The Chancel Choir plans to meet via ZOOM, on Wednesday night at their regular practice time. It will certainly be interesting – I’ll let you know how it goes. These people are very close-knit and some are life long friends and choir members. We definitely miss each other. How incredible will it be when we all get together. My colleague and friend Ellen Hanson (daughter in law of Rev. Dave Hanson) is a choir director in Macon at Martha Bowman UMC. Some members of her choir are featured on Facebook singing –
Give me that online religion, give me that online religion,
give me that online religion, it’s good enough for me!
You can stay in your PJs, You can stay in your PJs,
You can stay in your PJs, it’s good enough for me!
You can have toast and coffee, etc.
Hope you will make up more verses. It’s a fun song – might even do this for Bluegrass Sunday…. but with the real words! Yes, we will have Bluegrass Sunday. It will be here before you know it.
This Sunday, the choir had planned to sing
Jesus Walked in Galilee
which is an American Spiritual arranged by Frank Ahrold. The words are simply – Jesus walked in Galilee to save us all from sin.
The hymns are: 816 If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee and 460 Break Thou the Bread of Life. Again, you can look these up on hymnary.org online or in your hymnal that you might have at home. Each of these hymns is a devotional and a prayer.
Here are words to a hymn that one of my fellow colleagues wrote for these times:
Hymn for Streamed Worship 8.7.8.7 D HYFRYDOL/NETTLETON
Tune – Love Divine, All Loves Excelling or Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
In our homes, we meet to worship, far away from sacred space.
By the Spirit, Christ is with us, making this a holy place.
In these days of social distance, we are called to meet apart.
Still we pray for one another, hold each other in our heart.
If this time indeed is holy, we must keep it truly so.
Even in our isolation, God’s rich blessings overflow.
We avoid the world’s distractions, set our minds on things above:
Patience, kindness, goodness, mercy, faith, joy, peace, abiding love.
R. G. Huff – 03/17/2020 [Permission Granted for Use]
Stay safe and keep in touch! Let’s talk – this is a good time to share any worship ideas you may have or plans for our upcoming 75
th
Anniversary in 2021. History tells us that we’ve come out of tough places before. The stories in your Bible assure you that this it is true that we come back better and stronger. I’m counting on it! Sing loud, it’s a big world!
Love & Gratitude, Rhonda