Worship in September
September 7 "Church as a Bakery Outlet" Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9, 22-23,
Psalm 125, Mark 7:24-37.
September 14 "Cut to the Chase" Proverbs 1:20-33, Psalm 19, Mark 8:27-38.
September 21 "Seeking Super Powers" James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a, Psalm 1,
Mark 9:30-37.
September 28 "The Core of Things" James 5 13-20, Psalm 124, Mark 9:38-50.
Time Changes
Our worship services will change back to their regular times -9:30 AM and 11 :00 AM on September 7,2003. If you haven't been to church lately, come to the early service and see if our "worship and praise" style service is what you've been looking for.
Acolyte Training
Any youth that would like to serve as an acolyte (grades 3 and up), please contact Sarah Hamlin (410-254-0851 ). We will have a brief training on September 14, 2003. The acolytes will be dedicated during the 11:00 service on September 21 and a pizza party for the acolytes will follow the service.
Thank you
Many thanks to our Communion set-up helpers. They are your fellow worshippers who come in and change the Altar paraments to white, and prepare the bread and juice for us. Isn't it great to have such faithful volunteers?
Promotion Sunday
On Sunday, September 7, we invite all of the Sunday school children and parents to gather in the sanctuary at 9:30 AM for our Promotion Day Service. This will take place during our new informal worship service. We will enjoy a portion of the service together and then the children will move to their new classrooms. Parents, we offer you a special invitation to attend our informal service each week while your children attend Sunday school. Renew your spirit as your children learn and grow in Sunday school!
Teacher Dedication
The Sunday school teachers will be honored and dedicated on September 7, 2003 at the 11 :00 AM service. Be sure to take the time and give them a big "thank you" for all the time and talent they give to our children.
Worship Committee Meeting
The next Worship Committee meeting will be September 15,2003. If you are interested in service on this committee, please join us. There is plenty of room for helping hands and lots of work in the church worship to keep you busy.
Visitors Needed
We need people to volunteer to drop off a packet of goodies to fIrst time Linden Heights' visitors and say thanks for visiting and hope you come again. Contact Pastor Ann if you can help out.
Early Service Looking for Volunteers
The early service is looking for people to participate in it. If you play an instrument, sing or like to work with dramatic readings, please talk to Pastor Ann or Sarah Hamlin. We all have God-given talents and our worship and praise service is a great place to use them.
Liturgists for the 11:00 AM Service
If you are interested in acting as a liturgist during the 11:00 AM service, please contact Pastor Ann or Butch Bennett. There will be a gathering of volunteers to talk about how to read the Bible aloud and what parts of the service you will be helping with this fall.
Advent Family Celebration
Back by popular demand, our Advent Family Celebration will be after church on Sunday, November 23,2003. We will have a lunch after worship, then about a 20 minute service of carols on the organ. After the service, we will have about l-1/2 hours of activities for both children and adults. Registration will be in next month's newsletter. By the way, we define family as one or more persons who want to join others in celebrating the birth of our Savior -in other words, JOIN US! If you'd like to help with any part of the preparations for our celebration, please contact Sarah Hamlin. We will need cooks, craft helpers, decorators and set up and cleanup teams. You can also help by contributing some items listed below on our "supplies needed" list. Thanks and we hope to see you there.
Advent Celebration Supplies Needed A few yards of muslin One-half yard of bright red material Quilting thread-muslin colored
Gold round cording -thin Bag of cotton balls
Craft glue ("tacky")
Hot glue mini-gun glue sticks
Yarn in holiday colors
Clear tinsel
Mini Styrofoam balls
Small candy canes - individually wrapped Red, green, gold, silver and white craft
ribbons- 1f4" & 118"
Red & green craft paper to make paper chains
Cinnamon sticks -long or short
Pretty wallpaper -scraps, ends of rolls, etc. Greens and decoration picks
Shiny white glitter
Glossy acrylic paint -white, gold
Mini pre-made velvet bows
Gold beading -small beads
Dark green craft foam
White craft foam
Gold glitter Thin dowels -6" -8" long
Old Christmas cards
Large sheets of corrugated cardboard
Linden Heights Christmas Pageant and Cantata
This year the Christmas pageant and cantata will be combined. The performance is scheduled for Sunday, December 21 at 6:00 PM. Details will be sent home from the Sunday school and also in the Linden Letter.
Choir Notes
We had 16 people sign up for choir at the great choir social, hosted by the Bennett's at their lovely home on August 10. With two-thirds Soprano- Alto and one- third Tenor-Bass, we have a good balance. Hopefully the Lord will bless our quest in filling the choir loft with 30 singers by Christmas. Please consider joining our singing and fellowship. Rehearsals are on Thursdays from 7:45-9:00 PM with warm up review on Sundays from 10:35-10:50 AM. Anyone from grade 9 and up can be a choir member. Attendance at two rehearsals signifies membership. I am available Thursdays and Sundays to conference with prospective members about this. Please call my home, 410-661-1004, to schedule an appointment.
About choir attendance - I usually work on the anthems, etc. 4 weeks ahead so having to miss a rehearsal or two is "doable". With the Sunday morning review, even with an absence Thursday night beforehand, all choristers should be "in the loop".
The choir room is now in the large west-end lower level room in the Education building. Drop in and see it. Many, many thanks to Jim Hedgespeth and Ruth Snyder in helping us set up for business. And of course our Administrative Assistant, Debbie Singer.
The choir will start joining the 11:00 AM service on September 7 and they will be dedicated on September 14.
Starting Thursday, October 2, from 7:45 - 8:15 PM, we will be rehearsing the music for the Christmas Pageant/Cantata. If you can only manage this amount of commitment, please call me and get on board. More about this later.
About the Organ
Our Allen Renaissance Organ is one wonderful instrument! Knowledgeable people upon hearing it played for them have favorably compared it with fine Pipe Organs. I was happy to bring this present tonal state about by using my regulating talents to bring all of the 30 stops into proper balance with one another, this was then followed by the Allen representative using his lap top computer skills to regulate each note of each stop for evenness in volume, and finally by having the long unused Conn Wall Pipes brought on line. The wall pipes only play up to 12 stops, 6 each side, augmenting the Allen speakers in the side chambers in accompanying the choir without blast. All of our tonal producing speakers -pipes have been carefully checked throughout the nave. There should not be any .'hot spots". Comments have been received:
"It sounds like an English Cathedral Church", "It makes me think of a large Skinner (bench mark organ of the 30's) organ, "1 love the depth", "1 really like the full effect", " I can follow along on the hymns much better", and "It's too loud", "1 don't like it when you bear down on the keys and it goes grrr."
On the last observations, I would ask the questions; "Is the organ too loud all the timer' "How about when the organ plays softly?" (I have written comments on the organ being too soft.) "I hope you don't think the speakers on stands up front are for the organ?" (They are for the musicians in the informal service. ) "When the organ is "too loud" do you mean volume or ~ quality?" (Some people don't like the brass in the symphony!)
I believe that all of the colors of this very resourceful instrument should be used in many different ways both as to volume, very-very soft to loud, and with smooth, buzzing tones as needed. If the congregation has been more used to a rather constant "middle of the road" approach, please give this wider volume -tone quality approach a try and see if it doesn't effect positive worshipping with music. Please advise.
Hymn Selections
I select the hymns according to the liturgical topic of the day, their place in the service and singability. We honor visiting ministers' requests. We would also like to have your requests from time to time. Please advise.
For your information -if I stop playing accompaniment to a hymn" it's an indication of how well the Spirit is moving you to sing, and we want you to experience the unity of the moment amongst God's singing people without any accompaniment.
The Psalter Style, nicknamed "King David Style" had a very good introduction to the congregation and consequent first try. We will take this positive indication and apply it to a longer try out some time later in the year.
Organ voluntaries based on the hymn tunes use the hymn numbers tune title, i.e. #57 "0 For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" -Asmon. These voluntaries, Preludes, Offertories and Postludes help us to focus on the text and meaning of the hymns. Improvisation means I'm making up the music as the Spirit leads on the spot.
Music Blessings
Isn't it great knowing Dan O'Neil and his crew hold forth in music for the informal service? Would anyone like to help them set up and break down?
Deirdre Duda has started Hand Bell Choir rehearsals on Thursdays, 6:30- 7:30 PM. How about giving it a try. New members are welcome. Besides monthly appearances in worship, they will be an integral part of the Cantata/Pageant.
I'm looking for chimers, instrumentalists, pianists, etc. Are there any folks who could help with coffee-refreshments after the Cantata/Pageant?
Hold that thought. please. and keep all of us music folks in your supportive prayers.
Our Director of Music Ministries, R. Warren Glock, submitted all music articles.
Many Phone Numbers for Pastor Ann
Listed below are the various phone numbers to be used in order to reach Pastor Ann:
The best and easiest way to reach her is to dial the church office - 410-668-6181, press 2 for her voice mail. This number is checked several times a day and she can retrieve these messages remotely.
In case of an emergency, not during her office hours, please call her cell phone - 443-421-3732.
Pastor Ann is in the office Monday - Thursday usually from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. She is off on Friday.
She can also be reached at 410- 744-0102.
School Days
Linden Bridge Nursery School will begin the 2003-2004 year with an open house for parents on September 3 with the first day of school for the three-year-olds on September 4 and the four-year-olds on September 5.
We have full enrollment in our four year old classes but still have a few openings for our three's.
Our staff is very dedicated and will care for, encourage and make learning fun for all the children. They are:
Mary Ann Erdman, Director
Connie Ernst, Teacher
Nancy Webster, Teacher
Doris Brown, Teacher's aide
Judy Krysztofiak, Music & Movement
Debbie Singer, Treasurer
We hope there are not too many tears from parentlchild separation and the transition from home to school will be a smooth one. The first couple ofweeks the children will be learning the routine, making new friends, sharing, taking turns and of course having lots of fun.
Once next year's music plans are made the anthems available for dedication
will be listed in the Linden Letter. If you decide to purchase an anthem,
please contact the church office or Warren Glock to obtain a dedication
form. When your anthem is sung or played in church your dedication will
be listed in the bulletin. The form along with payment can be sent to
the church office.
Mary Ann Erdman
Charge Conference - November 6
Our District Superintendent, the Rev. Ed Ankeny, will be present to hear reports and learn about the mission and ministry of Linden Heights United Methodist Church on Thursday, November 6 at 7:00 PM in the sanctuary. All members of the Church Council are expected to attend but all members and friends of the church are welcome to participate. In addition to the formal reports, there will be brief sharing from various programs of the church, a celebration of the churches past year, and the sharing of Holy Communion.
Anthem Dedications
As in the past, the congregation has the opportunity to purchase choir or handbell anthems for dedication. The cost is $30.00.
Once next year's music plans are made the anthems available for dedication will be listed in the Linden Letter. If you decide to purchase an anthem, please contact the church office or Warren Glock to obtain a dedication form. When your anthem is sung or played in churc~ your dedication will be listed in the bulletin. The form along with payment can be sent to the church office.
At this time, music is being purchased for our Christmas cantata. If you would like to make a dedication donation to go toward the purchase of this music, please contact Debbie Singer. Your dedication will be listed as part of the program when the cantata is presented
A Note of Appreciation
George loved his church and his church family. Thanks for your get-well
cards, calls, prayers and your expressions of sympathy. They were greatly
appreciated. Vanessa Lawson's rendition of the Lord's Prayer was beautiful
and the choir never sounded so good. Many thanks.
-Alma Duerbeck & Family
"The Care Bears"
A Caring Ministry
The Care Bears are a group of members at Linden Heights who volunteer their time to help others in need. Whether it's with transportation, a visit at home or in the hospital, a few meals prepared, someone to pitch in during an emergency, etc. -just let us know. Call Sandy at home, 410-256-1619, or at work 410-323-7131, when you would like some assistance.
The Care Bears will be having a meeting on Saturday, September 20,2003 at 9:30 AM. We will be meeting in the Education building. I encourage all those who are akeady Care Bears to attend and anyone who would like to become a Care Bear or would just like some more information about what we do. There is a Care Bear form at the end of the Linden Letter. If you need assistance or would like to volunteer, please fill out the form.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me or you may leave a message at the church office.
In His Service, Sandy Simmons
The Wesley Assisted Living Residence & Nursing Center
The Wesley is holding it's 3rd Annual Golf Tournament on September 15 at the Hillendale Country Club. This is a fund raising event necessary to continue the mission and tradition of benevolent care at The Wesley .More information is on the bulletin board in the narthex. Cost for the tournament is $200.00/golfer or $800.00 for a foursome. Forms are due no later than September 10.
Linden Heights Staff:
Pastor Ann R Laprade
Director of Music Ministries Warren Glock
Adm. Assistant Debbie Singer
Youth Coordinators Shannan Anderman
Alicia Rivers<>
Next Linden Letter Deadline- September 16.