On the 4th Day of Christmas...

What a great Christmas it was! A little (well actually a pretty long) recap!

It began with The Christmas Cantata. Immanuel's first attempt at a cantata with a back up cd accompaniment! Wow! Lot's of work, but wonderful results! Thank you chancel choir, Praise Choir and Joyful Noise! Your hard work really showed and was so appreciated! Will we do one again? Why not join us and see...


Children's Sunday School program came next. Great as usual, and a big thank you to Jennie for writing the program and to Janice for handling the music end of things. Janice really impresses me with her ability to get so many of the kids involved, and to get them sounding so good, with so little time! Great job everyone!



Christmas Eve was of course a whirlwind of awesome worship services! Thank you to the Praise Choir for leading us in singing at the 4:30 service, What a great way to start the afternoon. Special thanks to Kevin and Scott for accompanying Silent Night on guitars ( I think there is no better way to play that song!) A very special thanks to 7th grader, Elyse for sharing her "O Holy Night". So beautiful, and especially beautiful when the Joyful Noise children's choir joined in- I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the house! Thank you Joyful Noise!


After 4:30 service I headed over to Sanctuary, for their 7:30 service. Even now as I recall this time of worship I am getting weepy (in a good way!). The atmosphere created by the sacred space team, and all the volunteers and the musicians,and the worshipers... such a peaceful place to greet our newborn Savior. Thank you to the band who pulled practically 3-adays to preprare. I loved working with you, and look forward to doing it again. Thank you to my choir of two-Charlotte and Anne-you were great! Thank you to the sound guys who put up with us musicians, (well, who put up with me anyway). And a very special thank you to the transportation people. Without you...well. we wouldn't know what to do, you are the best!



I wrapped up my Christmas Eve back at Immanuel at the tail end of the 10:00pm service. Thank you to Dean and the chancel choir members for helping with one of the best traditions of the night... the singing of the carols at the end. For those of you not familiar- come next year- okay, let me give you a little hint... At the very end of the service the chancel choir files down the isles and sings along on carol after carol until the last person is ushered out of the church. Many people just stay in the narthex singing along until the very last song. My favorite!

Since Sunday was only 2 days after Christmas, we continued the Christmas celebration by singing carols during worship this past Sunday the 27th- very nice. Especially nice was the musical additions at the 10:00 service by some of our junior high students. Amanda and Alyssa sang the first verse of The First Noel- Great job girls! Ben and Elyse reprised their "Who Could Imagine a King" from the children's Christmas program. Very lovely once again! Thank you all!

Whew!! A whirlwind! But so worth it, as together we worshiped and together we shared the wonderful message of Christmas!

May the joy of Jesus' birth be with you throughout the year!

Christmas Time is Here!

Immanuel/Sanctuary Music Notes- Dec (the newsletter for all Immanuel/Sanctuary musicians and friends)

Christmas time is here!

Yes it is! And with it comes plenty of musical opportunities and offerings at Immanuel and Sanctuary. Send me an email if you would like to join in the fun or help out in any way.

Two musical offerings for you:


Peter Mayer concert- at Immanuel- this Sat Dec 5th at 7pm. You can find ticket info here: (www.ilcdg.org) This concert would be a great start to your Christmas season. You won't be disappointed!



Immanuel Choirs Christmas Cantata- Wed Dec 9th at 7pm. This year Immanuel's choirs are joining together to perform a collection of Christmas favorites. We will be doing this 40 minute program in place of our regular Advent service time. This years program has been both fun and challenging for us to prepare, and it would be great to have our fellow musicians out to prepare your hearts for Christmas with us.

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Some Opportunities to serve:

Sanctuary1010 Christmas Choir- I am putting together a choir for Sanctuary's Christmas Eve service. The Sanctuary service this year will be at 8:30pm. We will have practices at 7:30 on the following Monday's Dec 7th, 14th and 21st. If you are planning on attending Sanctuary's Christmas eve service, why not join in the choir? We would love to have you! Pass the word around, invite someone who you know likes to sing, to join you! We need at least 10 people for this choir. Hope you will join us!


Sanctuary Christmas Band-

A few musicians are needed to help round out the band for Christmas eve. Percussion, bass and acoustic guitar. Also my yearly question? Does anyone have a set of vibes or bells you would be willing to transport for the occasion! ;)


Immanuel Praise Choir-

Immanuel's Praise Choir will be preparing a piece to sing at the 4:30 service on Christmas Eve at Immanuel. If you are planning on attending this service, and would like to sing, Why not join us for practice on Thursday Dec 17th at 7pm. All are welcome!



If you are interested in any of the above opportunities to serve,
please send me an email! Thanks!


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Times to Worship


Have you joined the Advent Conspiracy? We are in a great Advent Series at Immanuel and Sanctuary. check out the worship times and themes:

at Immanuel: www.ilcdg.org

at Sanctuary: www.sanctuary1010.org

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In Closing

This Christmas season I pray that we as musicians serving in the church, are able to play music that is transparent in its message and delivery, and that the life changing message in Jesus and His birth are played and sung so that all can hear!

This Christmas season, I also pray for you all individually, that in this busy time you are able to keep your focus on The Light of the World!

Many of us, even more so during the holidays, find ourselves going through difficult, restless and stressful times. Could we all pray for each other this month? Pray that we can rest in the knowledge that baby Jesus brings everlasting Peace into this un-peaceful world!

Christmas time is here!

Ellen

worship this weekend

What a whirlwind of worship this weekend!

My dear friend Mia was in town for a special event, and was able to join me in leading music at Immanuel's women's retreat on Friday, and then at Sanctuary on Sunday morning.

Authentic and passionate as always, Mia touched people's hearts with her heartfelt worship of our Heavenly Father. I thank her for being such an important part of this weekend!

One thing I noticed that I haven't really noticed before, is that Mia leads worship, nearly without music in front of her. I am so inspired to do the same, and would like to encourage my fellow worship leaders and musicians to try to memorize their music. Start by memorizing one a month, trust yourself, trust the Holy Spirit to guide you, and Worship!


Music at the Women's Retreat-
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow ( hymn sung a cappella in F)
Mighty to Save (in F- c vs c c)
ad lib on C - Bb/C - F/C - C (brought in bridge of You are My King during the ad lib)
You are my King- in C
Holy Holy Holy (the hymn -in C- last verse a cappella)
Righteous Desire- ( original song by Mia) http://www.aboutmidnight.org/

closing songs-
An original by Mia called...........I'm not sure of the title of this song, but is absolutely on of my favorites
Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone

Can i just say- 80 women singing together sounds AWESOME!!! The whole church was filled with the sounds and echoed with Praise!!


music at Sanctuary
Check out the service plan here at planning center online http://www.planningcenteronline.com/plans/827669

Fun!

Music for Sunday October 11th

A little recap of the music from Sanctuary1010 this morning.

We are in our 4th week of an 11 week series of Psalm 23. This week: He Restores my Soul

Music choices:

What Wondrous Love is This- (we did this hymn in Dm and added an extended 'worship jam' at the end)

Desert Song- ( we started this song with a drum beat that came out of the previous song- very nice! this is one of those songs that you hear once, and you end up singing the rest of the day! "I will sing praise, I will sing praise, no weapons formed against me shall remain!")

How He Loves (we do more of the David Crowder version of this one, and we do it in C. I really like the version by Kim Walker of Jesus Culture, but sing-ability wise, she goes way to low on the verse for anyone with a normal range to sing along. But her voice can certainly handle it with a cool sound at that. She starts low, so she can 'belt' out the chorus an octave higher, the energy that effect creates is amazing- check out the Jesus Culture arrangement here)

Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone- (I, alto at best, did this one in D, and it works well for me, hope it worked for the congregation! :) )

Additional Worship Notes- We started the service with a meditative feel, rather than our typical greeting each other/announcement/welcome. I enjoyed the peacefulness of it, and the chance to take time to prayerfully enter the time of worship. Pastor asked me to look for some instrumental music. I did some searches for "christian instrumental" post rock, ambient. I didn't come up with anything really. How would one know if instrumental music was Christian or not anyway. (answer- you wouldn't) Either way, the search was fun, and I came across a couple bands that I had not heard of before, and would like to look into more- Foxhole, Mogwai. But low and behold, I actually came across the closest thing to the christian instrumental post-rock sound I was looking for in a band called Hammock. One of the members is familiar name from the Christian Worship scene- Marc Byrd (God of Wonders) Check out Hammock, with lots of full length samples of their music here Enjoy!

And... I had so much fun playing with our newer drummer Chris and new guitar player Bailey. Excellent musicians. Great time! Thanks guys!

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This post is part of an interesting 'blog carnival' where you can read about other worship/music sets from all around the world. Check it out right here

Such Talent!

Check out this video of a talented group of young singers from Texas! Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKCVS57j284

The music of my Youth

Music was an important part of my life growing up. My elementary years were filled with the sounds playing on my parents record player; I memorized most of the lyrics to all the records my folks had of The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, The Carpenters, Billy Joel, John Denver and... Barry Manilow!
The music I learned in church, Sunday school, Vacation bible school, and church camp (Camp Luther in Three Lakes, Wisconsin for me), has also remained with me over the years. I always loved any song that we could sing in a round or add harmony or a descant to! Seek Ye First, Sing Hallelujah to the Lord, Blind Man, For these Tears, Father I Adore You, the list goes on. I'd love to hear what music you most remember listening to in your elementary years. Post in the comment section below!

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More than ever, I feel that the church as a whole, has a great opportunity to help give our kids the chance to explore their unique expressions in art and music. Schools are having to phase out their programs and parents don't have the money to pay for lessons. I'm sure each of us has our own stories about how music influenced us as we were growing up. Why couldn't that music influence come from the church?

Here are some great opportunities to help kids get involved in music around Immanuel :

Joyful Noise Children's Choir- for all 2nd-8th graders. we meet on Wednesday's during the school year, at Immanuel from 5:45-6:15. All are welcome anytime during the year!


On Tuesday October 20, at 6pm we will be starting the Jesus is the Rock Youth Band.
This group will meet on Tuesdays from 6pm-7pm.

We are looking for:

Musicians grades 6th-10th (guitar, electric guitar, drum set, bass and keyboards) at least 2 years of music lessons on your instrument will be helpful to being a part of this group.

We also have a wish list of items (new or used) that we could use to get us started:

Wish List

Small electronic keyboard
Full size electronic keyboard/synthesizer
Keyboard stands (2)
Small amplifier
Electric guitar
Portable cd player
Microphone
Microphone stand
Music Stands (3 or 4)
Guitar stands (2 or 3)
Drum equipment (either cymbals and stands for an acoustic kit, or a small electronic set)


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I have started on the Sunday School Hymn of the Month cd volume 2 and am looking for help. This cd will be a compilation of familiar Lutheran hymns that all children should know. Each year, for as many years as we can, we would like to record a new set of hymns, that the children and their families can have, that will allow them to become familiar with these hymns that they may otherwise rarely, or never get the chance to hear.Last year, Dan recorded, I arranged and played, Gina, Kristin, myself and Elyse from Joyful Noise sang on the cd. It was alot of fun to do, and the children have really enjoyed the cd. I would love to get even more people involved this year.

If you would be interested in any aspect of this really neat project, please let me know! The project needs to be completed by December 12th, so obviously time is of the essence, but I know we can do it!
To begin the project, I need arrangers. If you would like and have the ability to create an original arrangement to one (or more) of the hymns for this year (listed below) please choose one and get back to me in the next few days with your choice. (first come first serve) The only stipulations for the arrangement, is that the melody stick fairly close to the original, and that it use the lyrics to at least the 1st verse of the song. You may arrange in any style you would like, and can even add an original chorus or bridge. In interest of time, arrangements should be kept simple (1 or 2 instruments, 1 or 2 voices). We can add more to the recordings at a later date if there is time.

Here are the hymns for the Hymn of the Month Project Volume 2. (let me know if you would like any more info about the hymn- ie hymn #, tune name, or if you would like to have a hymnal to take home)

Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty
For All the Saints
Now Thank We All our God
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name
On My Heart Imprint Your Image
At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing
Holy, Holy, Holy
Now the Light Has Gone Away (Frank's already called this one- thank you frank!)

**Time is running short, if you would like to create a simple arrangement of one of these hymns, let me know as soon as possible.

I am also looking for someone interested in doing a recording of these hymn arrangements.
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Happy Fall everyone!

Inspiration

I love the videos from the grade school choir at PS 22 in New York City. These kids are an inspiration. As you can see they sing from their hearts, authentically, unashamedly, passionately. Kudos to the director of this group as well, who gives the kids the freedom and direction to learn how to sing like this!


Click here to check out the video

Music for Sunday September 13th

The King of Love my Shepherd is!

Sunday was the first day of our sermon series on the 23rd Psalm, really looking forward to digging a little bit more into this Psalm. Each week we are trying to find a song to use that uses some of the words or themes from the 23rd Psalm. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

At 10:00- It was also Rally Day (1st day of Sunday School)- LOTS of kids! Yay! I chose music that I thought the kids would enjoy and sing easily.

pre-service
Awesome is the Lord Most High -in E!- brand new song for us, sung by awesome singer Phil, it went well.
Days of Elijah- one of the kids favorites

Call to Worship
Open the Eyes of My Heart
Holy Holy Holy- the hymn. This hymn is part of the hymn of the month program that I have devoloped to help the kids who go to primarily services with more contemporary music, become more familiar with hymn from years past.

offering
Psalm 23 by Stuart Townend- I found this song written in 1996, doing a theme search on http://www.ccli.com/. Very nice, simple, and sweet. Worked perfectly with the theme, and even had a pretty descant written into the song. I think I'll use this one again during this series. Scott and Phil rocked the harmonies!

Closing
My Savior My God- Aaron Shust

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Additional worship notes: I played the organ for the traditional service Sunday, the closing hymn
was one of my favorites, and a sending blessing:

Go my children with my blessing, never alone.

Waking sleeping I am with you; You are my own.

In my love's baptismal river I have made you mine forever,

Go my children, with my blessing- You are my own.

Go my children, sins forgiven, at peace and pure

Here you learned

how much I love you, what i can cure

Here you heard My dear son's story, here you touched Him, saw His glory

Go My Children sins forgiven at peace and pure

Go my children fed and nourished, closer to Me;

Grow in love and love by serving, Joyful and free,
Here my Spirit's power filled you; here His tender comfort stilled you.

Go my children, fed and nourished, Joyful and free.

I the Lord will bless and keep you, and give you peace;

I the Lord will smile upon you and give you peace

I the Lord will be your Father, Savior, Comforter and Brother,

Go My Children I will keep you, and give you peace

text: Jaroslav J Vajda (1983 Concordia Publishing House)

tune: Welsh 18th century

This post is part of the blog carnival at Fred McKinnon's blog. There you can read about the Sunday worship music choices from churches all around the world! Check it out right here

Music for Sunday September 6

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

I enjoyed choosing the music for this Sunday's Sanctuary service, mixing and matching styles and decades. I don't like to call it blended, I'd say more of a convergence. And even though I think Pastor J may "disapprove" of my use of a dictionary definition... here we go anyway.

From Merriam-Webster's online dictionary:


Main Entry: con·ver·gence
Pronunciation: \kən-ˈvər-jən(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: 1713
1 : the act of converging and especially moving toward union or uniformity; especially : coordinated movement of the two eyes so that the image of a single point is formed on corresponding retinal areas2 : the state or property of being convergent 3 : independent development of similar characters (as of bodily structure of unrelated organisms or cultural traits) often associated with similarity of habits or environment4 : the merging of distinct technologies, industries, or devices into a unified whole


So the songs for Sunday at Sanctuary

Nothing Can Trouble : Taize piece- sang through 2x, read a Psalm verse, sang, Psalm and so on. By the end of the Psalm, the congregation was singing accapella with me off mic. Beautiful!

You are My all in all: (key of F into G) The first time I have used this at Sanctuary in our 6 years! Of course everyone sang their hearts out, on this old favorite.

Blessed Be Your Name: We use this song quite a bit (too much) so I went from the final chorus of You are My all in All right into the prechorus of Blessed Be Your Name....'every blessing you pour out'. We didn't even sing the verses this week. I also took a chance, and during the bridge... 'you give and take away' I asked the ladies to sing the first time by themselves, and then the second time asked the guys, and then the 3rd time asked them to sing it together. I'm not sure if it sounded corny, me asking them to that, but the musical and community singing effect really worked!

It is Well (the hymn) simple piano arrangement, simple vocals.
How he Loves (John Mark McMillan) this was the second week we have used this great song, we use David Crowder's arrangement. Once you catch on to the creatively written verses, you can't really get this one out of your head.

Be the Center (or is it Centre?) Okay this song is written in 4/4, but I accidentally slipped into 3/4 when I introduced in, and just stuck with it. It works, pretty much. Has anyone else who has used that song done that? accidentally, uh on purpose?

Additional notes about the service: The theme was, keeping Jesus at the Center, and the Creating Sacred Space team ( I just made up a name for the ever faithful art team) put the communion table in the very center of the worship space., behind, infront and along side of all those gathered. Nice!

Overall Great Sunday of awesome singing by the congregation! Old songs new songs, hard songs repetitive songs, it didn't matter. Beautiful!


Check out more beautiful Sunday morning worship sets from all around the world at Fred McKinnon's worship set blog right HERE

New Music for you

I like collecting and listening to hymn compilation projects, from Johnny Cash to Jars of Clay, I love new arrangements of old hymns! A dream of mine is to create a recording of hymns of my own...

Jadon Lavik's Roots Run Deep is a collection of hymns, just the way I like them. Simple instrumentation, not over-produced, easy to listen to and sing along with. If you have listened to Fernando Ortega's hymn arrangements you will recognize some similarities in the simple style, and you'll even hear Fernando singing on one of the tracks

Check it out!

Enjoy!

PS anyone want to do a hymn project with me?

Time's a wastin'

Last weekend I celebrated with my oldest son, Nick, as he turned 16! This Wednesday, my boys, Nick and Zach, have their first day back at school, and it is my first day as a mom of two high school students! Eeeks!

The older they get, I feel the window of time I have to teach them "all there is to know", and "every secret to life", is narrowing. Much to their dismay nearly everything that happens, good, bad or almost, I turn into an opportunity for a teaching moment by mom. More often than not, they poke fun at me for my little life lessons, but I think they're listening...most of the time!

This sense of urgency, is also present in my walk of faith, and service. Every night, right before I go to sleep, and as soon as I wake up in the morning, I pray that God lead me to be the person He wants me to me, and show me how he wants me to serve.

A couple of years ago, after my Dad returned from a trip to India, he called the feeling he had of wanting to know how to serve in some way, as a "holy impatience". I like that... I think God wants us to have a sense of urgency for the people who still have yet to hear about the beauty of His love and grace. God wants us to have a sense of urgency for the people who are lonely and hurting, tired or broken.

For me, having a "holy impatience" means that I have the desire to know what my purpose is, the desire to know how God wants me to use my gifts to his glory, the desire to stop sitting around thinking, and talking about doing, but actually doing it!

May God lead you to be the person He wants you to be, and show you how He wants you to serve.

Peter Mayer at Sanctuary

What a great Sunday we had last week at Sanctuary... Peter Mayer, an excellent singer-songwriter and professional guitar player joined us in leading the music. Sanctuary worship leader Nathan Fisher played along side him and it was great! Peter's music and humbleness fit so well in the service, and made for a worshipful morning. I especially enjoyed the acoustic sound and the amazing warm tone of his voice. Such a gift! Thank you Peter! Come back soon!

Most of the songs Peter shared you can find on his website right here

I really enjoyed:

Still in one piece
Pass it On (an original by Peter, not "...it only takes a spark!")
Mighty this Love

One of the songs he did was, I believe, a new one that he wrote for the National Lutheran Youth Gathering (ELCA) in New Orleans this summer, it was called Changed by Love- great tune! I couldn't find it on his website though...hopefully soon!

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Additional stuff about Sunday

This morning we also showed a great video called Free Hugs, if you haven't seen it, check it out here
Our talented video technician Niki then took still images of the Free Hugs video and had them as backgrounds for the songs later. Nice!

Because we knew it was going to be a full crowd, we moved a station to down in the pit area of the worship space... with lamps, rugs, a prayer journal etc, it ended up being a very nice, peaceful space for prayer for anyone during the worship time. way to go art team!!

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this post is part of a blog carnival where set lists from worship services all around the world are shared. check it out

New Music for you

Great new worship song I just heard. There's so much worship music out there, it's sometimes hard to sift through them to find songs that allow you to hear the message through the trite lyrics or the over processed sound. This one does it with a simple melody, simple accompaniment and heartfelt lyrics. Check out the song at the bands website, on their media player!

I'd Need a Savior- by Among the Thirsty

How many names can I use to explain the love of my Jesus,
the life that he gave and so many times will I praise you today.
I lift up my life cause you are always the same
and my offering to you I bring

Your name is Jesus, Your name is Jesus
You're the wonderful, Counselor, my Friend.
You're what I hold on to; I know that you brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross you knew
I'd need a Savior.
I need You Savior.

How many songs can I sing to proclaim your wondrous love an beauty so great?
What would I say if you brought down the rain and everyday
I walk through the pain my heart would still say

To the ends of the earth

(photo by Mia Koehne)

"Jesus I believe in You, and I would go to the ends of the earth
to the ends of the earth
for you alone are the Son of God
and all the world will see
that You are God
You are God"
To the Ends of the Earth- lyrics by Joel Houston

I love singing those lyrics in church. I sing the words... "I would go to the ends of the earth". Would I? Have I? What are my ends of the earth? Am I willing to get out of my comfort zone?

The beautiful picture above was taken by a my good friend Mia. She took the picture at the installation of Pastor Dan Hudson, which was held in a park shelter in the middle of a great big farm field on the edge of a small but growing town. She writes on her blog about the day, her words are wonderful, and I invite you to read them and enjoy here.

Live at Immanuel!!

Family Fun Fest Music Stage June 27 2009


Don and the D's- 11am
(I'm pretty sure this is not their official band name...)

Trinity Lisle Guitar Club- 12:30



Mia Koehne of About Midnight -1:30
w/ ( a band that we literally put together about 9.5 minutes before going on stage- they were incredible! All the way from the amazing talents of Dustin, Frank and Nathan to an incredible performance by Jake who has only previously played with the well known band "Rock")

Double booked

Last week I inadvertently overbooked the church.

Thursday night we managed to squeeze in 4 different band/choir rehearsals in a matter of 2 1/2 hours.

No, there wasn't quite enough music stands, or mics, or snare drums and cymbals, and I probably was not as 'present' as I should be at some of the rehearsals, as I rushed off to the next one. But it was an opportunity for me to really step back and see the beauty of offerings, and the willingness and dedication that God puts in the hearts of His people to serve.

The fruit of these offerings?

Family Fun Fest on Saturday with 3 groups sharing music at our Family Fun Fest outdoor stage
10:00 service and Sanctuary1010 on Sunday morning
Pastor Hudson's Installation on Sunday afternoon

These of course are just events- the true fruit is how the Holy Spirit moved the hearts of those who were able to hear the message of God's unending Love that came through our music!

Thank you musicians for the gifts of your time and talents!

music for Sunday June 28th

Busy weekend of awesome praising through music!

Sat Family Fun Fest with 3 bands sharing their music

Sun- great music at 10:00 and at Sanctuary1010

Sun afternoon-music at Pastor Hudson's installation

Thank You God for all these opportunities to share the message of Your Love!


Music Set at 10:00

Theme- 2nd commandment (we are in a summer series going through the 10 commandments)
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God

You You are God- From Gateway Worship (First time for this song for us, and it went very well, the choir seemed to enjoy singing it and picked up on it quickly which is always a good sign that the congregation will like it too- I, alto, was leading this one, so we did it in A which was a good key, I just sang c's rather than low a's on the melody on the verse to keep it from getting to low)

You are Holy/Prince of Peace (I am now really hearing the men sing out on their part on this one. I'd like to find more songs that we can break into parts like this- any ideas?)

Your Name- Paul Baloche (we've been doing this song for quite some time, I haven't been sure that it has been connecting with our band and choir, but today proved me wrong- beautiful!)

Psalm 19/May the Words of My Mouth- Terry Butler-1995 (this is a favorite at Immanuel- if you have never heard it before, check it out, it's a very simple but worshipful song using the text of Psalm 19)

offering- Heaven is My Home- new melody arrangement of the old hymn by me ( one of our guitar players asked that we do this song and dedicate it to a young father who had recently passed away)

Closing - Blessed be Your Name

Notes:
no sound guy today, so we had to go with the unmanned smaller system, which was very limiting and a little frustrating, but all worked out okay. We have two great pre-college sound guys who volunteer week after week, but we need to train more people to fill in. Anyone out there?? we need Yoooou!!


Music at Sanctuary1010

Don's band played at Sanctuary, I got to hear them for the first time at Family Fun Fest on Sat they sounded great! Check out their service plan and song choices here at plannning center

Check out even more Sunday set lists here at FredMcKinnon's blog where 70 or so churches from around the world post each week

Love

I love this video of a couple, married 62 years! Playin music...

Check it out here

Music for Sunday June 14th

What a weekend of mixed emotions!

Yesterday (sat), I was honored to be a part of a worship conference that Nathan Fisher, www.leadgracefully.com put on at our church. There was a great turn out of people from the LCMS Northern Illinois District, out to find out more about 'tapping the depths of our liturgical heritage in the midst of a postmodern culture'. What a great day!

Today (Sun) we had to say good by to one of our Pastors. Pastor Dan Hudson has been with us for 6 years and is now headed off to plant a church in Manhattan... Manhattan, Illinois in case you're wondering. He was a huge part of these first six years of our second-site, Sanctuary1010. Thank you for everything Pastor Hudson, and blessings on the journey ahead!

Speaking of Sanctuary1010-

check out the worship flow and music choices for this Sunday at Sanctuary here at planningcenteronline. I'm so amazed at Nathan's abilities to rewrite and rearrange hymns as well as liturgical elements of a worship. Super talented guy! Hopefully he will have some recordings out soon!


Music over at 10:00-

Pre-service-

All to your Glory- this Sunday's worship leader, Phil wrote this great song

Call to Worship-

What the Lord Has Done in Me by Reuben Morgan ( We had two baptisms this morning, and I like using this song on baptism Sunday...we usually do vs1 vs1 chorus before the baptism and then the last 2 verses, chorus and vs1 as the families are going back to their seats. We could play this whole song a cappella the congregation sings out so much. Nice.)

Songs of Praise

You are Worthy of My Praise -in G ( this worked nicely thematically as the theme of the service was following Jesus, here, however is another example of a song that's hard for an alto girl, like me to lead in G, due to the chorus staying on the D note for so long. thanks for taking the reigns on this one Phil!)

Everlasting God - in G ( okay I know this is probably way too low in the verse, capo 3 as 'the directions' say is just too high for me to lead, hanging out on the C and D during the chorus, my voice doesn't have a very good leadership quality up there. Anyway, we'll try it in A next time, the church seems to really like this song)

Offering-

May the words- (another original song, this time by our electric guitar player Frank, who wrote it, dedicated to Pastor H- very nice)

Closing

Jesus All for Jesus by Robin Mark ( a great sending song)


Notes:

Awesome part of the day, was seeing so many members of the jr high and high school youth group come up to the front to join the choir in singing the Songs of Praise in the middle of the service. What a great show of appreciation to Pastor. Also great was hearing the original offerings of music by our musicians. Not everyone is a songwriter, but we are certainly blessed with some great ones here at Immanuel and Sanctuary. Thanks everyone!


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check out worship set lists from around the world here at Fred McKinnon's blog. really interesting stuff!

Music for Sunday June 7th

Trinity Sunday this past weekend and Pastor Hudson's last Sunday at Sanctuary :(
I was at Sanctuary with a band we pulled together- thanks Joel, Dustin, Mia and Byron! Good times, great sound!

Music at Sanctuary1010

The theme of the service was based on Isaiah 6 "here I am send me" the amazing part was, that text being so perfect as a theme text for Pastor Hudson's last Sunday at Sanctuary, is actually part of the lectionary for the day. We modeled the service after Isaiah 6:1-8, and it was very, very nice

you should check here at planning center for the details of the service!

Songs used:

You are Holy,Lord God Almighty (a chorus I wrote that works well interspersed with scripture, the chorus is also a counter melody to the first line of the hymn "holy, holy, holy" and works well to have a background singer come in on that)

Holy, Holy, Holy (the hymn)

Righteous Desire ( a great new song by my friend Mia Koehne, the people really sang along with this one- her cd with this song on it will be coming out soon, more info can be found at her website on that)

Not to Us- Chris Tomlin in G (this key worked well for us, thanks Joel for making it happen!)

To the Ends of the Earth in G (a favorite of mine, the congregation really sings out on, although I have had mixed reviews on this from other musicians. wondering why? great song for me)

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Music at 10:00
pre
sing to the King

opening
Our God Saves- Paul Baloche -in C (one of the very few 'contemporary' songs that mentions the Trinity.)
Holy Holy holy -in C

after absolution
Holy holy Holy -in C modulating to D (nice arrangement from a book from Break forth/Arlen Salte

offering- Glorify Thy Name (yes, that old one..."father we love you, we worship and adore you, glorify thy name in all the earth" )

communion
How Deep the Father's Love for Us -in E
Here I am to Worship- in E

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check out other worship set lists from around the world here at Fred McKinnon's worship set list blog carnival- good stuff!

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Question- Does anyone know of any other contemporary worship songs or hymns that include mention of the Holy Trinity? time to start writing!

Upcoming Good Suff!

IMMANUEL/SANCTUARY MUSIC JUNE 2009

Hello! I wanted to update you on a few of the music opportunities happening in and around Immanuel over the next 3 months. Let me know if you would like to be involved in any way. Also, please share with me any other ideas you might have for fellowship and/or outreach!

One thing I want to highlight this month, is the worship conference led by Nathan Fisher on Sat June 13th from 9am-3pm.

This would be a great conference for any of you to attend, especially if you would like to find out more about worship planning and leading in the emerging/postmodern context, as well as finding out a little more about the what/why/how we do what we do at Sanctuary1010.

At the conference there will be a mock Sanctuary worship service, along with a panel discussion. There will also be time for fellowship with other music and church leaders from the area. In the afternoon there will be some breakout sessions, each one highlighting an area of emerging worship planning.

I really encourage you all to join us. Please let me know if you would like me to sign you up, or you can go to Nathan's website, to RSVP to him. the deadline to sign up is June 8th (not June 1st as it says on the website). the sooner the better however, so we can plan accordingly.

Click here for Nathan's website

The registration is $20, but please let me know if this is prohibitive for you, and we will pick up the fee.

If your unable to attend and would prefer to volunteer in some way, there are a couple of opportunities to do so, again, let me know if you would like to help.

Immanuel Family Fun Fest- Saturday June 27th-11am-3pm

I am looking for a band/s, you may be in, or who you may know, who would like to play a set of music at our Family Fun Fest, which is held on the Saturday of Heritage Fest. The music should be fun and family friendly,

Let me know, if you or your band would like to perform that day, (time slots are open at this point!)

Update: One group has signed up! another is thinking about it. we are only missing YOUR group!

We will also need 1 or 2 people to help set up equipment and run sound that day. Let me know if that's you!


Cornerstone Music Festival- June 29th-July 4th

http://www.cornerstonefestival.com/

Once again, I am threatening to attend this christian music festival, for just one day, all day.
If you would like to join me and a few others for a trek to Bushnell, Illinois. Let me know.

Update: if I go, it will be on Wednesday July 1st, let me know of your interest!



Immanuel Vacation Bible School July 13th-17th 9am-1145am

Drop your kids off for fun, and stay to help out with the music. Come one day or all 5, we always love to have all sorts of singers and instrumentalists join us as we lead the kids in praise and worship through out the week. There is a place for you!

Update: we've got a good group started- YAY! but we still could use you!

PS: Do you have or know of kids who would like to attend this fun filled week? Click HERE for more info and a registration form


National Worship Leaders Conference- July 20-23rd Leawood, Kansas

This looks like a great conference, that I would love to go and take you all with me! Free it is not... :( I'm still dreaming about going myself, and if not this year, maybe next. Check out the details here, and let me know of your interest

http://www.nationalworshipleaderconference.com/

update- this is still out of my reach financially, but a great looking conference none the less! Can't make it to this one? come to the LeadGracefully conference for an absolute fraction of the cost. (june 13th 9am-3pm at Immanuel)


Sing Praise Choir Camp- August 3-7th 1-4pm- a choir camp for 3rd -8th graders

Sing Praise Choir Camp is an excellent opportunity for 3rd- 8th graders to meet new friends, grow in their knowledge and abilities in singing, and become more confident and comfortable performing and on stage, all in a comfortable christian atmosphere.

Director Ellen Prohl has been involved in, and leading and teaching children's music for over 20 years and has enjoyed directing contemporary and children's music ministries at Immanuel for the last 12 years.


Last year, Janice McCrimmon and I led the first year of this camp, and it was a great success!

If you know any kids who might like to attend, hand em' a registration form. You can find more info or print off a form Here


Concerts, Concerts, Concerts

With the summer festivals almost upon us, there are numerous places to catch a free show! Let's get together! Shoot me an email, when you find something good, and I will spread the word

Musicians, musicians, musicians

The summer is a great time to invite new musicians into your band/group! Also, If you have an interest in playing or singing in a group this summer, let me know, and I will set up a time to meet with you, see where your skills and gifts are, and get you plugged in. Do you know someone who plays an instrument or sings, and needs a church home? Invite em! 9 out of 10 times they will be honored that you asked and say "yes!"

Praise God for all these awesome opportunities to serve Him!

Looking forward to hearing from you! And thank you to all of you who have already expressed interest in the above!

Music for Sunday May 24th

Music at 10:00

Ever since we started our contemporary service, nearly 12 years ago, the keyboard player has been the band leader, and has driven the worship music during the services. This has worked out well, but its been nice over the last couple years to dive into more and more guitar driven songs and arrangements. This past Sunday I purposely did not schedule myself on keys, and let this weeks band go, and go they did! They sounded great! I really enjoyed hearing their original sounds that they created, without me banging away at the keys, and directing,..er...controlling the arrangements. Great job Scott, Dan, Frank, Kevin, Gina and choir!

Theme Verse- I John 5:9-17

pre-service

One Way- by Joel Houston ( This was the first time at 10:00 for this song. I like the song, more for the great lyrics, and cool bridge, then anything. It sounded really nice in worship, but no matter how hard we try, this song always ends up sounding like a country song, rather than how Hillsong United sounds...no problem though, lots of people love country! :) )

Call to Worship

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
You Are Holy Prince of Peace (hey! the guys are really startin to sing their part on this one! Woo hoo!)

After absolution

My Redeemer Lives (love, love, love the way the band sounds on this one)

During the offering

Jesus Loves Me- (yes, Jesus Loves me this I know for the bible tells me so!- the band did a great- hmm... countryish- arrangement of this song- awesome! the whole congregation was singing, and they rarely sing along on songs during the offering. nice.)

Closing-

Lord Reign in Me

Notes- I scheduled myself at the sound board today, and really enjoyed it. Despite my limited knowledge of sound tech stuff, it's fun to be on the other side of everything, and I think its a good idea for all band (and choir members) to try it at some point or another.

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Music at SANCTUARY1010

Don, Danny, Dustin, and Chris (welcome Chris!) a great new drummer, filling in for Dave, led worship at Sanctuary. Thanks guys!

Check out this link to planning center for this Sunday's set list.

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This post is part of a blog carnival at Fred McKinnon's blog, check it out here to take a look at worship set lists from all around the world!

Greater things are still to be done

So, this years American Idol finale didn't have the finalists singing "Shout to the Lord" or any other of the current top ccli songs, but the winner, Kris Allen, most recently used his musical skill as worship leader at New Life Church in Conway Arkansas, a mega church in the suburbs of Little Rock. This church even has a link, on its website to some kind of voting party held for Kris on finale night, sponsored by someone giving out prizes including HD Tvs, to those who stayed and voted for Kris. Wow, sounds like a good deal!

I hope Kris does well in the music industry, he seems like "the guy next door", which is probably part of the reason he won the whole thing, people were able to connect to him, and relate to him in some way. He is in good company with many other American Idols and finalists, coming from Christian music backgrounds:

Just a few examples:

Chris Daughtry was in a Christian band called Absent Element
Mandisa ('member her?) has recorded 2 gospel albums
Chris Sligh was a worship leader and now has done very well recording and writing music in the Christian music industry
Jordin Sparks was a member of her church's worship team
and here's one I was surprised at- Phil Stacey was a music minister in the US Navy.

Take a look at this video of Kris Allen singing "God of this City" originally sung/written by Blue Tree, a band out of Ireland, and then covered by Chris Tomlin. I've really liked this song, and love the fact that THE American Idol is singing it!

Singing from the heart

Have you heard of Charice Pempengco, 17 years old, raised by a single mom in the Philippines, never had a voice lesson, vocal prodigy, sang on the Oprah show yesterday, and actually 2 other times before that? Feel what you want about Oprah, or the lyrics to the song, "Note to God" by Diane Warren, but this girl can sing, and not only sing, sing with passion. You can hear it in her voice, and see it in her eyes where tears threatened to pour out at any minute during her performance.

Part of me thinks she was probably a bit caught up in the moment, the swell of the music as the choir joined in with the full orchestra backing, the audience, and Oprah Winfrey herself, standing to their feet, tears falling, hands raising... I know I was, but either way, this girl can sing, sing with passion.

Check the YouTube video of the performance out here

(oops, sorry, it looks like the video was taken down for violating Harpo copyrights... too bad!)

Music for Sunday May 17th

Today at both campuses we talked about stewardship. Money. A difficult subject sometimes, especially now in these hard economic times. I've struggled with my giving over the years, as a single mom, trying to make ends meet, it never seems that their will be enough at the end of the month. but every year on stewardship Sunday, I am renewed in my my desire to take further steps of faith, and to learn to trust God more.

10:00 music-

Preservice-

Our God Saves- the second week for introducing this song. We have been doing an arrangement pretty close to the Paul Baloche original, but it seems sooo long. otherwise, it went well.

Opening song-

Come Thou Fount/Come Thou King (C) - Our church loves to sing this song. I like it in C, rather than the original D for the vocals. There is nice arrangement at praisecharts.com.

Song after absolution-

Your Grace is Enough- another song our church loves to sing, We typically drop out the instruments on the chorus after a reprise of the pre-chorus, and the people really lift their voices. Awesome

Songs during communion-

You are my All in All- (in F, with modulation to G)
Mighty to Save (in G)

Closing-

Take My Life (Chris Tomlin version)- we had a sololist- great job Kristin- sing this reflectively as the congregation prayed over their commitment cards, and brought them to the front.

Notes: I had the children's choir singing for the last time this season, they sang Love the Lord Your God ( by Linclon Brewster) and Lifesong (by Casting Crowns). They sounded great as usual. Thanks for a great year guys!

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Sanctuary music

Nathan Fisher led music this Sunday. Nice mix of originals, and redone hymns., including my new favorite Nathan Fisher original "You uphold the weak" Can't wait until he does a recording of some sort so I can share.

Check out the service plan, at planning center online right HERE! :)

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Want to read about more set lists from around the world? check out fred mckinnon's blog here

Concert a week- #10 ( I think its 10)

I've been looking forward to this concert since we picked a date for it, and put it the calendar. This past Friday May 15th at 7:30, in the beautiful setting of Immanuel's original sanctuary, Mia Koehne and Nathan Fisher led us in their original songs, honest testimonies, worship and singing.

I love, and am moved by the songs that pour from the hearts of these two musicians, many of which run through my head throughout the day-

"Jesus you save me from the grave..."

"there is nothing, I can do, to earn your love..."

"...lift your head up child...the Savior cries for you"

"You uphold the weak, help them stand, help them stand..."

Both Mia and Nathan have amazing musical skills, and voices that are pure and simple, yet full of passion. Although their musical styles are different, these musicians are more similar than not. Both have a vast knowledge of scripture, as well as a willingness to be authentic and open about their walks of faith, all of which is reflected wonderfully into their songwriting and performing.

I had the privilege of singing and playing piano with them for many of the songs, and it was such a joy! I really feel comfortable in a supporting role in a group, adding color and harmony as needed. I can't wait to play with them again!

We planned the concert, and advertised it as a "Worship Concert"... not sure if anyone reading the advertisements actually knew what that meant, but that's exactly what it was. The setting was that of an intimate worship space, quiet and reverent, comfortable and peaceful. What an awesome space for a concert, can't believe we've waited so long to have one in there!

Some of the songs were meant for reflection, while during others the audience was encouraged to sing along. I think we were all in awe as we listened to the audience joining together and singing out in that acoustically beautiful space. Praise to the Lord, Nothing but the Blood, I'll Fly Away, Amazing Grace, as well as on songs familiar and not so familiar written by Mia and Nathan.

The concert was certainly a blessing for the 3 of us, I pray that it was for those in attendance as well!

Music for Sunday May 10th

Music at 10:00

Continuing on with the series- walking in the light of.... This week: Walking in the light of victory, through obedience- I John 5


Preservice-

Our God Saves- (we introduced this for the first time at north campus, it went well. We did it in C, changing the low G's and A's to C's so the melody wouldn't go down too low. In D the chorus lands on a D so much, which is just not a comfortable note for women to sing for extended periods of time. Of course Paul Baloche has a cool guitar part... in D. I'm never as sensitive as I should probably be to cool guitar parts written in a certain key for a reason, because I'm not a guitar player.)

Call to Worship

I am Free
All the Earth will Sing Your Praises - (we did these two songs as a medley in E, reprising the verse and chorus of All the Earth after the confession and absolution time. With the tempo of these songs so similar, the medley worked well)

Anthem-
As for Me and My House- by Morris? Chapman- sung by the children's choir and their mom's and grandmothers- they sounded great! ( Having the kids joined by their mom's and grandmom's for mother's day has been a tradition of ours for about 10 years. Seeing/hearing them sing together is priceless. The song As for me and my House, is a perfect lyrical choice, although the verses get a little low, and may work best as a solo)

Closing-
Jesus All for Jesus ( this song will never get old for me, as the lyrics are so powerful-)

We sang this song as the closing song, after a message today from Pastor Hudson, that was personal, heartfelt, and meaningful to us all. Thank you Pastor Hudson for everything!

Jesus all for Jesus, all I am and have and ever hope to be
All of my ambitions hopes and plans, I surrender all into your hands
For its only in your will that I am free

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Sanctuary1010 music

Dan and Don took the reigns music wise at Sanctuary this Sunday

opening set-
Be Thou my Vision- in D (hymn)
Jesus All for Jesus- In D then going back into the last verse of Be Thou My Vision

after time of confession
Amazing Grace/ My Chains are Gone

Closing set
I Saw the Light
I'll Fly Away
( I printed these songs off in E for the guys, only because I am uber sensitive about songs being in a good range for the girls in the congregation, of course anyone who knows these songs knows that they are traditionally played in G, but the girls would have been squeaking!! Here's hoping Dan and Don didn't go with tradition! :) )

See here for the planning center outline

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This post is part of a blog carnival at Fred McKinnon's blog, click here, to see worship set lists from all around the world!

Music for Sunday May 3rd

Music at 10:00

Theme- Walking in the Light of Love


Opening worship

Blessed be Your Name- in A

into

Shout to the Lord- in A

after confession and absolution we reprised

Shout to the Lord (chorus only)

Songs during communion:

There is a Redeemer- in D by Keith and Melody Green (one of my very first favorite praise and worship songs, still a favorite)

into

You are my King/Amazing Love - in D

Closer-
Make us one- (a nice ballad type/easy to sing/closer by Twila Paris- especially nice with a kids choir singing along. )

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Music at Sanctuary

I was at Sanctuary this week and had the opportunity to sing with Pastor James AND Mia. Too awesome singers/worship leaders, so easy to work with, it makes it so easy to worship as we lead the congregation. Adding to the worship, were the college kids again singing from their hearts!

As the theme was Walking in the Light of God's Love, we started out with an extended worship set, giving the people the opportunity to experience God's love through the music.

Later on during Face to Face Mia shared a brand new song she wrote based on John 11, and Jesus weeping over Lazarus. umm this song is incredible, and as soon as she can record it, I would like to post it here for your enjoyment... so check back soon!

We then closed with another original by Mia, which I changed at the last minute from Hosanna (brooke fraser) The lyrics to Mia's song " O Lord your Love is all that I desire" really spoke to the congregation after the message of this service.

Please check out the service plan for Sanctuary, our 2nd site campus, from planning center online by clicking here

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I am enjoying posting these set lists, and reading others from around the world at Fred Mckinnon's Blog- check it out here

Music For Sunday April 26th

Okay I'm going to try to catch up with Sunday music posts- here is 2 weeks ago

Music at 10:00

Theme: Walking in the light of Hope

I played the piano with a full band and praise choir at 10:00 for this week- the PreSchool children sang a couple pieces so the church was wonderfully full.

We ended up reprising many of our Easter pieces- Its still Easter! Lots of fun was had

Pre-service-
You are Holy/Prince of Peace

Opening worship

Alleluia, Alleluia- (fun Easter arrangement of joyful, joyful we adore thee from praisecharts.com
My Redeemer Lives (never get old song by Reuben Morgan)

after confession and absolution

Jesus Paid it all- Kristian Stanfill version(The band loves to sing/play this one, the congregation seems to be catching on well)

During offering
Lord I lift your Name on High (old school I know, but I like to pull out simple, old favorites when we have a lot of kids in worship who might recognize some of the songs)

Closer-
The Wonder of Your Cross

Quick notes- On You are Holy/Prince of Peace and Lord I lift your Name on High, I labeled certain sections men and women singing separately - here's hoping the men feel comfortable singing out by themselves!
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Music at Sanctuary

Thanks Don for you service over at Sanctuary! You are appreciated more than you could know!

Click here for complete service plan for Sanctuary1010, our 2nd campus worship site, from Planning Center online

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interested in other set lists from around the country check out Fred McKinnon's blog here

Day of Rest

So, its been almost 15 days or so, since I last posted...boy am I behind! Two Sundays worth of set lists, and 3 concerts, I have a lot of work to. Saddest thing is, I just may have lost the 3 people who may be reading this. Come back... please.

My excuse? None really, except a need to rest my brain a bit from work/music stuff

People often talk of being able to "leave work at work". I'm pretty sure this happens less often then people would let on. Years ago I worked at the Dove Ice Cream Factory, simply moving ice cream bars coming down a conveyor belt at an angle, I was the "ice cream bar straightener" the best job I could get as a summer temp. Simple as this job was I would have Laverne and Shirley type nightmares at night when I got home from the 12 hour shifts. A major Snicker's Ice Cream Bar Jam up would be at the center of these "nightmares".

Now, although these nightmares are a thing of the past, I still have a hard time leaving work at work. Being in a creative field such as the one I am in, it's hard to put a schedule to creativity, and I admire those who are able to do this, (if you do this well, please share your tips)! No matter how hard I try, round about 9pm- 12am (the creativity starts to kick in) and of course this is not just Mon- Friday, but Saturday and Sunday too.

The word Sabbath comes from the word Shabbat, which means "to cease", or as I see it... rest the brain. My prayer is that we all, worship leaders, Sunday morning volunteers, Dove Ice Cream Factory workers, can take a look at our busy, busy lives, and find that day of rest, that time to sit and enjoy God's creation, and to hear His voice, a day of rest that God asks us, and wants us to have.

That's what I'm talking about!

Recently I watched a documentary on HBO that really inspired me- "The Leopards Take Manhattan" is a 35 minute movie following a real life "music man" Diane Downs and her percussion group, made up of 45 students, ages 7-12 called the Louisville Leopards Percussionists.

Diane teaches the group, most of whom don't have any musical experience, how to play awesome jazz pieces.. completely by ear! The results- Amazing!

The coolest part of her teaching method? Once she teaches a part to a few students, she then asks them to go teach it to someone who doesn't know it yet, and so on, and so on. The kids take ownership in the success of the group, and in teaching and caring for each other. hmm

The most touching part of the movie? Seeing the look on the kids faces when they are invited to play for a special concert in New York city... pure joy!

When I think about being a missional musician, or trying to lead a missional music ministry, music opportunities like the one Diane is bringing to these kids, is something I might imagine.

Check this movie out if you can, its playing on HBO Family the 1st week of May. If you don't happen to have that obscure channel, check out these links:

The movie trailer: here

full length videos: here

Music for Sunday April 19th

The week after Easter- still celebrating! We started a series where we are talking about Walking in the light of, and living as... this week- Walking in the light of forgiveness, how do we live that out?

10:00 worship-

Kristin worship led, with Kevin and Scott on guitar, and our wonderful field worker from Concordia, Stacy on keys. Frank was not there this week... (he is a faithful musician playing 50 weeks out of the year) We missed you Frank :)

Music:

Opening set:
Hope of the Nations by Brian Doerksen- in G
Mighty to Save- in G

confession and absolution

Mighty to Save- Chorus only

communion-
I Know That My Redeemer Lives (hymn) in A using an arrangement I wrote
Alleluia - yes the old Alleluia by Jerry Sinclair- in A

Closer-

In Christ Alone

Notes: Love to use the song Alleluia occasionally, its beautiful, no one has to look at the words, or even know the song, they just sing from their hearts, 2 years old to 103, simple worship

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Sanctuary1010 worship



I was at Sanctuary this week, and enjoyed worship leading with just the piano along with Pastor James. He is so easy to sing with, and I also have the bonus of him being so good at transitioning verbally between songs. It was a great morning of wonderful worship.

We didn't start our worship set until after the sermon, and then just continued it on through Face to Face, and through to the closing song. I really like that set up of the service, and it worked particularly well, because Pastor James started the service in a light hearted manner with a video from Vintage21 church, which was a satirical look at what some people thing Jesus is like, after which we had a 'mixer' of sorts breaking up into groups.

Music-

Mighty to Save- (no bridge) -in F
Same Power- (bridge only- there is actually more to this song, but CCLI only prints the notes to the bridge) in F
I Will Rise- In F

You are My King/Amazing Love- in C
I know That my Redeemer Live- in C ( I used a really nice version of "Jesus shall reign" (same melody) from the RUF hymnbook, and took it about 85 beats /min, very effective for those using hymns in their music rotation)
Jesus Paid it All- in C- Kristian Stanfill version, but adapted to piano only, more reflective but very moving

Notes- Good day- Especially great is the amount of Concordia students, 20% of our regular attendance who drive a good 40 minutes to get here every Sunday. I love, love, love their singing! They know most of the songs, and sing them from their hearts

I really liked the set using Mighty to Save in to Same Power- thank you to someone from the Fred McKinnon's Sunday Set List blog carnival, from whom I got the idea (it might have been Fred himself?)

I felt like that set worked well, and that people were really letting their guard down and doing some spontaneous worship during the instrumental breaks, but I started to think too much rather than let the Spirit move us, and I drew the medley to a close before I probably should have. Its amazing how each Sunday is different like that, and you never really know what to expect, reminding me that it really helps to be extra prepared in order to be able to freely go where God takes us in worship.

Concert a Week- # 5

Concert # 5 in my concert a week project, included a lovely lunch, so I will start by giving a shout out to a lunch spot called Travelers Cafe, and recommend that if you are in the Westmont area you should check it out. Travelers Cafe, is a friendly, comfortable place that serves up humble breakfast food, sandwiches, soups, salads and some comfort food specials. It also appears that they are a bakery, making among other things, made to order speciality cakes. All the food is homemade, and my tuna on wheat, with a side of delicious cole slaw, was a great accompaniment to the music I came to hear.

Saturday April 11th 11am-1pm Rich and Vicki Ingle entertained us with thier group, Comfort Food... a very fitting title for a group playing at this venue. Rich and Vicki, sang together, Rich on acoustic guitar, and Vicki switching back and forth from acoustic guitar to acoustic bass.

( Acoustic bass... I bought one once, with the idea that I could play in a band somewhere that just happened to need an acoustic bass in their group, along with a bass player who only knew how to play Down on the Corner, Brown Eyed Girl, and Knockin on Heavens Door. After about a day of having the wonderful instrument in my house, I realized I couldn't really afford this dream (the bass), and brought it back to the store, who initially refused to take it back, but that's another story, and all ended well anyway.)

Rich and Vicki unpretentiously sang the stories of our lives through folk songs, their originals and others, and talked to the audience, and made us feel like we are at home in our living room, listening to their music. Good food, good music, and and even a free cd to take home courtesy of Rich and Vicki themselves!

Travelers Cafe appears to have different musicians every Saturday from 11am-1pm, definitely worth a return trip... be sure to call first to be sure.