" service. It does seem more accurate, since there are these long "Reflection" readings.
It was the first time it's been held in the sanctuary since I started attending. Flowers all along the altar -- tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, etc. The tea candle containers were white and goldish. John (the keyboardist) was dressed more nicely than he usually is. Lauren was in a great cream suit, with a greyish blue shirt under.
When she opened she said, "It is a good problem for a church to have -- to have too much light at our service." [I had been thinking, walking from the train that evening, that it was so sunny out.] "Try though we might, we cannot keep out (push back) the light and joy of the Resurrection."
I liked the Responsive Reading, except that the rhyming was a bit much for me.
Make songs of joy to Christ, our head,
he lives again who once was dead!
Our life was purchased by his loss,
he died our death upon the cross.
O death, where is your deadly sting?
Assumed by our triumphant King!
And where your victory, O grave,
When one like Christ has come to save?
Behold, the tyrants one and all,
before our mighty Savior fall!
For this be praised the Son who rose,
the Father, and the Holy Ghost! Alleluia!
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
Reflection:
"Just a Moment..." God Came Near by Max Lucado
It opens with "It was moment just like any other moment" ad nauseum. The "moment" in question is the Incarnation, and I was troubled by the idea that That moment changed history, bladdy blah, because it's only true in the sense that it was the starting point for everything that came after it. I mean, isn't the Resurrection the defining "moment" for Christians/Christianity? (*is reminded yet again that I still owe Alixtii responses*) The reading also used the phrase "Heaven opened herself up" which I found interesting (because I think of Max Lucado as very traditional).
The Prayers of the People was yet a new structure: God of new life / hear our prayer
The pastor wasn't around, and I didn't have a chance to ask why, but I did talk with Lauren for quite some time. Both she and this woman are in their late 50s (you so wouldn't know it to look at Lauren) and pursuing ministry and you have to do a Lutheran affiliation and the closest one is in Pennsylvania (I don't remember the specifics of how this all works) and I was like, "Dude, that's a hell of a commute." Of course, I've never felt called, strongly or no, to anything. I was thinking, though I didn't say, about how![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
twinkledru and others have talked about the idea of a Muse as a convenient shorthand for the ways in which our brains do weird stuff, and yeah, go me with my skepticism. Then of course there's stuff like this -- I mean, how do you reconcile all these people being willing to die for this crazy belief if it didn't really happen?
It was the first time it's been held in the sanctuary since I started attending. Flowers all along the altar -- tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, etc. The tea candle containers were white and goldish. John (the keyboardist) was dressed more nicely than he usually is. Lauren was in a great cream suit, with a greyish blue shirt under.
When she opened she said, "It is a good problem for a church to have -- to have too much light at our service." [I had been thinking, walking from the train that evening, that it was so sunny out.] "Try though we might, we cannot keep out (push back) the light and joy of the Resurrection."
I liked the Responsive Reading, except that the rhyming was a bit much for me.
Make songs of joy to Christ, our head,
he lives again who once was dead!
Our life was purchased by his loss,
he died our death upon the cross.
O death, where is your deadly sting?
Assumed by our triumphant King!
And where your victory, O grave,
When one like Christ has come to save?
Behold, the tyrants one and all,
before our mighty Savior fall!
For this be praised the Son who rose,
the Father, and the Holy Ghost! Alleluia!
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
Reflection:
"Just a Moment..." God Came Near by Max Lucado
It opens with "It was moment just like any other moment" ad nauseum. The "moment" in question is the Incarnation, and I was troubled by the idea that That moment changed history, bladdy blah, because it's only true in the sense that it was the starting point for everything that came after it. I mean, isn't the Resurrection the defining "moment" for Christians/Christianity? (*is reminded yet again that I still owe Alixtii responses*) The reading also used the phrase "Heaven opened herself up" which I found interesting (because I think of Max Lucado as very traditional).
The Prayers of the People was yet a new structure: God of new life / hear our prayer
The pastor wasn't around, and I didn't have a chance to ask why, but I did talk with Lauren for quite some time. Both she and this woman are in their late 50s (you so wouldn't know it to look at Lauren) and pursuing ministry and you have to do a Lutheran affiliation and the closest one is in Pennsylvania (I don't remember the specifics of how this all works) and I was like, "Dude, that's a hell of a commute." Of course, I've never felt called, strongly or no, to anything. I was thinking, though I didn't say, about how
twinkledru and others have talked about the idea of a Muse as a convenient shorthand for the ways in which our brains do weird stuff, and yeah, go me with my skepticism. Then of course there's stuff like this -- I mean, how do you reconcile all these people being willing to die for this crazy belief if it didn't really happen?