Congratulations to Scott and Amy Walvoord on the birth of their daughter, Katie Grace Walvoord, on Thursday, April 1, 2010, at 4:07 AM at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Katie weighed 7 lbs 7 ozs and measured 20 inches in length. She has lots of curly blond hair. We bless the Lord who has blessed the Walvoords with a child to love and to nurture in Christian faith.
We arrived at Easter Sunday on April 4, 2010, after forty days and nights of a Lenten journey, begun on Ash Wednesday. The mark of the cross led us through Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter morning. I left the Maundy Thursday service thinking of Simon Peter’s promise that he would never fail, never disown Jesus, with all the disciples saying the same. The world never changes.
I heard Jake Resor tell Sam Green that it was almost poetic that he was able to return to lead worship on Easter Sunday. I agree, Jake. Sam brought his energy and discern-ment to the morning and to the music. Paul Vann brought his voice and ability to climb inside of a song and make it personal. Dorinda Biggs brought her voice and ability to hit ethereal notes that float heavenward. Andy McCormick brought his saxophone and gift to play it and hit every soulful note perfectly. The choir made all of the congregational singing and specials better and celebrative. The band is so enormously talented that when I leave worship each week, I am sure I have no idea what feats were accomplished. That was most especially true for yesterday. The technical side of making every mic work and every video play and words to every song appear at just the right time belonged to Brian Biggs and Robert Sullivan.
Andy Elkins is the Metro officer posted on Saundersville Road who directed our entry and exit from the church parking lot on Sunday. What would we have done without Andy? His dad, Ken Elkins and Ken Willis, Glen Detwiler, and Jim Agee assisted the parking needs in transitions between services.
If you are new to Hermitage Church and would like to know more about the Church of the Nazarene or you are interested in membership, mark your calendar with one of the following dates. I will teach two classes on Monday, April 12, 2010, at 7:00 PM or Saturday, April 17, 2010, at 9:00 AM. You only need to attend one of the classes. Each will last one hour and fifteen minutes and each will meet in The Parlor (beside the kitchen). You need to provide your own childcare. New members will be received on Sunday, April 18, 2010, at the conclusion of each morning worship service.
Congratulations to all Duke fans on their victory dance. I took my bracket off office door this morning. I not only did not pick the winner. Only one of my selections played in the final eight.
I had a birthday last week. It fell on Thursday, my day off from a regular schedule. The shining sun made it dry and toasty. I finished picking up the million sticks and mowed my grass for the first time this season. I had stacked a burn pile over the winter that needed torching so I called for my burn permit number and then called the local fire department to give them my address. The permit was good for the day and it was a good thing. No matter how many matches I lit, the pile would not light. That normally would frustrate me but a still small voice kept telling me to leave it for later. I took a break for about three hours to help a member of my family and then returned to my yard. When I went back to the back of the property, I could tell something was different about the burn pile. It was much bigger. Someone had brought their wood and added it to my pile. I tried to think of which neighbor would do that but none of my neighbors were home. I was a little irritated. Something else was different about my yard but I could not discern what it was. Then it dawned on me that someone had cut a dead tree out of a natural area on my property. They had cut it, stacked the wood, picked up the trash limbs and fixed them in my burn pile. I remembered that Robert Parrish and Charles Jewell had asked me recently if I needed any trees cut. I had two matches left from the morning. It took one to set the pile ablaze. I tell you all of that to tell you that God and I had a significant, quiet conversation on my birthday. I am not a person who believes that God orchestrates every detail of my day. He allows me to make lots of choices about which he could care less. Normally, I would say that my match lighting was not a God thing. But on this day, I believe it was. God let me get still enough to hear him say to wait on the fire. He sent two good men to my yard to cut my tree and clean up the mess in a perfect time window. He forced me to wade through my judgmental spirit when I thought someone else had added to my burn pile. And when it was time to light the fire, it took one match. Not a word was spoken but God talked to my heart all day. I hung out with him in the yard.
I am looking forward to worship with you on the Sunday after Easter. First service gets to sing the Easter hymns you missed last Sunday with organ and piano.
In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Howard
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