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Let’s Celebrate February with love for everyone.
Movie: The Banshees of Inisherin
Book: Unoffendable, by Brant Hansen
Good News: Scientist say, “Cheese isn’t bad for you.” Places to Visit: The Pinnacles in Berea for hiking.
Norton Hospital is asking the public to send cards, to child patients through Feb 10.
I heard this question on a podcast called “The Studio” about worship and the arts at Samford University and thought it was worth sharing. Think back to the last birthday party you attended. Did you sing “Happy Birthday?” My guess is that your answer is “yes.” Whether it’s singing with family at a funeral, or with friends at a concert, singing occurs naturally. So what about singing with the body of Christ?
So, “Why do we sing in worship?” This may be a question you’ve always asked yourself but haven’t heard discussed within the church. Generally speaking, singing in a congregational setting has been a widely- accepted practice amongst various denominations, age groups, and even cultures. So why is that? Why do we sing? Here are five reasons that we sing in worship.
1. God commands us to sing. There are hundreds of references of singing within the Bible. Jesus Himself sang songs of praise after the Last Supper. If we are called to replicate the character of Christ, I’m confident that singing should always be involved.
2. Christians have sung throughout history. The earliest Christians put their community beliefs in songs, which is why Christian hymnody as a whole began. Songs are recorded in scripture and other historical texts. The Book of Psalms in the Bible is a great resource for reading songs of believers that have gone before us.
3. Songs can give us theology. As you may know, hymns and other Christian songs are full of rich, theological text. The act of singing uses both parts of the brain, therefore it can educate us and teach us about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
4. Singing connects us emotionally. Songs of celebration have the power to lead us to dance. Songs of lament have the power to lead us to tears. Music has a way of piercing into the deep parts of our soul, that assists in our expression and response to God and to the church.
5. Singing helps unites us in the church. The gospel alone unites believers with one another. However, music is a tool that allows us to do so. As we gather on Sundays, we join together as one body and praise God with one voice.
We recognize that God gives each of us different gifts. But at the end of the day, we all are called, wanted, and expected to sing. Music is such an integral part of worship, especially at Hurstbourne Christian Church. I hope that the music we sing is a reminder of God’s love, grace, and presence in our worship. My prayer is that the music we sing in worship helps you feel closer to our Savior and that you feel a deeper connection to him through our music.
Personally, my hope for you comes from the proclamation found in Psalm 96. “Sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord! Bless His name! Share the news of his saving work every single day!”
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the US and Canada General Assembly is in Louisville this year! The assembly will be held from July 29 through August 1, 2023. Louisville has hosted General Assemblies in the past, but it has been many years. The General Assembly is a gathering of Disciples of Christ from all over North America, where we come together as one large community.
This year’s theme is “Kingdom of God: Within Us and Among Us.” There will be a series of workshops and sermons based around seeing the Kingdom of God in everything we do. Many of the speakers and teachers will be prominent members of our faith community, including our general minister and president.
If you would like to attend, you can pre register by visiting www.ga.disciples.org. On that website, you will also find a full list of the various activities and workshops. For those of you who have never attended a General Assembly, it is important to remember that the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a large and diverse community.
The practices of our local church might be different in some ways than the practices of other churches in our denomination. For those of you who have attended general assemblies in the past, you may remember a time when speakers said something that made you slightly uncomfortable. However, just because an idea is expressed at the General Assembly does not mean Hurstbourne Christian Church must accept it. One of the beautiful features of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is that we are a congregational denomination. We as a congregation can forge our own path. Often Hurstbourne Christian Church is in step with the national church, but occasionally we walk in our own direction.
In our general body meetings, you will hear various ideas from all around the nation. People From New York, California, Canada, Puerto Rico, Texas, and everywhere else in North America will share their ideas. However, no one person, not even our General Minister, Terri Hord Owens, speaks for all Disciples of Christ churches.
Still, through the process of coming together and sharing sometimes uncomfortable ideas, we can grow as a church in faith and spirituality. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was started by people with big ideas and it was only through their sharing of those ideas that we are here today. I hope that many of you will consider attending at least some of the General Assembly. We will have a guest preacher at Hurstbourne Christian Church on Sunday, July 30, who will preach about uniting with the greater Disciples’ world!
Happy New Year to everyone at Hurstbourne Christian Church.
Each month I will Give Praise to things I have found enjoyable and I would like to share with you.
Movie: Ticket to Paradise
Book: The Boys From Biloxi-Grisham Good
News: Gas Prices Went Down
Places to Visit: French Lick West Baden
Favorite Scripture: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Send me any of your favorites too!
Blessings,
Patti
"Silent Night" is about a calm and bright silent night, and the wonder of a tender and mild newborn child, words written in 1816 by a young priest in Austria, Joseph Mohr, not long after the Napoleonic wars had taken their toll. The backstory is that the priest went for a walk before he wrote it, and he looked out over a very quiet, winter-laden town," says composer/conductor John Conahan, who co-organized the Silent Night Sing-In with WRTI in 2018 and 2019, and created a new arrangement of the famous carol. "He was inspired...the town was at peace."
It was Christmas Eve, 1818, when the now-famous carol was first performed as Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht. Joseph Mohr, the young priest who wrote the lyrics, played the guitar and sang along with Franz Xaver Gruber, the choir director who had written the melody. An organ builder and repair man working at the church took a copy of the six-verse song to his home village. There, it was picked up and spread by two families of traveling folk singers, who performed around northern Europe.
In 1834, the Strasser family performed it for the King of Prussia. In 1839, the Rainer family of singers debuted the carol outside Trinity Church in New York City. The composition evolved, and was translated into over 300 languages with many different arrangements for various voices and ensembles. It was sung in churches, in town squares, even on the battlefield during World War I, when, during a temporary truce on Christmas Eve, soldiers sang carols from home. "Silent Night," by 1914, known around the world, was sung simultaneously in French, German and English.
Over the years, the carol's mystique grew with its popularity. After the original manuscript was lost, for decades, some speculated that the music had been written by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven. In 1994, an original manuscript was found in Mohr's handwriting, with Gruber named as composer.
Hurstbourne Christian Church is an open and affirming church where all people are welcome, regardless of your background or experience. Our aim is to provide a safe place for people to find belonging and community, and to grow in their relationship with God.
Physical Address: 601 Notthingham Parkway, Louisville KY 40222
Mailing Address: 657 South Hurstbourne Pkwy #349, Louisville, KY 40222
Worship Service: Sunday @ 10:30 A.M.