Notes from the Music Director

Dear friends in Christ,

How do we teach our children the value and importance of worship? That is a question many parents have struggled with for a long time. Some believe the answer is to remove children from the worship service altogether, but I believe that children actually do like being in a worship service when they are actively involved. That is why it is especially important to talk about what it is that we do in worship. Why not explain worship to our young ones just as we would when taking them to a ball game for the first time?

If we take the time to talk about some of the things we do as a congregation in worship, why certain actions are done, and what we expect our children to do, worship can be meaningful to children. For instance:

Why do we praise God? We are glad God created us! We are glad He loves us and takes care of us!
Why do we stand and sit? We honor God by standing for prayer, the Gospel reading, and certain songs.
Why do we fold our hands and bow our heads to pray? We do this to help us focus our thoughts on God.
Why do we have spoken responses like “amen”? It is our way of adding our “we agree” to what has been said.
Why do we sing? We sound as one harmonious voice, and we all participate in offering this gift to God.
Why do we sometimes process with the cross at the beginning of the service? It is a symbol of God coming among us at the beginning of worship, even though we know God is always with us.
Why do we pray in the service – can’t we pray at home? Yes, but there are concerns that we want to raise to God as a congregation – these are things we all share concern for. [1]

There are many other topics of discussion, including Christian symbols in our church, the reason for the offering, the placement of the invocation, etc. If we spend two minutes a week talking about some of the practices of our church, it allows youngsters to feel good about participating on a meaningful level. Try it!

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19

Hope to see you in worship!

Scott Kamman

Director of Music

[1] Ideas from “Through the Eyes of a Child” by David M. Cherwien, in The Chorister, January, 1999.

Scott Kamman

Music Director

Hymn of the month:

The children in our school learn a special hymn or song of the month as part of their worship and religion class experience. For the month of October, they will be learning the hymn, “Lord, Open Now My Heart to Hear.” The text was written by Johann Olearius, (b. Halle, Germany, 1611; d. Weissenfels, Germany, 1684). Born into a family of Lutheran theologians, Olearius received his education at the University of Wittenberg and later taught theology there. He was ordained a Lutheran pastor and appointed court preacher to Duke August of Sachsen-Weissenfels in Halle and later to Duke Johann Adolph in Weissenfels. Olearius wrote a commentary on the entire Bible, published various devotional books, and produced a translation of the Imitatio Christi by Thomas a Kempis. In the history of church music Olearius is mainly remembered for his hymn collection, which was widely used in Lutheran churches. Hymnary.com

LSB 908 Lord, Open Now My Heart to Hear

1 Lord, open now my heart to hear,
And through Your Word to me draw near;
Let me Your Word e’er pure retain;
Let me Your child and heir remain.

2 Your Word inspires my heart within;
Your Word grants healing from my sin;
Your Word has pow’r to guide and bless;
Your Word brings peace and happiness.

D 3 To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Shall glory, praise, and honor be
Now and throughout eternity.

Text: Johann Olearius, 1611–84; (sts. 1, 3): tr. Matthias Loy, 1828–1915, alt.; (st. 2): tr. Mark A. Jeske, 1952
Text (sts. 1, 3): Public domain
Text (st. 2): © 1993 Mark A. Jeske. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110002236

Chapel worship:

Everyone is invited to worship with the school children each week as they gather for chapel on Wednesdays at 8:45 AM in the sanctuary. It is an excellent opportunity for midweek worship. Come and join us!

Oct. 1 Grades 7 & 8

Oct. 8 Pastor Richeson

Oct. 15 Principal Davidson

Oct. 22 Mr. Paul Nickel

Oct. 29 Mr. Scott Kamman

Communion reminder: If you partake of the individual communion cup, please clearly hold the empty cup in front of you to help the communion assistant who is serving the common cup to see that you have already communed. Thank you.

Worship Reminders: Please respect the quiet time of meditation before the service begins. Silence your phone. Enter the sanctuary reverently and with worship in mind. Socializing is best done in the narthex or lounge areas before and after the service. Also, please remember that if you arrive late for church, wait until the congregation begins singing a hymn or piece of the liturgy before being seated. That is the appropriate time to enter into worship. Thank you for maintaining a worshipful atmosphere.

Worship Notes!
In an effort to try to help us all learn about our worship life and liturgy, we offer this little “tidbit” of information each month. It can serve as a review for you, an answer to that question, “Why do we do that?”, or as a teaching tool for our children or grandchildren. Please share this with your family. Discuss it prior to worship. If there is something you would like to have answered, let me know. I’ll do my best to find out! Check out this month’s edition of “Worship Notes” below.

This month’s Worship Note:

In the Sanctus, we sometimes sing the words “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Sabaoth.” What does “Sabaoth” mean?

The word itself is Hebrew for hosts or armies. “Hosts” may refer to the whole realm of heaven and earth or may be reference to legions of angels.

Monthly rotation of hymnal liturgies for 8:30AM services:

First week: Divine Service Setting 2

Second week: Divine Service Setting 4

Third week: Divine Service Setting 5

Fourth week: Divine Service Setting 3

Fifth week: Matins (with communion)

*Scott Kamman can be reached at 426-1130 or by email at scott.kamman@gmail.com.