Worship Debrief – Being There for a Friend-Depression (Jun. 27-28)

Do you know someone who’s consumed by activity (fatigued), consumed by worry (fear), and/or consumed by unmet expectations (frustration)? Maybe it’s you. Maybe it’s a friend or family member. Either way, we found out this weekend that these are warning signs for what Pastor called Relational Depression.

Pastor’s message, while not meant to be medical or psychological advice, looked at ways we can help those we know through a season of depression. Some of the greatest figures in the Bible – such as Moses and David – seemed to suffer from the near-despair that we can all face under unbearable burdens. However, there is hope…and it’s the hope that comes from Jesus. Here’s how it breaks down:

1. Jesus offers us power that we don’t have on our own.
2. Jesus offers us promises that we can depend on.
3. Jesus offers us perspective on His purpose.

Jesus’ power, promises, and perspective can be the light that brings us through the darkness of depression.

Saturday, 6/27 – 7:00pm:

•       We had a crowd of “regulars” tonight. It’s fun to worship with the family.
•       We missed Matt on drums. You never know how much you depend on that rhythm until it’s not there!
•       A new experience for me: our sound guy fell asleep!!! And then, the others in the Media Booth didn’t wake him up! When we got up for the last song, nothing was on. Thanks to Anna for heading upstairs to take charge of the situation.

Sunday, 6/28 – 11:15am:

•       A big “Thank You!” to David Cascio and Laura Ciminelli for filling in this weekend. Couldn’t have done it without you!
•       We had the youth from Messiah Lutheran Church in Joliet, IL with us in worship. They were on their way to Work Camp in Niagara Falls and we got to hold our sending cloth ceremony for them. It was a great illustration that we are all one body serving Christ!
•       I got some more feedback on the “When am I supposed to sing?” question I asked several weeks ago. Maybe you heard some confusion during the service? Let me know what you observed and if you have thoughts about how to tackle this.

7 Degrees of…

Kind of spur of the moment, Darcy and I decided to attend a Grove City Alumni regional event at the Buffalo Brewpub this past Thursday. Basically, it was a small mixer for any Buffalo region alumni of Grove City College (GCC) – which includes both Darcy and I – to get together and meet. The cost was $10 per person and included non-alcoholic beverages and “Buffalo” snack foods – veggie & cheese trays…and, of course, wings! All in all, not a bad deal.

Well, naturally when you get a whole bunch of people in one room who largely do not know each other (we only knew one person there going into this), you are forced to track down any commonalities other than, in this case, the college that you graduated from. So, here’s a short, fun list of what came out of this little gathering of strangers:

• The woman we already knew graduated GCC in ’85…which is before Darcy and I were there. We met her through Promise Theatre…a local volunteer theatre group that practiced at First Trinity.
• We met a woman Darcy graduated with who now serves as the Asst. Athletic Director at Niagara University (3 min from our home) and lives in Lewiston (10 minutes.)
• Spoke at length with a man who graduated in ’67 and is retired from the Buffalo City School district. He taught Spanish at one of the high schools when Janet Barnes (keyboards for the worship team) was the Assistant Principal.
• Had some fascinating discussion with a man originally from China who came to Grove City because Christian schools were considered “safe” – the image of the US in China in the early 90’s came from “90210” and similar shows (Ouch!!!) He graduated in ’95 (after Darcy and I) and his RA freshman year was Darcy’s ex-boyfriend.

“The Gate!”

Here it is – the flyer I mentioned. This was originally written with the thought of using the Hall of Joy, Garden of Peace, and Celebration as our venue. At this point, however, I’m eyeing the renovated basement.   The flyer is hard to read, so the text appears again below the image.

You’re invited to a new and unique gathering of God’s people! The Gate is a worship experience crafted to create connections.  Come and meet with God; meet and interact with other people; or maybe even find a new church home!  All you have to do is enter The Gate and open yourself to something new.

Your evening begins in our Hall of Joy with some light hors d’oeuvres and a chance to relax and catch up. In the warmer weather, find a table in our Garden of Peace to enjoy the fresh air. Last minute email to send? Not a problem with available wireless internet service.  Move into the Café and treat yourself to one of our specialty drinks (hot and cold!) and desert from our serving window. Enjoy and worship with local artists or our house band from your table or seated theater-style closer to the stage. Each week our pastor brings a relevant message from the Word of God. Prayer centers are available weekly and a communion altar monthly for receiving God’s grace.  Or linger in the Café, Hall of Joy, and/or Garden of Peace (weather permitting) to reflect on the evening’s message,  discuss hot topics with friends and staff, connect with late-comers, or just enjoy another Latte!

It’s a time to meet with God in a new way, revitalize existing friendships, and start new acquaintances. It’s worship, connection, and the transforming power of God’s word all wrapped into a weekly gathering of ordinary people called by an extraordinary God. It all happens at: 

The Gate!

How about we build…a Gate?

This past Tuesday we held our semi-annual voter’s meeting. We have two each year (hence, semi-annual): one in January/February to approve the budget, and one in June to elect council members. And, of course, at each of these meetings we get to hear updates on our ministry and the vision of our church leaders here at First Trinity. This meeting went long – there was a lot to discuss – but on the whole, was good.

Following Pastor’s report, Karen – one of our members – asked a question regarding the 7pm Saturday service. To paraphrase, she said that right now on Saturday nights you come, do church, and go home and she was wondering if there any plans to have more. In other words, will we have a bible class on Saturday nights, or just tell people what we have available on Sunday mornings and ask them to come back?

Well, I wanted to address that in a little more detail. Back in September I posted a series of articles that looked at some of my vision for worship. One of these included a new naming scheme for our services and hinted at an overhaul to the 7pm Saturday service – a new experience I’m calling “The Gate.” The late service on Saturday has shown itself to be an entry point for many people into First Trinity – a gateway, if you will. So, the concept of “The Gate” is to build a worship experience with a focus on getting people connected to the church, to others, and ultimately to God.

I’ll post the mock-flyer that I drew up a few years ago in the next day or two. But to summarize, “The Gate” will be worship in a coffeehouse-style atmosphere. We’ll have drinks and snacks (think Panera or Starbuck’s) available before hand with background music from the band or a CD. We will still worship for about an hour, but with more flexibility in the format. Following the service, the drinks and snacks will be available again, as will tables for discussion of the message, current issues, or whatever else you need to discuss. We will also have a communion altar available and a prayer station. No need to run off! Who knows, a regular bible study during that time is a very real possibility.

Any way you look at it, the entire evening will be about connections. I’d love to see this get off the ground…even before we renovate the building! Strike your fancy? Let me know, and maybe we can pull a team together and get something moving.

Prepare for Worship – Being There for a Friend: Depression (Jun. 27-28)

While the breakup of a marriage tops the list to stressors in one’s life, depression is probably one of the toughest to cope with. This week, as we continue in our series on “Being There for a Friend,” we look at how to help friends through depression. Our scriptures this week take us from a heavy-hearted Moses trying to lead a frustrating people to an imprisoned Paul grateful for the encouragement of other believers. In the end, we see that our hope is ultimately found in Jesus, who has “come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

The readings for this week:
Old Testament:  Numbers 11: 10-15
New Testament:  Philippians 4: 10-13
Gospel:  John 10: 7-10

Sunday
Gathering:  “We Want to See Jesus Lifted High”
Opening:     ”All I Have”
                     “You Are God Alone”
Offering:     “Seek Ye First”
Closing:       “Your Name”
Sending:     “Forever and Ever”

Saturday
Opening:  “All I Have” 
                   “Your Name”
Prayer:     “You Are God Alone”
Closing:    “We Want to See Jesus Lifted High”
Sending:   “Forever and Ever”

Just to Post…

Okay…this is a post that pretty much says nothing because I wanted to post something but didn’t really have the free time to think it out. So, I’m posting with nothing to say.

One of these days I’m going to fix my lack of free time. If you have ideas on how I can pare back my schedule, I’m all ears!!! Have a great week and enjoy some personal worship time as you get ready to meet with God in church this coming weekend.

Worship Debrief – Fathers Show Us God’s Love (Jun. 20-21)

This post is supposed to be about our worship over the weekend, quickly summarizing the message and then looking a little at what went in the contemporary services. And I’ll get to that shortly. But first, being it was Father’s Day, I need to relate this one little thing to you all.

The two older boys made cards as the gathering activity at Kingdom Quest a few weeks ago. Both were great, but I need to share what Samuel wrote inside his (unedited): “Thanks for aa-um, theirs a million things that I could thank you for but leading me to Jesus is number 1” It left me rather speechless (and, I found out later, brought Dawn Guetti to tears!)

Obviously, Pastor was focusing on fathers today. But ultimately, the message was aimed at parents in general. There are four responsibilities that we have when it comes to raising our kids: Prepare them for life, Protect them in storms, Play with them, and Point them to God (which I apparently have covered! ) It sounds simple until you think about how you do all that. So, Pastor gave us fathers five foundations towards raising our children:

1. Accept their uniqueness
2. Affirm their value
3. Trust them with responsibility
4. Correct without condemning
5. Love them unconditionally

Saturday, 6/20 – 7:00pm:

•          Matt and I got to play guitar duo tonight. Our female vocalists were not available, so we opted for the “coffee house” thing. It was kind of fun…just need to NOT wear similar shirts next time (I hate matching!)
•          The congregation was getting into to worship, and I love seeing that happen. It helps to draw me into worship myself.
•          Debbie told me afterwards that my voice was “crystal clear” on the mic…which would be all Jacob Ferrante’s doing. He’s overseeing the sound team for the summer. Anyone else notice any changes?

Sunday, 6/21 – 11:15am:

•          The youth band played at 10am to kick off the Sunday School celebration. It was awesome. They are currently all in 6^th to 8^th grade and have worked hard on the three songs they did. Hats off to Matt Stoerr and his leadership.
•          Big band this morning…9 of us! I think that’s probably the max we can handle. Hope it brought a big sound to our worship!
•          Sue’s children’s message was a great illustration. 8-10 kids with their eyes closed finding their dads who were talking to them. They knew their father just by his voice. That’s how we should be with God, knowing Him just by His voice. Do you?

Contextualizing Worship

As I mentioned earlier this week, I had the opportunity last week to attend a workshop at the District Convention entitled “Contextual Worship”. The presenter was David Hurlbutt (yes, that’s his real last name,) Director of Music & Outreach at Hope Lutheran Church outside of Rochester, NY and the session was about 1 hour long, directed primarily towards Pastors. That being said, I sat through it twice (OK…I’m a closet overachiever!)

Our goal, when we contextualize our worship – whatever form that worship may take – is to create a smooth flowing, spirit-filled, multi-sensory experience that is relevant to our lives today and brings us the Gospel in an engaging and moving way. In other words, we leave ‘em wanting to come back for more…

More of God, that is!

As David put it at the workshop: “If worship is stale, people could leave thinking God is out of date. If worship is boring, people could leave thinking God is irrelevant. Fresh approaches to worship give us fresh insights to God. Creative expressions of praise paint a larger picture of God, and a larger picture of God leads to a larger expression of worship.” He later quoted Jack Hayford, founding Pastor of a mega-church in California, saying: “There’s an undeniable link between worship and the advance of Christ’s Church and His Kingdom.”

As Worship Leaders, we are not about entertaining people. We are about engaging people so that they connect with God. But that doesn’t happen without a good measure of creativity. Being creative and creating the context for our worship setting each week takes some key ingredients: Time, effort, and people! If you have a passion for our worship; if you this idea intrigues you; or if you just want to know more about where our worship can go, then leave a comment below and we’ll chat.

Prepare for Worship – Fathers Show Us God’s Love (Jun. 20-21)

This weekend is Father’s Day – a day when we celebrate the men who have a positive influence in our lives. For some, this may not be a day of much rejoicing as there are some men who have not been the example that they should have been. But we have a heavenly Father who is perfect in every way and who wants to fill the void(s) that have been left in us by less-than-perfect people.

As we did on Mother’s Day, this weekend we will be looking at the ways that “Fathers Show Us God’s Love.” Our readings take a look at God’s kindness and provision for His chosen people. We will also see that God provides us with discipline, correction, and the strength to carry the load we’ve been given…all because we are His creation and He values us more than anything.

On a practically note, our song list on Sunday includes many of the First Trinity “Classics.”

The readings for this week:
Old Testament:  Hosea 11: 1-4
New Testament:  Galatians 6: 1-6
Gospel:  Matthew 10: 24-31

Sunday
Gathering:  “Everlasting God”
Opening:     ”Rise and Sing”
                      “Hungry”
Communion: “Humble Thyself…”
                        “Father, I Adore You”
                        “Poured Out and Broken”
Offering:    ”Father’s Eyes”
Closing:     ”You Are Holy (Prince of Peace)”
Sending:    ”Abba Father”

Saturday
Opening:  “Everlasting God”
                   “Your Love O Lord”
Prayer:    ”Center”
Closing:   ”God You Reign”
Sending:  ”Love is Here”

Staying in Context?

What do you think of when you hear the word “worship?” I’m willing to bet that many people would automatically think of a) going to church on Sunday, or b) the songs that we sing to God, be they at church or somewhere else. If you pressed people, I’m sure the answers to would start to get rather interesting…maybe even downright scary!

Well, the point here is not to do any kind of research into what other people think “worship” is (fascinating as that may be.) But rather, I’m looking to get us thinking about our own worship – who (or what) we worship, how, where, and why. I’ll start with Matthew 22: 37 (quoting Deuteronomy 6:5), which gives us a great summation of what could be called Biblical worship:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

I attended a workshop last week at the LCMS Eastern District Convention entitled “Contextual Worship”. You’ll hear more about the workshop itself in the near future. But I mention it up now because it dealt with the context – the surroundings, atmosphere, environment, mindset… – in which we worship. You’ll notice that the passage above places no direction whatsoever on how, where, or even why you would love God – which I would call “worship.”  That could lead you to believe that God is not really concerned about the context of your worship…just worship. However, we (at least most of us) do not live lives without context. We live in this world, we have jobs, schools, families, friends, likes, dislikes, etc., etc., etc. They, in part, help to define who we are and what we do. And tempting as it may be sometimes, we cannot separate ourselves from our surroundings. That means our worship has a “context.” Our physical surroundings, our attitudes, even our emotions become part of what defines our time(s) of worship.

So, before this gets way too philosophical, I would like your feedback – if you are willing – on the following two questions:

1. (from above) What do you think of when you hear the word “worship?”
2. What is the “context” in which you worship?

By sharing little or much, you will be helping us to better provide a weekly atmosphere that is conducive to worship. Drop a comment below, and let’s see where this can lead!