Notes from the Music Director
Dear friends in Christ,
“And down the stretch they come!!” Does this phrase sound familiar to you? If you are acquainted with our state’s love for horse racing, then you know that this is a rallying cry that the announcer shouts just as the horses round the last corner and head for the straight path to the finish. It’s one of my favorite parts of the Kentucky Derby. It adds to the excitement of those final moments of the race. We’re on our feet yelling and cheering. All too soon, however, the race is over, our excitement wanes, and we move on.
We are in a time of the church year when we are nearing the end of an exciting occasion. We have recently celebrated the joy of Easter in all its triumph and glory. The trumpets have sounded and we have been filled with excitement and elation! As we come down the stretch through the month of May and approach the month of June, we are entering into the second half of the church year. From Advent and Christmas all the way to the Easter season, we have been focusing on the major events in Christ’s life. We call this time the “Festival Half” of the church year. When we reach the festival of Pentecost, we then enter into the “Non-Festival Half” of the church year that lasts all the way to Thanksgiving. The readings focus more on our response to God’s love. As its name implies, there are far fewer occasions to celebrate.
A great temptation for us is to think that the race is over. We’ve experienced the festivities of Christmas and Easter, and now we face a long period of worship without a festival. Sometimes the devil tempts us to lose interest. Summer comes upon us with its warm weather. Vacations beckon. We sometimes lose our focus and become distracted. Our time is more important.
But our worship continues, as it well should! God forgives us our short attention span and calls us back to Himself. He sees our weakness and encourages us on. This is all the more reason to join with our fellow Christians in corporate worship to praise our loving God. We can also learn a lot about ourselves and our relationship to God in these Pentecost weeks.
I pray that you will be able to continue to worship regularly this summer. If you are vacationing, Google a Lutheran church in the area. It can be a very edifying experience for both you and the church itself. Many summers ago, my family attended a very small church that met in the living room of a converted ranch style home. We weren’t very dressed up, but that didn’t matter. The people were so delighted to have us there to worship with them. It was a beneficial service for all of us. Another time, we had our own family worship service in our hotel room. Try it!
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1
Hope to see you in worship!
Yours in HIM,
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 May, we will be learning “On What Has Now Been Sown.” (LSB 921) It is a popular closing hymn, often used after sermons to ask for God’s blessing on the message shared. Written by John Newton (1725–1807) in 1779, this hymn is frequently paired with the tune DARWALL'S 148TH. It serves as a prayer asking God to make the "seed" of the spoken Word "sprout and grow" in the hearts of listeners.
1 On what has now been sown
Thy blessing, Lord, bestow;
The pow’r is Thine alone
To make it sprout and grow.
Do Thou in grace the harvest raise,
And Thou alone shalt have the praise!
2 To Thee our wants are known,
From Thee are all our pow’rs;
Accept what is Thine own
And pardon what is ours.
Our praises, Lord, and prayers receive,
And to Thy Word a blessing give.
3 O grant that each of us,
Now met before Thee here,
May meet together thus
When Thou and Thine appear
And follow Thee to heav’n, our home.
E’en so, amen, Lord Jesus, come!
Text: John Newton, 1725–1807, 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 Blessing spoken at the end of the service is the Aaronic benediction, the blessing God first gave to Aaron and the other priests to speak to the people of Israel (Numbers 6:23-27). The blessing is God’s promise that Christ will go with us as we leave the church and return to the world to serve Him.
Monthly rotation of hymnal liturgies for
“Joyful Heritage” 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: Matins (with communion)