Notes from the Music Director
Dear friends in Christ,
Our Lenten Journey is almost at its conclusion - Easter Day! But we've got a distance to go yet, and some of this last bit is hard, and it will require ALL of our attention to make it through this part if we want to rightly prepare to truly celebrate the Resurrection.
First, during Holy Week, we consider Maundy Thursday - a strangely named day if ever there was one. The word Maundy comes from the Latin phrase, mandatum novum, that is, "new commandment." It is from one of the primary lessons for the Maundy Thursday service, John 13: 34-35: Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment (a mandatum novum!), that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
This focuses our minds and hearts on forgiveness, on developing deep empathy for one another - that is, on understanding one another's pain, on our relationships (or lack of them!), and even on our life direction.
The other great scriptural emphasis for the day focuses directly on US. Jesus said, "This is my body... this is my blood... poured out... FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS." We are directed, then, to look inward in self-examination, finding out what WE are doing that is damaging, warping us at our core, and what is damaging to our primary relationships in life. And notice that this doesn't just address sins we have committed - it just says, "...for the forgiveness of sins." Anyone's - committed by us or against us. We are NOT to live in anger or fear or hurt, but are charged to face the problems and work for, if possible, reconciliation and healing. If we carry our own or others' sins around with us, it is like carrying so much extra weight around with us in life. It slows us down, keeps us from living freely and prevents us from experiencing the joy, peace, and love that God intends for us. Wow! This is important stuff!!!
The final step of our Lenten Journey is Good Friday - Yet another oddly named day. How can a day recalling the events of such a horrendous death be in ANY way "good"? It really is a fair question, for in the events of that day we see all of the worst of humanity focused on one man. We see the greed, corruption, cowardice, fear, self-centeredness, prejudice, all manner of vicious and cruel behavior, brought to bear on that one man who did not deserve it - and, it was all "legally done"! How sad that our societies have a way of legalizing such treatment against others. Not much has changed, has it?
So, we enter into this last great day of our Journey with some trepidation - we don't want to face these things - because we see them in ourselves. And that's why this is called "Good Friday," because the events HAD to take place so that our sin could be confronted, so that our punishment could be paid by another, so that our healing could finally begin.
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35
Blessings on this last part of the Lenten Journey. Easter is Coming!
Yours in HIM, ​
Scott Kamman​
Music Director
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Spring Sing 2026 is in the works at Our Savior Lutheran School. The school choirs in Preschool through Grade 2 are busy putting together a very entertaining production for all, “O Me, O My, O Nehemiah!” The show is scheduled for Thursday, April 23 at 7:00 PM. There will also be special music by our other choirs and some instrumental ensembles. Put it on your calendar!
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!
April 3 Grades 1, 2, and 5
April 15 Kindergarten
April 22 Principal Davidson
April 29 Pastor Guagenti
Hymn of the month:
The children in our school will be learning a special piece of liturgy during the month as part of their worship and religion class experience. For the month of April, they will be learning “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense”.
Our hymn joins two very different ideas: “My confidence rests upon … hope.” We usually think of confidence as something strong and sure, the absolute knowledge that events will unfold as they should. Confidence leaves no room for doubt. Hope is somewhat less substantial. We “hope” that an event will happen, but we don’t know for certain that it will. That for which we hope may come to pass, or it might not. Yet according to our hymn, our confidence rests on a solid foundation of hope!
In other contrasting ideas, we “laugh to scorn the gloomy grave.” We know that death is no laughing matter, and the hymn admits that the approach of death is filled “with many an anxious thought.” Still, in confident hope, we laugh at the gloomy grave and no longer tremble at death. We also see in the hymn that death is not so final as the world imagines it to be. Jesus will return and “at last His own assemble.” Believers who have already died will rise from death to join those who are still living, and together they will “go their Lord to meet.” This reflects what the apostle Paul says concerning the Last Day: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16b-17 ESV). From scripturalnuggets.org
1 Jesus Christ, my sure defense
And my Savior, now is living!
Knowing this, my confidence
Rests upon the hope here given,
Though the night of death be fraught
Still with many an anxious thought.
2 Jesus, my Redeemer, lives;
Likewise I to life shall waken.
He will bring me where He is;
Shall my courage then be shaken?
Shall I fear, or could the Head
Rise and leave His members dead?
3 No, too closely I am bound
By my hope to Christ forever;
Faith’s strong hand the Rock has found,
Grasped it, and will leave it never;
Even death now cannot part
From its Lord the trusting heart.
6 Then take comfort and rejoice,
For His members Christ will cherish.
Fear not, they will hear His voice;
Dying, they will never perish;
For the very grave is stirred
When the trumpet’s blast is heard.
7 Laugh to scorn the gloomy grave
And at death no longer tremble;
He, the Lord, who came to save
Will at last His own assemble.
They will go their Lord to meet,
Treading death beneath their feet.
8 O, then, draw away your hearts
From all pleasures base and hollow;
Strive to share what He imparts
While you here His footsteps follow.
As you now still wait to rise,
Fix your hearts beyond the skies!
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Text: Otto von Schwerin, 1616–79; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
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:
The Divine Service, our weekly liturgical worship celebration, contains both changing and unchanging parts. Within the service, there are certain parts – called “the Ordinary” – which remain unchanged from week to week. These unchanging parts give stability, shape, and structure to our worship. They include:
Invocation
Confession/Absolution
Kyrie ~ Lord, Have Mercy
Hymn of Praise ~ Gloria in excelsis or “This Is the Feast”
Creed ~ Nicene or Apostles’
Lord’s Prayer
Sharing of the Peace
Benediction
and when there is communion…
Preface
Sanctus ~ Holy, Holy, Holy
Words of Institution
Agnus Dei ~ Lamb of God
Post-Communion Canticle ~ Nunc dimittis or “Thank the Lord.”
Next month, we’ll look at “the Propers,” the parts of the liturgy that are different every Sunday.
Monthly rotation of hymnal liturgies for
8:30AM services:
First week: Divine Service Setting 1
Second week: Divine Service Setting 4
Third week: Divine Service Setting 5
Fourth week: Divine Service Setting 3
Fifth week: Combined service @ 10AM using Matins (with communion)