Bethesda Presbyterian Church

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The offertory music this Sunday will be more collaborative than usual with Jack and I singing "In the Bleak Midwinter" by Gustav Holst. We had initially discussed making a duet out of the lovely arrangement for solo voice by Richard Walters which I've sung in years past, but that version proved a little too dissonant and free rhythmically. We opted instead for a more traditional take while LeeAnna improvises a flowing accompaniment that carries the piece through.

If you have a moment, you may wish to meditate on the text of the piece written by Chris ti na Ros set ti in 1872.
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

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This Sunday at BPC (2/12)

... at our 11 am Worship, we conclude a three-Sunday focus, "Our Healing Church", with the healing of two lepers: Naaman the Aramean warrior in 2 Kings 5 and an unnamed gentleman in Mark 1. The two-way flow of God's compassion signified by the phrase "healing church" -- the church spreads healing *and* is itself healed -- will be featured in the message, "The River of Healing: From 'Them' to Us". Click here for our colorful bulletin

Art work on our Sanctuary Big Screen again will "signpost" the sermon -- as well as the Prelude at 10:50, an abbreviated version of an African-American History Month celebration featuring music by Sweet Honey in the Rock and Mahalia Jackson. This special month will also be celebrated in our hymns and other music this Sunday.

Oh, and don't forget our new-and-improved Valentine's Day quiz following Worship, in the Fellowship Hall! Hope to see you Sunday.  

Posted by Bethesda Presbyterian on February 10, 2012 at 7:30pm

Bethesda Presbyterian

This Sunday at BPC (2/5) ...

A Lieutenant's Healing Journey! In keeping with Our Healing Church three-part series and the second of three successive healing stories from Mark 1, Marine Lt. James Byerly, who lost both his legs in an IED explosion during combat operations in Afghanistan, will join us in sharing a bit about his healing journey -- with a challenge to our church to be wounded healers, as well. Several of us have met James in his visits to our congregation, as he nears the end of a year-long recuperation at Walter Reed.

Visuals Galore this Sunday! In honor of African-American Month, I invite all to come to the Sanctuary a little early -- 10:45a -- to enjoy a Big Screen slide/song extravaganza celebrating our civil rights pioneers! Featured: Mahalia Jackson ("Precious Lord"), Sweet Honey in the Rock ("Where Are the Keys to the Kingdom?"), speech excerpts from Martin Luther King, Jr. Also,  for the very first time, the sermon -- "Action Into Faith" -- will be highlighted by Big Screen visuals.

Sunday's Bulletin is attached. The first sermon of our three-part Our Healing Church series, "Jesus the Healer: A Threat to Order?", can be found here -- along with so much else through our website.

Our Healing Church: a deliberate double entendre. May our discipleship always prove such a two-way street. Come along for the journey!

Posted by Bethesda Presbyterian on February 3, 2012 at 1:00pm

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