There’s
a Song...
When I hear “the classics” played on the radio, I often try to recall the name of the composition before the MC announces it. It is a strange habit that I have developed over the years. Not wanting to keep this strange habit to myself of course, I passed this “game” on to my son and daughter. (Actually, they have become pretty good at it!) However, I suspect that almost everyone has had the universal experience of hearing a song and not being able to get it out of their head. When we think of the word, song we usually think of it in musical terms and definitions. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states that “a song is a short composition for solo voice, usually but not necessarily accompanied, and written in a fairly simple style.” However, one of the definitions from The American Heritage Dictionary caught my attention: “A distinctive or characteristic sound made by an animal, such as a bird or an insect.”
If one of the definitions of a song could be classified as a distinctive or characteristic sound, what does Messiah Lutheran Church sound like to our community? I think that we can say that we are a congregation “buzzing” with activities. God has surely given us a song in our hearts as we sing praises to God’s holy name. We hear the sounds of the Gospel sung, spoken, and proclaimed in our worship and in our communion.
However, I cannot help but wonder if the most profound song we can make is not just defined in musical terms. I believe that God calls us out to the community to voice the songs of justice and mercy, and the community of our lives is much broader than that of Messiah Lutheran Church. It is a song about Jesus’ death and resurrection which is heard in the birthing sounds of joy and peace in a troubled world. As we live out the song that God has placed in our hearts, there is the possibility that the people around us will not easily forget the tune placed in their head.
See you this weekend at worship
John Renfroe, A.I.M.
P.S. Don’t miss the Bluegrass Service on Saturday Feb 11th at 5 PM!
The new council and executive committee have met and we have organized and appointed members to jobs and responsibilities. I thank the council for their faith in me. I am very excited about our leadership team and looking forward to a productive and happy new year. I thank the congregation for their trust in our leadership and appreciate their willingness to support our Capital Improvements Campaign. This task force has begun their work and you will be hearing from them soon.
The 25th Nativity Diorama was absolutely the best ever. I always hear comments of ending the dioramas, but with all the truly blessed action that happens the week of the diorama, I do not know why we would even think of ending this wonderful outreach of Messiah. Look for more of the Nativity Diorama report in the ‘Discovery’. I certainly hope for better health for myself in the coming year and look forward with anticipation to this new year.
The previous was written in January but too late for the Discovery. It is now time for February and the Groundhog. He doesn’t have much affect on Florida but I’m still an Ohio native and I remember the fun we used to have on February 2.
As I have been making phone calls and getting some activities organized, I was again thankful for those who so willingly serve Messiah. It seems to be a matter of asking. It occurred to me how nice it would be if we had a magical list of people who would do just ordinary things that are needed at the church. I am hoping we will have a new request for these lists in the near future. I hope you will check the list carefully and check the activities where you can serve Messiah. Our committees are still in need of your participation. Our chairpersons work very hard and need your help to have successful events. The stewardship lists are a big help and I am reminding everyone that they are available for you by asking in the office.
There are many interesting activities planned for February. I look forward to the replenishing of my spirit and I urge you to join in our events. For me, Messiah begins with our church services, continues with finding the ways I can serve and further continues with the fellowship and sharing here at Messiah. As I have continued my service here I find that I am blessed with the responses of those we help.
Your sister in Christ,
Shirley Egleston
This winter will be very busy as we move toward our Nehemiah Action on March 19th. Our justice ministry network is now known as L.I.F.E. (Lee Interfaith for Empowerment) and is currently 15 congregations strong. A wonderful turnout of members of Messiah attended the “listening events” that we conducted to hear about the issues that were important to people of Messiah. The same events were happening in all of the other network congregations too. As a network we got together and shared the lists of issues that arose from the conversations and as congregations we got to identify which issue(s) were most important within our congregation. Then as those lists were compared all of the congregations got to vote on one issue that we as a network would address at our Nehemiah event. The network chose education and over the last number of weeks a “research to action” team has been examining specific justice issues within the realm of education that we could target. If you have read the local papers recently, you’re aware that graduation rates in Lee County have fallen alarmingly. We have people from Messiah who are on the “research to action” team and we’ll keep you apprised of their work. (I’m writing this on Dec. 14th…I’m sure by the beginning of January, there will be a lot more to share.
It’s not too late to be a member of Messiah’s justice ministry team. Team members will gather to hear the final report on what we will try to accomplish and team members will strive to bring 3 other people with them to the Nehemiah action on March 19th where we will publically present our issue to someone from the Lee County School District. Speak with Penny Kaye about being a part of our team.