BELL CHOIR

The choir will rehearse on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 7:20 PM.  

If you are being called to participate in this music ministry or interested in learning more information before committing to the choir, please contact Guy Ehler before October.  He can reached at 610-322-2539 or relhew@verizon.net .  You can also contact Mark Jonkman to express your interest in playing the English handbells this coming church year.

Guy

 Short story by Richard De Haan of ‘Our Daily Ministries’  

Where’s the Piccolo?

Sir Michael Costa (Italian born Conductor & Composer) was conducting a rehearsal in which the orchestra was joined by a great chorus. About halfway through the session, with trumpets blaring, drums rolling, and violins singing their rich melody, the piccolo player muttered to himself, "What good am I doing? I might just as well not be playing. Nobody can hear me anyway." So he kept the instrument to his mouth, but he made no sound. Within moments, the conductor cried, "Stop! Stop! Where's the piccolo?" It was missed by the ear of the most important person of all. (I can also tell when there is a voice missing… Mark)

It's much the same way with the use of our abilities for the Lord. Whether our talent is great or small, the performance isn’t complete until we do our best with what we have.

-Richard De Haan

An excerpt from the poem “You Have a Part To Play”

Each one of God's children

Has a special part to play,

Whether it be great or small,

We are needed every day.

For each part is important

To make the whole thing work,

So do your part with enthusiasm

And know that you have worth.

© By M.S.Lowndes

The Characteristics of Music

1. Music is powerful.

When music is filled with praise, God’s glory is very evident!  An example of the power of music is found in 2 Chronicles 5:13-14: “The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’ Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.”

2. Music is personal.

What I like is different from what you like. By its very nature, we all tend to prefer certain styles and types of music. And because it is so personal, we can take things personally if someone criticizes what we enjoy or what we are used to, and we can hurt others when we cut down what they like. Related to this, music has a way of penetrating our hearts and is used by God to impact us in many ways.

3. Music is pervasive.

We can’t go anywhere today and not hear music. Our society is filled with songs in elevators, grocery stores and malls.

Jeff VanGoethem, former pastor of East White Oak Bible Church in Carlock, Ill, adds these insightful words: “We expect to hear exactly the same thing in church that we have trained ourselves on, in our own personal lives. And so we are most happy when the songs in worship agree with our preferences and conditioning. Thus we are easily set up for disappointment when they do not.”

4.  Music must be used for praise.

The challenge for us today is to not just have music as background noise but to actually praise God in singing. It is so easy to treat music as entertainment, or something to be performed, rather than something to be experienced.  As I have mentioned in the past, our anthems are sermons of a sort.  We hope that you will hear and understand the words that we sing and use those words as insight into your own lives and share the Gospel of Christ with others.

Shoes in Church

I showered and shaved, I adjusted my tie.  I got there and sat in a pew just in time.  Bowing my head in prayer as I closed my eyes.

I saw the shoe of the man next to me touching my own. I sighed.  With plenty of room on either side I thought, 'Why must our soles touch?'  It bothered me, his shoe touching mine. But it didn't bother him much.  

A prayer began: 'Our Father’ I thought, 'This   man with the shoes has no pride. They're dusty, worn, and scratched. Even worse, there are holes on the side!'

'Thank You for blessings,' the prayer went on.  The shoe man said a quiet 'Amen.'

I tried to focus on the prayer but my thoughts were on his shoes again.  Aren't we supposed to look our best? When walking through that door?  'Well, this certainly isn't it,' I thought, glancing toward the floor.

Then the prayer was ended and the songs of praise began.  The shoe man was certainly loud sounding proud as he sang.  His voice lifted the rafters his hands were raised high.  The Lord could surely hear. The shoe man's voice from the sky.

It was time for the offering and what I threw in was steep.  I watched as the shoe man reached into his pockets so deep.  I saw what was pulled out what the shoe man put in.  Then I heard a soft 'clink' as when silver hits tin.

The sermon really bored me to tears, and that's no lie.  It was the same for the shoe man for tears fell from his eyes.  At the end of the service as is the custom here.  We must greet new visitors, and show them all good cheer.

But I felt moved somehow and wanted to meet the shoe man.  So after the closing prayer I reached over and shook his hand.  He was old and his skin was dark and his hair was truly a mess.....  But I thanked him for coming for being our guest...

He said, 'my name is Charlie I'm glad to meet you, my friend.'  There were tears in his eyes but he had a large, wide grin.  'Let me explain,' he said wiping tears from his eyes.  'I've been coming here for months and you're the first to say 'Hi.''  'I know that my appearance is not like all the rest.  'But I really do try to always look my best.'  'I always clean and polish my shoes before my very long walk.'  'But by the time I get here they're dirty and dusty, like chalk.'

My heart filled with pain and I swallowed to hide my tears.  As he continued to apologize for daring to sit so near he said, 'When I get here I know I must look a sight.' 'But I thought if I could touch you then maybe our souls might unite.'

I was silent for a moment knowing whatever was said would pale in comparison I spoke from my heart, not my head. 'Oh, you've touched me,' I said...’and taught me, in part’ ‘That the best of any man is what is found in his heart.'  The rest, I thought, this shoe man will never know.

Like just how thankful I really am that his dirty old shoe touched my soul

I recently learned that a member of my family (my sister-in-law) is moving to Las Vegas and I have learned some interesting facts about the area I would like to share…

THIS MAY COME AS A SURPRISE TO YOU, BUT IN LAS VEGAS, THERE ARE MORE CHURCHES THAN CASINOS.

NOT SURPRISINGLY, SOME WORSHIPERS AT SUNDAY SERVICES WILL GIVE CASINO CHIPS RATHER THAN CASH WHEN THE BASKET IS PASSED.

SINCE THEY GET CHIPS FROM MANY DIFFERENT CASINOS, THE CHURCHES HAVE DEVISED A METHOD TO COLLECT THE OFFERINGS.

THE CHURCHES SEND ALL THEIR COLLECTED CHIPS TO A NEARBY FRANCISCAN MONASTERY FOR SORTING AND THEN THE CHIPS ARE TAKEN TO THE CASINOS OF ORIGIN AND CASHED IN.  THIS IS DONE BY THE CHIP MONKS.

I thought we could all use a little humor these days…

 Song of the Little Bird by Evelyn Lym

There lived a little bird in the forest. It had been singing songs ever since it was born. It learned how to sing from papa bird, mama bird and all the other birds in the vicinity. It would sing every day.

One day, while the little bird was singing on the branch of a tree, it got interrupted by the sound of a little boy. The little bird looked down. A boy was pointing at it with his finger and saying “what a sad haunting melody!”

The little bird was taken aback. At first, it felt that it did not appreciate the feedback. It thought that it had sung very well. It was even proud. But as the little bird started to reflect, it realized that the boy was pointing out something that it had missed previously. The boy’s observation was not about its vocal ability but about the song.

Indeed, the song that it had sung was a rather sad one. It was about the trials and tribulations of being a bird. It was a song that its parents, friends and neighbors had been singing. Now, every bird in the forest had been chirping the same chorus every day.

The little bird felt a disconnect.

“This song is not about me,” it thought.                            “Am I about misery, worry and failure?”

“I want to write and sing my own song.”                          “A song that will reflect my truth.”

“A song that will reflect who I am.”

So the little bird decided to do things differently. It started with some chirps here and there. Then it became practicing over and over again the same lines.

Obviously, it was not easy trying to be different. All the other birds thought that it had gone mad. They tried to dissuade the bird, “….but we have been singing the same song for centuries!!!”

Papa bird and mama bird shook their heads sadly. Clearly they could not understand the inner motivations of their little child.

To get away from all the distractions, the little bird decided to move its nest a little further away. It wanted to practice in peace. And that was what it did. It exiled itself to the wilderness of its undiscovered self. While the little bird felt lonely at times, it felt driven on its path to sing something of its own.

Finally, the little bird thought that it was ready. It knew that the song was not perfect, but perfection was not what it was looking for. It also knew that while the first song was rehearsed, there will come a day when singing from within would come spontaneously and naturally.

So the little bird flew to a tall and majestic looking tree. It tried to get started. But no hum or note came out. For a moment, the little bird thought that it had lost its voice. It felt embarrassed.

Then, the little bird decided to gain its composure. It steadied itself. It understood that it was less about the song. The courage to sing that was far more crucial.

Soon, the little bird got over its initial anxiety. It found itself singing on and on. The little bird sang from its heart: The joy of flight. The wonders of the open sky. The view from the top. The magnificence of Mother Earth. 

A New Day Begins…

And as it sang, all the other birds gathered round.  They listened intently.  For a minute or two, there was no movement in the forest.  Even the breeze stood still for not a single leaf on the trees rustled.  Every creature – not just the birds – drew in their breaths.  They stood enraptured.  The singing was beautiful in the song’s meaning.  In essence, the little bird was singing about the greatness of being a little bird.

Soon, the other birds caught on.  Each in their own voice.

A harmonious blend of music gradually filled the crisp air, enveloping the forest in the warm embrace of a beautiful dawn. A new day has begun!