Write a Prayer for Advent

Our Wednesday evening Vespers service will continue through Advent with some modifications to the service music. For the Hymn of Light we’ll sing a hymn Christians have been singing since the ninth century – “Creator of the Stars of Night.” You can find it in Evangelical Lutheran Worship at hymn no. 245. We’ll switch to an Advent Psalm based on the tune we know as “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Finally, the Magnificat (Mary’s Song) will be sung to Deo Gracias which is often sung to the text “Oh Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High.”

We are asking for your help in composing the prayer section of the service. You are invited to write prayers for the assembly in this time of hope and waiting. We are looking for fully written prayers rather than a list of prayer requests. You might wish to use the prayers from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (pages 72 – 83) as a guide. Before the service begins we will announce the names of those who have written prayers. If you wish for your prayer to remain anonymous, just let us know.

For more help on writing prayers, I found this excellent article on the internet:
http://www.examiner.com/protestant-in-richmond/liturgical-writing-101-the-collect-prayer-form.

You may submit your prayers to Tony Cruz at vespers@comcast.net. Hard copies will also be accepted!

Singers for Advent and Christmas are Welcome

Have you thought about singing in the choir but decided the commitment is too long? Then make a seasonal commitment! We would love to have any singers who would like to join the Festival Choir for the Advent/Christmas Season. We meet in the music suite on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 and will begin music for Advent and Christmas on Wednesday, November 30th.

The Festival Choir sings at the 11:00 service each Sunday. We will also be singing a service of Advent Lessons & Carols at All Saints Episcopal Church on December 11th. The only other major event is Christmas Eve. A thirty minute service of music by the choir and bell choir starts our 10:30 p.m. Christmas Eve worship service.

You might also like to sing in the Matins Choir. This group meets each Sunday in the music suite at 8:00 a.m. to prepare liturgical music and a musical offering for the 8:30 service.

All singers are welcome!

Bach Vespers Thank You

Thank you to all who participated in our Bach Vespers service featuring cantata no. 180, “Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele,” as the musical offering. There were 28 singers (including the soloists) and 10 instrumentalists, all using their gifts to glorify God through music. Thank you to each of them for their hard work.

Thank you to Jane D. for leading a soprano/alto sectional rehearsal. Thank you to Ellen O. for hiring the orchestra. Thank you to Frank S. for guiding us through the German diction – something he’s been doing for about 20 years. Thank you to Pastor Hanson for his reverent presiding. Thank you to each person who came to participate in this worship service.

Started by St. Mark’s former Cantor, Jim Rindelaub, this tradition is more than 20 years old at St. Mark’s. It is a rare chance to hear the music of Lutheranism’s fifth evangelist, Johann Sebastian Bach, in its intended setting in worship. We could not continue this tradition without generous financial support. Thank you to each person who has contributed to keep this important expression of our faith alive. We are especially grateful for a gift of $5,000.00 from the Ardell N. Smith Family Trust. Please remember, you may give a gift to Bach Vespers any time during the year. Simply designate “Bach Vespers” in the memo line on your check.

Plans are in the works for our next Bach Vespers service, so please watch The Messenger and The Lion’s Roar for information.

Pictures of the Contemporary Worship Setting at St. Mark's

Bach Vespers at St. Mark's

What historic person was "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and able to write a 20-minute cantata for choir, soloists and orchestra every week (sometimes more than one per week) for over five years?”

Okay, okay, I may have gotten my super heroes mixed up, but I’m really speaking of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Lutheran composer that Thomas Schmidt calls “a superhuman musician.” Dr. Schmidt is the Cantor/Director of Music at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in New York and explains that Bach took operatic-styled texts based on the gospel lesson of the day, and created music “mixing the highest intellectual art with uncommon sensitivity to the human condition.” It was intellectual because Bach was a master of compositional counterpoint.

In musical terms, counterpoint is a style of composing that uses two or more voices that have their own rhythmic and harmonic structure. The result is polyphony, a musical structure different from what we hear in most hymns where all voices (usually four) move in the same rhythm to create harmony. How much of this does one need to understand to enjoy the music of Bach?

According to Valerie Hess, Coordinator of Music Ministries for Trinity Lutheran Church of Boulder, Colorado, there is something for everyone to enjoy in the music of Bach because “the hidden intricacies and ‘symbolisms’ allow for people of all intellectual capabilities to find meaning in it. There is a level at which everyone can enter the music, from the simple beauty of the sound to the depths of the mathematical equations and number symbols hidden deep within, and everything in between.”

Bach, often called The Fifth Evangelist by Lutherans, died in 1750 but his music is still played earnestly and reverently today – not just in Lutheran churches, but throughout Christendom.

Why should we devote so much attention to music from a bygone era? Mark Mummert is the Music Director of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas. He says that worshipers today are tempted to judge music based on personal taste and its ability to manipulate our emotions. Bach takes us deeper than that because “his music functions primarily as proclamation inside a marvelous aesthetic. . .(it) will teach us to not just judge music with the question ‘was it pretty?’ but also with ‘what did it mean?’ or ‘what did it say?’”
A twenty year tradition of Bach Vespers at St. Mark’s brings us to another cantata of Bach in the context of a Lutheran service of evening prayer. Members of our own Festival Choir, singers from the community, and an orchestra of instrumentalists from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra will present cantata no. 180, Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, which finds its musical genesis in the hymn Soul, Adorn Yourself With Gladness (hymn no. 488 in Evangelical Lutheran Worship.)
This will be such a unique worship experience that you will want to share it with your family and friends. Join us in the nave on Sunday, November 6th at 6:00 p.m.
Without your support, this endeavor of music and worship would not be able to continue. Please consider a generous gift!

Vespers in Commemoration of September 11, 2001 on 9/11 at 6:00 PM

All liturgical churches observe some form of Evening Prayer (vespers), a practice that has existed since at least the middle ages. Glowing candles, chanted psalms and appointed readings mark this time of reflection at the close of the day. This is an appropriate time to remember all of those who perished in the terrorist attacks on our country ten years ago. With them, we remember the first responders,our leaders, our people serving in the military, and those whose lives have been forever altered - and we offer our prayers for peace.

There will be hymns, prayers, silence, and music by the Festival Choir.

All are welcome. Please join us.

Bach Vespers on November 6, 2011 at 6 PM

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) is widely regarded as one of the most important composers of church music and certainly the most important composer of Lutheran church music. St. Mark's tradition of Bach Vespers - the singing of a Bach cantata as the musical offering within a Lutheran service of evening prayer - is twenty years old. This year we continue the tradition by singing cantata no. 180, Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Deck yourself, my soul, with gladness)written for the 20th Sunday after Trinity.

Singers from the community are heartily invited to sing for this service which will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra comprised of members of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Rehearsals will be held on Saturday mornings from 10 - 12. The dates of the rehearsals are October 15, 22, 29, and November 5th (dress rehearsal). We would be happy and honored to have you sing with us. There is no charge to sing, but we do need to know you are coming to be sure we have enough scores! Please contact Tony Cruz (vespers@comcast.net) for more information.

Hiring an orchestra, purchasing scores, and other costs require us to ask for monetary donations to present this important music and continue the tradition. Your contributions are welcome!

Photo Credit: Bill Daugherty from Bach Vespers 2007 Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

Interview with a Choir Member: Carl Moser

Carl Moser moved to Florida from Texas in 1979 when he came to do an internship at the Regency House, a retirement community. It was there that he met Bill Daugherty who drove the St. Mark’s van to Regency House to pick up Mrs. Krueger and Mrs. Schicker. Bill discovered that Carl was a Lutheran and invited him to attend worship at St. Mark’s. Carl accepted the offer and began singing in the choir almost immediately! When I asked Carl if I could interview him for a Messenger article, he consented immediately.

Why do you sing in the choir?I love to sing in a group and do beautiful anthems that lead a worship service.

Do you have a favorite choir memory?I enjoyed the choir retreats that we used to have. They were led by Jim Rindelaub and were held at the Marywood Retreat Center – a great way to start the church year after a summer break. Morning worship on the dock (over the St. John’s River) was very special.

How are you involved at St. Mark’s besides singing in the choir and ringing handbells?I have served on Council as well as on the Nourish and Celebrate teams. I’ve also served on a Call Committee. I’ve also been active with Family Promise and have taught Sunday school and confirmation classes.

What would you say to someone who was considering joining the choir?We’re a fun group. If you have a love of music, this is a great place to learn more and lead worship for the congregation.

Thank you, Carl, for your dedication to St. Mark’s and its music ministry!

Ascension Day Celebrated Outdoors! June 2, 2011

Summer Music Fun: Dinner and A Show!

Our singing and handbell choirs don’t usually rehearse during the summer months.

This summer is going to be different!

We will work on POP music, tunes from Broadway and cinema, and who knows what else!?! We would love to have any guest singers so please invite your friends. (If you are reading this on my blog, then invite yourself - but contact me first so I'll have enought music!)

Our Wednesday night rehearsal schedule will look like this:

5:30 - 6:30 bell rehearsal in the nave
6:30 - 7:00 Bring Your Own Dinner! I hope that ringers will stay late and singers will come early for some fellowship and chit chat. Bring a brown bag or stop at a drive-thru on your way to church.
7:00 - 8:30 choir rehearsal in the music suite

We will rehearse on the following evenings:
June 8, June 15, June 22,June 29, July 6, July 13

Our concert, Dinner And A Show, will be on Wednesday evening, July 20th, at 7:30. Please invite friends and family for fun and fellowship. Details are still being worked out about the dinner. It may be catered, it may be potluck; whatever the fare, it will certainly be fun!

Prayers of Intercession for Easter 5

The Prayers of Intercession used in worship on Easter 5(May 22nd) were written by our confirmation class. Thanks to Jordan, A.J., Evan, Rebuen, and Luke.


Send your Holy Spirit, O God, so that all troubled or fighting countries may come to an agreement and have everlasting peace and justice. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Send your Holy Spirit, O God, to your church here at St. Mark's and around the world so that all our brothers and sisters may come together in love. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Send your Holy Spirit, O God, so that all families and those who live alone can worship you. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Send your Holy Spirit, O God, so that the sick and lonely will be comforted and strengthened spiritually and physically, especially (names inserted). Help them see your everlasting light in their time of need. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.

Photo of St. Mark's by Bill Daugherty

June 19th at 7:30 PM: The Bells of Christ Church from Savannah, Georgia

The Bells of Christ Church is an auditioned handbell choir of teens and college-aged youth from Christ Church (Anglican) in Savannah, Georgia. This year, St. Mark’s will be the first stop on their tour. The group has performed in Washington D.C., Colonial Williamsburg, and at the International Music Festival, Spoleto, in Charleston. Their concert includes a history of handbells and testimonies from the ringers. This is an event you will not want to miss!

The group performs under the direction of Mark Williams, Minister of Music at Christ Church, established in 1733, in Savannah, GA.

An offering will be taken and all are welcome!

June 5th at 6:00 P.M. Organist Jeremy Thompson in Concert at St. Mark's

Dr. Thompson is the Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Goldsboro, NC and will be performing a concert on our 1984 Zimmer organ. Born in Dipper Harbor, New Brunswick, Canada, Dr. Thompson began his organ studies in Montreal. He holds a Doctorate of Music in piano performance, but has recently begun to concentrate on organ performance.

We don’t have many opportunities to hear our organ used in a setting other than Sunday morning worship, so this will be a special treat. The concert is free, and a free will offering will be taken.

May 29th: Church Music Celebration!

The time of our annual Church Music Celebration is approaching once again. This year’s event will be on May 29th at 5:00 p.m. in the nave. Each of our musical ensembles will perform a few of their favorite selections from the past year.

Come hear the Festival Choir, Kingdom Choir, St. Mark’s Ringers, Alleluia Ringers, and Eric and Ellen Olson of the San Marco Chamber Music Society. If you have friends who sing and ring in other churches, this is a perfect event for them. (Those of us who are church musicians rarely get a chance to hear the choirs of other churches because it’s hard to visit other churches on Sunday morning without being missed at “home.”)

A reception will follow.

The Faith of Israel: Jane Daugherty

Jane Daugherty is an Associate in Ministry who prepared the following meditation for our most recent Lenten Devotions service. Who knew playing the organ could be a lesson in faith?

My left foot was on A flat. I knew it. I couldn’t see my feet. My eyes were glued to the music and my hands were busy playing the passage leading up to the pedal entrance. But I knew that my left foot was on A flat. And at that moment I realized that playing the pedals on the organ is something like faith:
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Now I am not always so confident about my feet being in the right place. In fact, sometimes I am very unsure, and this uncertainty about where my feet are sometimes causes my hands to go astray.

This is not magic that helps me find the right pedal. Practice helps develop the muscle memory and the feel of the pedalboard—so that my accuracy improves.

Faith, however, is not a skill to be honed. We cannot manufacture it on our own. Faith is a gift from God given to us in Baptism. If we were lucky, our parents or other significant people in our lives saw to it that our faith was nourished—perhaps in Sunday School, worship, choir, VBS, with table and bedtime prayers, or in sharing their own faith stories with us as we got older. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we grew in faith and grace.
As adults we cannot control or create faith. With openness to the work of the Holy Spirit, we can nurture the gift of faith through prayer, Word and Sacrament, and in fellowship with one another.

The Jewish author of the book of Hebrews makes a case for faith with the Jewish Christians. Probably written around 60-70AD, it had been several decades since the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it would seem that these believers were considering a return to their “old ways”. The Jewish author makes a case for faith in Jesus Christ—much as a lawyer would make an argument or as a scientist might present a theory. He follows an organized and logical progression that frequently references OT scripture. He is knowledgeable and persuasive, as he attempts to convince these Jewish Christians that Jesus is superior to the angels and the prophets--that he ushers in a new covenant freeing them from the bondage of sin. They no longer need to atone with animal sacrifices.
They need not be weighed down by their sin—a sign of living under the old covenant. They only need to receive the forgiveness given to us through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This is the new covenant. Through faith in Jesus’ Christ sacrifice, we are forgiven our sins and born as new creatures. The author reminds these Jewish Christians of how eager they were when they first heard the Gospel and urges them not to throw away their confidence that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. Faith in Jesus Christ is all that is needed.

Now faith has a prestigious history with the Jewish people. Hebrews chapter 11 goes through a whole litany of OT folks who had an abundance of faith in God—which carried them through the most extraordinary circumstances.
We have heard about several of those people over the past few weeks. I remember especially Abraham. As I listened to Pastor Hanson talk about Abraham as a “pioneer”, as someone willing to take risks because of his faith in God—I was in awe and I was intimidated by someone willing to leave home with his family and live in a tent the rest of his days because of God’s promises. I have a hard time just coming out of my comfort zone!
Tonight we talk about the Israelites—the faith of the Israelites—the faith not of an individual but a community of God’s people. They went through a lot together and it wasn’t always pretty. They were often dismayed, and who can blame them? Wandering around the desert without sight of this Promised Land had to be tough. I can relate. For some reason I come to church on Sunday mornings and look out on the congregation and expect to see a full church. Perhaps this would satisfy my vision of “success”. Or perhaps it would lift my spirits. Or perhaps I simply want to share what I have come to treasure. Whatever my motivation, I am often disappointed. Not too unlike the Israelites I have limited vision. I get:
Discouraged
Impatient
Willful
Complain

Now…this was not all the Israelites were about. They had their moments. Can you imagine the fear that they felt when the angel of death passed over Egypt, killing the Egyptians’ firstborn? The scripture says that there was “ a loud cry in Egypt”. Yet the Israelites followed Moses out of Egypt—although he was afflicted with some sort of speech impediment and his brother, Aaron, had to act as his spokesperson. That took courage. And think about stepping onto the floor of the Red Sea with a wall of water on either side. This had to take a certain amount of faith. And which one of us wouldn’t get grumpy if we were hungry and thirsty with no prospects of satisfying these very basic human needs. Yes, they had their moments and so do we.
The Israelites’ faith had its ups and downs, but maybe the point is not about the Israelites faith. Maybe the point is God’s faithfulness. He was always waiting for the return and repentance of the Israelites. He never abandoned them, although they continually thought he had. He provided for all their needs—even though they complained and expected the worst. God’s faithfulness was enduring and his love unconditional. God is with us just as surely as he was with the Israelites in the desert. His love and faithfulness are everlasting.
We need only turn our faces to him. Amen.

Rocks In The Font: From Pastor Thomas S. Hanson

There are rocks in the baptismal font, not water, but rocks. The water has run dry and so it shall be for a time. It is the dry season of the church, the season of Lent.

During Lent, the church is on a pilgrimage, a journey of faith. We have left the safety of our well-traveled roads and are led off into the wilderness, the desert, to confront our own devils. The quiet pool in which we usually splash the heads of infants with clean, warm water has dried up and we all are dusty, our mouths are dry.

For generations and generations before Jesus, God’s people were led out into a wilderness to wander and to wait. Set free during the horrible night of first-born death, Moses led the people into the desert. There they confronted their own devils — their faithlessness, their constant complaints, their rebellion. For forty years they wandered from one dry wadi to another seeking water. But it was God who provided their water of life. Moses touched the rocks with his staff and fresh spring water flowed and the people were refreshed. Forty years of wilderness and desert and God to lead them into the promised land through the flowing waters of the Jordon River.

Generations and generations passed and a voice was heard again in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight. Make the rocky places smooth and the rough places a plain!” John the Baptist had appeared in the wilderness and all the people came out to face their devils — their faithlessness, their constant complaints, their rebellion. In the wilderness, John preached repentance and judgment. Matthew says that all were baptized by John in the Jordon, confessing their sin. Jesus was also baptized by John there in the wilderness.

When Jesus came up out of the water, immediately the heavens were opened and a voice from those torn heavens spoke to him saying, “You are my Son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased” — the same thing any father would say to a favored son. But then the Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove and she sank her talons into his still wet head from his baptism. She drove him into the wilderness to confront his own devils. For forty days and nights Jesus was in the wilderness tempted by the devil.

Each Lent, still dripping wet from our own baptism, the Spirit drives us out into the wilderness. For forty days, from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday, we confront our own devils in the desert — our faithlessness, our constant complaints, our rebellion. The safety and the security of the ever-flowing baptismal font is behind us, dried up. Our lips are parched, our spirits withered, and we know that the only way back is through Jerusalem, through the rocky Kidron Valley to the Rock, the Place of the Skull, through to our own death with Christ.

Yes, there are rocks in the baptismal font and they will stay there for a time. We are in the wilderness to wander and to wait. We have many of our own devils to confront — to repent, to be reconciled with God and one another, to be renewed, to be washed clean once again in the waters of baptism to be raised again with Jesus on Easter morning.
During the season of Lent, I encourage each of you to bring a rock from your home and place it in the baptismal font as a sign of your participation in our Lenten pilgrimage.

Pastor Thomas S. Hanson

A New Discipline for Lent!

When I was growing up, it would never have occurred to me to “give something up” for Lent. That was something the Catholic kids did and we Protestants (including Lutherans) were suspicious of anything “Catholic.” That said, in my adult years, I actually found this deeply traditional practice attractive. In more recent years, I’ve been more likely to add something to my personal Lenten observance, rather than give something up.

This is an invitation for you to add something very specific to your Lenten discipline – singing in the Matins Choir or the Festival Choir from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday. Some people have a hard time making a long term commitment, but Lent is only forty days (not including Sundays).

As a member of the choir, you will be more involved with the texts (written and musical) that we use in worship. You’ll become part of a small group within the St. Mark’s community. You’ll also have to give something up because singing in a choir requires a certain time commitment.

The Matins choir rehearses at 8:00 on Sunday morning, and then sings for the 8:30 service. Matins Choir singers are invited to participate in Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Passion Sunday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday services, but attendance on Wednesday night is necessary. (A schedule will be released soon.)

The Festival Choir rehearses on Wednesday evening at 7:40 p.m., then rehearses again on Sunday morning at 10:30, then sings for the 11:00 service. Special services for the season include Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil.

We would love to have singers join just for this season. If you decide to stay, that will be fine too!

See Tony Cruz or any choir member for more information.

A Man’s Reach Should Exceed His Grasp, or What’s a Heaven For? Robert Browning

Something I know: There will always be someone who can play better than me, sing better than me, and bring beautiful music from a choir better than me. There will always be someone who is more charitable than me, kinder than me, and stronger in a crisis than me. There will always be someone who knows more than me, works harder than me, and seems to have a better walk with God than me.

These people are my heaven. Even if they can’t do it with their lips, their actions, striving, and accomplishments propel and encourage me to work harder and achieve more.

Christopher Houlihan, a young organist studying at Julliard, came to Jacksonville to perform a concert. While he was here, he participated in our AGO Chapter’s “Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza” event. He worked with each child while they played (some for the first time) the pipe organs of All Saints Episcopal Church and Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church. The American Organist said about him, “Clearly, Christopher Houlihan is a major talent whose star is destined to brightly shine over the horizon of the years ahead.” When the time for questions came, I asked about his practice habits. He practices at least SIX HOURS almost every day. Sometimes I’m lucky to practice six hours in a week!

This is the kind of thing that encourages me to push harder and be more committed. Christopher Houlihan is just one many, many people who have given me glimpses of heaven.

We are saved by grace, true; but, I’m inclined to believe that the heaven we find on earth comes from perseverance and toil.

A poster used to hang in Mr. Nelson’s seventh grade English class that held the quote from the title of this blog entry. Those twelve words were probably the most important thing I learned that year.
The accompanying photo was taken by my brother Andre. . .who is a better astronomer than me.