Sunday Review 8/30/09

What can I say, the music-side of yesterday's service went quite well...the audio/visual side, not so well.

I immediately new we were in trouble when the visiting speaker, Johnathon Herron, handed me a disc before service and stated that it contained his "Powerpoint."  Now, those of you with even limited computer knowledge will know that "Powerpoint" is a visual presentation software used to present slideshows and other presentations.  We very rarely use "Powerpoint" during our services.  So rarely, in fact, that the newest version had not been downloaded since we upgraded our computer some three months ago.

God bless Marshall (our "Video Presentation Specialist").  He labored to get things settled before service began but; unfortunately, didn't quite get things aligned before we began.

The first Praise and Worship set went seemlessly (albeit, longer than I had realized) and we moved into the "Greeting" portion of the day as usual.  That's when I began to notice, on the BIG screen for all to see, that Marshall was adjusting the monitor controls for our second set. 

Needless to say, almost everyone in attendance was familiar with the song "In Christ Alone."  However, being familiar with a tune and being able to sing the lyrics from memory are two very different things.  Basically, without the use of our projection system, the Praise Team presented a quite stirring rendition while our congregation hummed along, looking quite lost and much like a calf at a new gate.

O well, expect the unexpected I always say.  Even with the hiccup in production, things went very well musically.  The choir's version of Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) was quite inspiring and the service moved along as expected.

I'm continually amazed at how well our choir pulls things together on Sundays, even when attendance at rehearsals on Wednesdays has been quite scarce.  Wonder what we could accomplish if everyone (that possibly can) attended practice each week???  Maybe God only knows...  Or, maybe one day we'll find out...

Before I close, I would like to express my appreciation for our instrumental accompanists.  Our interim pianist, Joey, has done an excellent job filling in for Linda while she's been away.  Those are huge shoes to fill!  I am always amazed at how Terry can step in on Sundays after working out of town all week and provide exactly the drum licks I was looking for.  I can honestly say I have never worked with a more talented drummer.

And...I should also mention, Marshall and his crew always do an excellent job upstairs with the projection system.  None of what went wrong Sunday was in any way their fault...just the usual annoying computer glitches.  Thanks to all our volunteers!

Thanks to all who sang and glorified God yesterday as well!  See you at the "next appointed time!"

In Christ,
Michael