Happy 500th Birthday John Calvin!

Tonight we celebrated John Calvin's birthday at a small Presbyterian church in Lancaster with friends from several different churches. Of course there was birthday cake - complete with a picture of John Calvin himself in the icing! The children played "Pin the beard on the Theologian" and colored pictures from the "C is for Calvin" page in the soon to be published book called "Church History ABC's" written by Steve Nichols and illustrated by Ned Bustard. Look for the book in bookstores soon! We know these men and are very excited about their project! It will be a wonderful book for children to introduce them to people and events in church history.

The evening also included art work and music in honor of the life of John Calvin and in praise and glory to God. We all sang a hymn written by Calvin from the Geneva Psalter called "I Greet Thee, Who my Sure Redeemer Art." This hymn speaks of the sweet grace found in Christ. I love the first and fourth stanzas best:

"I greet thee,

Who my sure Redeemer art,

My only trust and Savior of my heart,

Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;

I pray thee from our hearts all cares to take.

"Thou has the true and perfect gentleness,

No harshness has thou and no bitterness:

Make us to taste the sweet grace found in Thee

And ever stay in thy sweet unity."

Music Camp

Every two years, our church conducts a Music Camp for children. This year, the theme was "Music for All Seasons" and the focus was on music through the liturgical year.... Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Asension, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time. For two very full days, the children had classes in which they learned about the significance of all of these special times and also some hands-on interaction with instruments, along with much singing! This was a pretty intense two days of music. Ivy really enjoyed it and she came home with the desire to join the handbell choir in the fall! She also loved learning more about the organ and watching a video that showed the inside of a huge pipe organ. All the children from Music Camp sang an arrangement of representative hymns from the liturgical year in church for the morning worship services yesterday. It was beautiful and also truly amazing how much music the children could learn in two days!

All the children had several sessions in the choir room singing together.

Sing Sing Sing!

Ivy really enjoyed playing the handbells.

Here are some of the children practicing in the sanctuary - this was practice for the 11:00 worship service choir. Ivy also did the 8:00 worship service too!

A "new" old hymn

Last night at the Holy Thursday service at our church, we sang this old hymn written by Johann Heermann, 1630. I had never heard it before, but found it to be both beautiful and theologically rich. This morning, I read again the words as I reflected on Christ's suffering and death.

Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
That man to judge thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered:
For man's atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God interceedeth.

For me, kind Jesus, was thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation:
Thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
Think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.