33RD ANNUAL MUSICAL PRODUCTION AT HFM
December 14 and 16, 7:00 PM --The Holland Free Methodist Church will present Agnus Dei, a worshipful concert of beautiful Christmas music, including songs by Michael W. Smith and traditional carols. Adult and children's choirs, soloists, trios, dramatists portraying Biblical characters narrating the Christmas story, angel dancers, the children's choir singing of a middle-eastern caravan with the Wise Men --elegant costuming, video art --all will tell the age-old story of Mary's little lamb who became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Nursery provided. Refreshments. Concert is about an hour long.
Holland Free Methodist Church is north of (behind) Spring Meadows Mall. Take McCord Rd --or Holland Sylvania Road --north to Angola. Turn right on Angola from McCord---or turn left on Angola from Holland-Sylvania Road. The brick church with the white steeple.
Coming from 475, you need the Airport Highway exit. Take Airport west, (toward the Airport) to pass Spring Meadows and come to McCord Road. Right on McCord, right on Angola --and there it is!
"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life."--the Bible
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Prepare for a Shameless Plug!
Bethany Community Fellowship at the corner of Flanders and Alexis in Sylvania preset Journey to Bethlehem, an interactive nativity.
The exhibit will be open 12/14/07 through 12/16/07 from 6 - 9 PM. Dress warmly, as part of the show takes place outside.
for details, point your browser at:
www.bethanycf.org
Question for Barb: Is Mud Rake really a retired school teacher? Do you know what he taught?
That's my understanding, and I do not know what he taught. He's very protective of his identity --and with good reason! Not that anyone is dangerous to him --but if I were going to make as many personal pot shots as he does, I wouldn't want anyone to know who I was either.
We did The Road to Bethlehem once, a dramatized cantata that was very nice --and your church pianist was our Mary singing a solo. Our church has salted many other church music departments! She married into your church, I think. the pianist at Cathedral of Praise grew up in our church and got his first experience with us --the music leaders at heritage Church of God gave us many good years of participation in music until she got hired to direct her own program. A children's leader at Pilliod Rd. Christian Fellowship was a kids' music director for us when she was young.
None of these left our church out of disgruntlement with our music department as far as I ever heard. (Which is good --musicians are supposed to be the difficult ones in religious circles!) Some were in families who took them off for doctrinal or other issues --just wanting a different kind of service in some cases. Some come back to see our annual Christmas program that they used to be in. this one is quieter and more worshipful than our usual, I think. I just hope everything goes ok --we've had some rough spots in rehearsals --and I'm not sure we've had enough renhearsal for the wise men and shepherds and all to know just what they're doing with confidence. Tech issues always bother me. We need people who are both musical or artistic and technical in those roles of lighting and sound. We have visions of grandeur and usually make it but I'm a little worried.... I'm not happy with the mic placement and mic volumes.But we lack time with busy people to experiment and strive for perfection.
Madjack, I thought you were out of state. Was that temporary?
Are you a participant in the Journey?
Mad jack is bilocational, barb. No, that isn't homosexual/straight, so calm down and get out your dictionary.
So, jack, "You've heard..." is an interesting statement. Why are you curious? Actually, I retired from the circus where I spent 27 years as an elephant trainer. That's why I'm attracted to this blog.
Barb, did you leave his cage door open again?
I live in Madison, WI. My family is in Sylvania, OH. I get home about once a month or so. I miss the people back home, but Mad City (as the locals call it) is very nice. The people are friendly and I've found a church where the sermons are excellent.
doggone -I did leave his door open! he's always wanted my job!
Madjack --I tried to send you an email from your profile --it doesn't work. Do you have an email for bloggers to reach you?
Ok, I'm going to have to update my blogger profile. Actually, I haven't looked at it in a long, long time.
I'll accept Email at:
calico_jack_racham at excite dot com.
Mud Rake: If you are a retired school teacher it would explain a lot.
I note that many school teachers suffer delusions of grandeur as the result of their years spent talking down to groups of intellectual inferiors. The typical school teacher is so sure of himself that his mind is closed to other opinions and facts. In addition, spending time as the absolute authority over all you survey without taking responsibility for the welfare of your subjects produces tyrants.
There are certainly exceptions to this - I know of several - but I've found that the average school teacher forgets that he is no longer in his classroom and so tends to lecture rather than teach and quickly resorts to ridicule and sarcasm - the preferred tools of the public school teacher - when anyone dares to disagree with his opinion.
I, too, am somewhat protective of my identity. I'm still in the business world, and my views on gun control, politics and freedom could end up costing me my livelihood. This is generally why I don't have my own web log, although I'd kind of like one.
OK, jack, so I wasn't an elephant trainer, but I do love that special smell over in this blog.
Actualy, I'm a defrocked priest and I now sell used furniture and insurance. I have to keep moving around because some of my former clergymen find me and tell my boss and I get canned.
barb- if i show up at tonight's big hoo-haw in my clerical vestments, can I get in for half-price?
Were you there, Mudly? It's admission free, you know. I don't care what you wear --as long as you're dressed. I might have to faint if you come. It went better than we could've hoped --as far as I could tell from the stage. We had a good and responsive audience. Lots of visitors.
Sorry, barb. You know how I would have LOVED to be there but I had another engagement last evening: another Christmas program. It was delightful and the 'baby' Jesus began to cry and wiggle and squirm just when they got to his part.
The mother had to snatch him from Mary's arms' rather poignant though, if you think about it. They had to bring the plastic Jesus in to complete the story. That is similarly poignant, if you think about it.
Did you read the story in The Blade about the Christians who do not celebrate Christmas? They follow the Bible much more strictly than you do [imagine that!!] It is truly a pagan holiday, but, what the hell, gosh, it's a lot of fun, isn't it?
We didn't have a real baby this year --no newborns in the congregation --but also because one singer who had to hold the baby and sing was concerned for the distraction possibility --
Usually we use a combo of real and fake babies for our nativity story --but it takes a cooperative mother and baby and we almost always had one every year, but not this year. We have some little ones, but not that little.
It went quite well--we're hoping the snow storm coming doesn't interfere for the sunday night concert. It's really beautiful music.
interesting the different responses --one fellow said it was just overall too soft in volume --another marveled that we got such a big choral sound out of our 29 singers -- "so professional" my neighbor said --one couple said they go around to different productions and thought ours was most worshipful and beautiful --I bet that was you!
Although I was there to see it, my congratulations on an excellent performance. I prefer singing and music that isn't distorted by electronics. I suppose I'm old fashioned that way.
you were there, madjack and didn't say hello???
I agree about the distortion of electronics --if we could have a live orchestra that would be great -- but we aren't large enough. We do have instrumentalists but they are also our singers for the most part.
We also haven't had tech people run the show who are also musicians -- and none of us really knows much about lighting. Got any specific advice?
we saw a poster for your program, Madjack, on the UT bulletin board --we had a graduation activity at the student union tonight.
calico_jack_racham at excite dot com.
Is this
calico_jack_racham@excite.com
It doesn't work. Is there such an address really?
You probably missed the PBS special on Friday as you were busy with the Christmas Cantata.
It was the 47th annual Los Angeles Holiday Celebrations.
One of the groups preformed this Quaker tune, Simple Gifts
Surely you will enjoy it.
Say, barb, 'callico jack' was just pulling your leg but apparently you were too dense to realize it.
I went to your gay men's chorus "simple gifts" performance, Mudrake.
If they can just keep "turning...turning ...turning" perhaps they will eventually "come out right."
It saddens me deeply to see such a waste of manhood --that many people who will not father children and grow to mature manhood as fathers with mothers raising their children together--or who have sadly already fathered and abandoned their wives and homes --and for what --to be romantic and sexual with their own sex. Such tragedy --such a waste.
and they deprive the single women of a chance to be mothers and wives. It's all too, too bad.
Yes, the address is:
calico_jack_racham@excite.com. It does exist, as do I.
Many years ago, around 1978, there was a young man in Cleveland who taught dancing. His name was Danny and he was an effeminate gay man. Danny wore makeup to work every day, eye shadow and such, shaved his legs and pretty much acted like a woman. I didn't dislike Danny, although he could be aggravating at times, but I certainly didn't want any part of his chosen lifestyle.
And so as time passed Danny decided he wanted children, which was going to be just a little difficult without a, you know, regular female type wife. So, Danny found himself a wife, who felt pretty much the same way he did, but, like Danny, was gay. The two got married, had one or more children, straightened out their lives and never looked back.
I have no idea if Danny ever found the Lord, but I kind of think it's likely he did. From what I understood, both people really believed that they were gay, then found out they weren't.
How about that?
Oh, gosh, I DO HOPE that Danny 'found the lord,' otherwise he will BURN IN HELL for eternity. As will all 50 of those men in the choir.
Hell must be kinda big place, eh? You know, all of the Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Confucians, and those pagans who never had a 'real' religion.
Gosh, if only THE WORD had been whispered in their ear; if only some GOOD CHRISTIAN woman had been able to reach them before they died.
Hell surely is paved with IF ONLY.
I wonder if there might be quite a few christians there as well. No doubt lots of CATHOLICS and MORMONS and those other cults.
Damned few fundamentalists, though, because as we all know, THEY are the READ sons and daughters of god.
Good times had by all.
I do enjoy teasing GOOD christians like you and barb. You are a lot of fun! [keeps me from watching re-runs of sitcoms]
I lived out West in South Dakota for a time, and while I was there I went out to the Indian casinos, mainly out of boredom. The casino offers low stakes gambling and is far and away the nicest building on the reservation.
While I was at the casino, I noticed a group of old ladies playing the nickel slots, and I was struck by the mindless repetition of the game. The ladies didn't appear to be enjoying themselves much at all - they just had nothing else to do. I thought, and I still think, that is a very sad state. Having nothing but time and a cup full of nickels and a one arm bandit.
The old gals looked pretty crippled up to me, but some family member should have taken an interest in them and helped them find something a little better to do than play nickel slots.
Then I read Muck Rake's post about day time TV. Sit-com reruns, commercials that scream at you played every ten minutes and the occasional news bite. I Love Lucy followed by, I don't know, some game show or other.
How's retired life? No more kids to lord it over, no parents to condescend to, no teacher's union and BOE to complain about.
Why don't you go volunteer at the homeless shelter, the soup kitchen or the Salvation Army, Muck Rake?
You're right MudRake. Hell is a big place. The Bible says,
Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:14
Mad Jack --good story about the man from Cleveland.
Thank you, Kooz, for popping in here as well.
In all fairness, Madjack, Mudrake says he does do some charitable works. But works without faith is deader than a coffin nail according to scripture. as "we are saved by faith and not by works, lest any man should boast."
Nevertheless, God does like the loving, compassionate heart, full of service for others. Like the Good Samaritan. But will the works take us to Heaven? Not according to scripture -- the truly compassionate heart must be compassionate to all --even ideological opponents --and then, I believe, God, who looks upon the heart, will see to it that the compassionate one comes to faith before he dies --which he needs to do --to be saved --according to our mutual understanding of scripture, yours and mine.
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