Tuesday July6th

It is hard to believe that the year is more than half over. Soon summer will be over, school will begin, and for many churches the fall programs and groups begin to gear up. This is the time of year that one begins to anticipate the upcoming season and prepare for the new Christian year which technically begins in Advent. So I am beginning to reflect and learn about the new community that I have been appointed to. Today the Mid of Nowhere celebration begins and downtown Ainsworth is closed off for the carnival and other displays. Two weeks from now is the Day of the Cowboy celebration and two weeks after that Arts in the Park. Like church never a dull moment.

I am also preparing to preach this Sunday and using the lectionary will be focusing on themes from Bishop Schnase's book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations with a spin based on the scripture. This week the scripture is coming from Amos 7:7-17 about the plumb line and Luke 10:25-37 on the Good Samaritan. So the first sermon will be on radical hospitality. The next week is the story from Luke on the Lord's prayer and I will talk about intentional faith development or being intentional in what we do in the name of Christ.

As I have reflected on that and as I prepared the bulletin, I came across the following from Homelitics and wanted to share it with you. Actually it would be better next week as the call to worship.

Call to Worship

Praise the Lord!

We never were intended, surely,
To come to church so doggoned early.
Yet here I am beneath this steeple
Gathered with God's dozin' people.
Just look at us! I might have guessed;
We all could use a lot more rest.
Perhaps this morn we'll be so blessed.

Praise God in God's sanctuary!
Praise God in the mighty firmament!

Good! He's going to read a psalm.
I love them, for they seem so calm.
I'll join the other people here
And let my mind slip out of gear.

Praise God for God's mighty deeds!
Praise God according to God's exceeding greatness!

The Smiths are late. They'll have to wait.
(My word, it's hard to concentrate!)

Praise God with trumpet sound!

I've come to find some peace and ease;
And so, dear Lord, no trumpets, please!
Well I recall that dreadful noise
Committed by those Beazley boys
Who tooted here last Eastertide
And gave me thoughts of homicide.

Praise God with lute and harp!

Lutes and harps -- that's much more wise!
And I'll lean back and close my eyes.

Praise God with timbrel and dance!

Do you suppose there's any chance
That someone will get up and dance?
Oh, no one here would be so crass!
Thank God, we're proper middle class!

Praise God with strings and pipe!
Praise God with sounding cymbals!

What?

Praise God with sounding cymbals! (CRASH!)

One more like that, for heaven's sake,
And we will all be wide awake.
Praise God with loud, crashing cymbals! (CRASH! CRASH!)

Well, Lord, I guess to each one here
Your point is now completely clear.
You seem to feel your drowsy sheep
Can't worship well while half asleep.
We thought you were more tenderhearted.
But now we're up, so let's get started!

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
--Psalm 150, as paraphrased by
David Steele,
Slow Down, Moses: A Lighthearted Look at People in the Bible
(Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1990), 109-11.

So are we yet awake?