Sunday, March 24, 2013

This Sunday's Service

This Sunday is known as Palm Sunday. It is the day we celebrate Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem at the beginning of the celebration of Passover. As we know, the shouts of "Hosanna" were soon drowned out by shouts of "crucify him." How do we go from joy to sorrow and then back to joy? I guess the answer would be scriptural: "for people it is impossible, but with God all things are possible." We celebrate the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, but then we follow the events of the upcoming week, all the way through Good Friday. Come and meditate on the God with whom all things are possible, and prepare for the rebirth of Easter.

This Palm Sunday we will have a wonderfully music filled service. We will begin with a prelude from organist Gavin D. Craig, O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, BWV 656 by J.S. Bach. Our children's choirs (Joyful Noise and JNITs - Joyful Noise In Training), led by Anne Amador and Elizabeth Hale, will sing Hosanna to the Lord by Becki Slagle Mayo. The Meeting House Choir will also be singing. Their selections are Procession and Hymn for Palm Sunday setting by Craig Courtney, and When Jesus Wept arranged by Linda Spevacek. The congregation will get to sing a wide variety of hymns this week: All Glory Laud and Honor (ST. THEODULPH), Christ at the Table with His Friends (MAUNDY THURSDAY), Go to Dark Gethsemane (REDHEAD NO. 76), Ah Holy Jesus (HERZLIEBSTER JESU), O Sacred Head Now Wounded (PASSION CHORALE), and What Wondrous Love is This (WONDROUS LOVE). Gavin will complete our musical offerings with the postlude Improvisation on Hosanna Filio David.

This Sunday's Service

What does Mary anointing Jesus with oil have to do with Paul's proclamation that "I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ?" We usually remember Mary's act of devotion, but try to forget some of the misunderstood statements of Paul. However, the words of Paul can sometimes lend a much deeper understanding of life and how we are called to live in it, if we allow our understanding and imagine to be stretched beyond our comfortable levels. The sermon title for this Sunday is "Anointed for Living."

The Meeting House Choir will sing A Gaelic Blessing by John Rutter, When the Lord Restored Zion by Dave & Jean Perry, and Kyrie by Sonja Poorman. Organist Gavin D. Craig will play Arioso on "Breastplate of St. Patrick" by Richard Proulx and Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist, BWV 671 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Our congregational hymns will be Said Judas to Mary (JUDAS AND MARY),We Yearn, O Christ, for Wholeness (PASSION CHORALE), and Give Up Your Anxious Pains (ICH HALTE TREULICH STILL).

March 10, 2013

This Sunday's Service

 

In the reading from the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) this Sunday, Joshua is preparing the Israelite people for their entry into the promised land after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Joshua tells the people that God is preparing them for a new start in the land of Canaan. In order to do this, the people must renew their covenant with God. This puts behind the past of slavery in Egypt and the transgressions of the wilderness and sets before them the new beginning that God has prepared. In every generation we are called upon to renew our commitment to seeking God's presence in our lives and working together to advance the reality of God's love among people. It's a tall challenge, but when we covenant to work together, the task can become a work of joy. The sermon title is, "All Alone in the Midst of a Crowd."

The Meeting House Choir will sing Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord by Hal H. Hopson, and My Song is Love Unknown by Edwin T. Childs. Our congregational hymns will be It Was God Who Ran to Greet Him (WILBUR), Softly and Tenderly (THOMPSON), and All My Hope on God is Founded (MEINE HOFFNUNG).

Sunday, March 3, 2013

This Sunday's Service

 

This third Sunday of Lent we welcome Rev. Rita Wilbur as our guest preacher. Rita grew up in FCC and is currently the Houston Association Minister. She will be sharing some of her thought on the doctrine of the Atonement, and how it influences our perceived relationship with God.

The Meeting House Choir will sing As Pants the Hart by Dr. Samuel Arnold and A Rose Touched by the Sun's Warm Rays by Jean Berger. Organist Gavin D. Craig will play Attende Domine* by Jeanne Demessieux, Wenn wir in Höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 641 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and Fughetta in C minor, op. 123a, no. 2 by Joseph Rheinberger. Our congregational hymns will be Come to Tend God's Garden (King's Weston), Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (CWM Rhondda), and O Jesus I Have Promised (Angel's Story).

Tonight come see what Rev. Katelin Warren is up to! "Finding God on the Journey" Midweek Lenten Worship Service 6:30 p.m. - FCC Assembly Room

Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013

This Sunday's Service

As we journey through Lent, we are constantly surprised at the many and varied ways that we find God. This Sunday's sermon will be one of those experiences, because I am going to be as surprised as all of you. At this point I have no idea what it is going to be about! Maybe that in itself is what we should be considering during this Lenten journey: allowing the unplanned discoveries of God to take the place of our carefully controlled way of organizing things. After all, most of the things we think we have control over are really just illusions that we create in our own minds. It's probably no different with sermons. Where will we discover God this Sunday morning during that 15-minute window of time called "Sermon"? Come and find out. It will be a surprise for all of us!

The Meeting House Choir will sing Jerusalem by Thomas Roseingrave and Be Thou My Vision arranged by Kinley Lange. The Decibells will play Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley arranged by Anna Laura Page. Organist Gavin D. Craig will play Recit de Chromhorne by François Couperin for the Prelude* and Fugue sur la Trompette also by François Couperin. The congregational hymns will be God of Abraham and Sarah (CONSTANTINE), Fairest Lord Jesus (SCHÖNSTER HERR JESU), and God is My Strong Salvation (MEIN LEBEN).

Sunday Feb. 3, 2013

How many weddings have you been to where the familiar passage from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is read? After a while, we can get a little tired of "love is patient, love is kind, . . . ." Sometimes familiarity can breed contempt! While the words that spoke to the church in Corinth are useful for a couple starting out in marriage, they have a much deeper meaning for us in all aspects of our lives. In fact, they reflect the foundation of who we are as individuals created in God's image, but we have to take those words to heart. Love, love, love . . . and the greatest of these is love.

The Meeting House Choir will sing Jesus, Savior, Lord, Lo, to Thee I Fly arranged by Shanti Rasanayagam and Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love by Dale Grotenhuis. Organist Gavin D. Craig will play Prelude in G Major by Dietrich Buxtehude, Wie lieblich schoen, Herr Zebaoth by Jean Langlais, and Fugue in G Major by Dietrich Buxtehude. Our congregational hymns will be I Come With Joy (Dove of Peace), Though I May Speak (Gift of Love), and In Christ There is No East or West (McKee).