VBS for this year:
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SUNDAY MORNING from the pastor April 28, 2002 The first thing I notice outside today is the wind. It is no gentle breeze, but gusty, rude, and careless. It is a cosmic blow dryer after yesterday’s rain soaked everything. And I think of the Hebrew word for "wind" in the Old Testament, ‘ruah.’ The word ‘ruah’ is alternately translated: wind, breath, or spirit. In the beginning, when the earth was without form, and void, the ‘ruah’ of God danced across watery chaos. When God was crafting the first human being, after the flesh had been modeled from clay, God bent over the creature and breathed divine ‘ruah’ into his nostrils. When Ezekiel preached to the people of God, a valley of dry bones, he called to the ‘ruah’ from the four corners of the earth to transform those folks and infuse them with life. And so the wind blows this morning. Tonight is our spring concert. The musicians of our church will bless us with their voices and souls. The flyers around town call this our First Annual Spring Concert. It is an opportunity for us to re-experience our favorite music from the past year. The chancel choir, the bells choirs, the praise team, various soloists, and selected instrumentalists will share some of the highlights we have enjoyed in the past year. They will also offer us some new music for our pleasure and spiritual edification. I hope that just as our musicians offer us their gifts, our congregation will use the opportunity tonight to show appreciation and support for those who provide us music. This will be a great opportunity to invite friends and family to experience the faith and fellowship of Grace Church. People who may not otherwise feel comfortable in our sanctuary may very much enjoy this concert. As we launch this First Annual Spring Concert, it is also a good time to recognize the work and gifts of our music director, Gordy Wilson. Gordy has become more than just an extraordinary performer for our church: he has also stepped into a leadership role in music--helping to encourage and coordinate many others in our congregation who have musical gifts. One of the things I see emerging these days is an awareness that our congregation is a musical congregation. And while I’m thinking of things Gordy does, I need to note that he is the new webmaster for our congregation. I got the website wrong last week. It is www.urbanagrace.org. Gordy changes it nearly everyday with something new. Our newsletter is now on the site. And he has talked me into putting my sermons and Bible studies on it as well. One of the neat things about it is the pictures. Check it out and tell a friend about it. Gordy reports we have already had several thousand ‘hits.’ Remember our potluck on Wednesday night with Evelyn Taylor. We will eat at 6 p.m. Evelyn has been a missionary in Brazil and will share some of her work with us. We look forward to sharing our welcome and hospitality with her. --Mike |
