Behind the Music Stand

One of my friends re-posted this picture on Facebook.  He found it at Facebook page "Americans against the Tea Party," which in turn got it from "I Acknowledge Class Warfare Exists," neither of which, in my opinion, imply discussions about God from the name of their Facebook pages... regardless, in my limited understanding, I felt complied to "Vent" about this picture, so this blog isn't particularly "Music and Worship Arts" related, but it was spawned by a "Picture" on Facebook!  I have edited my reply on Facebook for ease of reading and to omit personal references.  It went, in part: First, intelligent Tea-Partiers will say you can believe (or not!) whatever religious belief you want--just allow us to believe what *we* want! Next, "Could God have created a universe with free-will but without evil?" is a misleading question.   It presumes that this world exists as God created it.   God DID create a universe with...

Anyone remember this Oldy-But-Goody by Brian Howard? I Just Wanna Be a Sheep Don't wanna be a goat…nope Don't wanna be a goat…nope Haven't got any hope…nope Don't wanna be a goat…nope (Chorus) I just wanna be a sheep Baa, baa, baa, baa I just wanna be a sheep Baa, baa, baa, baa I pray the Lord my soul to keep I just wanna be a sheep Baa, baa, baa, baa, Don't wanna be a Pharisee Don't wanna be a Pharisee 'Cause they're not fair you see Don't wanna be a Pharisee (Chorus) Don't wanna be a Sadducee Don't wanna be a Sadducee 'Cause they're so sad you see Don't wanna be a Sadducee (Chorus)* (And, of course, there are as many variations as there are Sunday School teachers!)      Today the text for Pastor Albert’s sermon was Matthew 22:23-33, in which the Sadducees try to catch Jesus in a logic riddle.   Of course, they fail miserably since (1) they don’t believe the premise on which their riddle is based...

     Please see my post, “C’est la jour de la Noël” or "Why on Earth Did He Pick THAT Song?" for an explanation as to why I chose this song for the choir to sing this month (except for communion Sunday).  For now, here is the Latin text and English translation. Non Nobis, Domine  William Byrd, 1543 - 1623   Non nobis, Domine, non nobis,        Do not give to us, not to us,   sed nomini tuo da gloriam.                but to Your Name give glory.          It is interesting to note that with this same sentiment, Johann Sebastian Bach signed his compositions "SDG," his abbreviation for "Soli Deo Gloria," which means "Only to God glory!"  It is my prayer that all the music we present at FPC would bring "SDG," and I pray, too, that we will ever strive to make this more our goal in all we do! ...

Psalm 148 ( Poeticized )   Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him from the heavens above, Praise Him, Creator of all Love, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, angels from on high, Praise Him, sun and moon in sky, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, all His heavenly hosts, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, all that He created, Praise Him, nature unabated, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, creatures walking low, Praise Him, swimming things below, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, every bird on wing, Praise Him, every living thing, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, winds that do His bidding, Praise Him, storm or calm, as fitting, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, mountain, hill and dale, Praise him, jungle, or desert pale, Let all creation praise the Lord! Praise Him, kings of all the earth, Praise Him, p...

My Dancing Day             This month at Walla Walla First Presbyterian church the Chancel Choir is using a traditional English Carol as our call to worship.   If you were in church on the 9 th or heard us over the radio, you might have thought it did not sound very “Christmasy.”   In part, that is because we only sang the first verse and chorus.   The entire song is as follows: Tomorrow shall be my dancing day; I would my true love did so chance To see the legend of my play, To call my true love to my dance; Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love, This have I done for my true love. Then was I born of a virgin pure, Of her I took fleshly substance Thus was I knit to man's nature To call my true love to my dance. Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love, This have I done for my true love. In a manger laid, and wrapped I ...

Happy Thanksgiving to all!   Today, try a different tactic I heard:   Instead of counting your blessings, *subtract* them!   One by one, imagine your life without each and every blessing you have, great and small.   When you woke up today, was there a roof over your head?   Imagine if there wasn't!   Did you drive a car home from work last night?   No matter how "Sub Standard" the car, imagine not having one at all!   Do you have family and/or friends whom you love--who love you back?   What if you were alone in this world?   The little things and the big things--take them out of your life one by one!   Do you have clothes to wear?   Forget how in fashion they are or aren't--just imagine your life without any!   Millions of people in the world live that way!   Did you wake up AT ALL today?   Never mind your back hurt or that chronic illness from which you suffer.   You. Woke. Up.   That means you have a...

            I’m not sure what this has to do with music, but it has been bouncing around in my head for a while—years actually.   I am sure it is not a new concept, but here is my take on it.             Too many people, Christians and non-Christians alike, see Christianity as a list of “Don’ts.”   I’m sure at one point in time someone even made som comment to me like, “You can’t do this, and you can’t do that…”   Sound familiar? Growing up in the Church of the Nazarene back in the day when movies and dancing were strongly frowned upon, I often felt a great vacuum between activities “We don’t do” and options given to me that we can do!   (There were many contributing factors as to why I felt that way, but I will save them for another forum.) Meanwhile, I would like to offer this challenge to you:   What do Christians do?   Try focusing ...