Happy November! And Happy (belated) Reformation Day!!
Wednesday night our church hosted the annual Reformation Rally that we, the Canadian Reformed Church in Chatham, and the Strathroy and Wyoming URC share.Our minister had an inspiring speech on Luther's 95 Theses and how they set the Reformation in gear. What was pretty interesting was that the Theses weren't really arguments against the Roman Church; they just stated the abuse of indulgences, the abuse of the pope's power, etc...not condemning the Church's wickedness like I'd thought.
Then we sang "A Mighty Fortress", "What is in Life and Death My Only Aid?" (Lord's Day 1 from our psalmbook-so beautiful!) and some other songs from the URC psalter.
Then, *gulp*, I accompanied "In Christ Alone" on the piano! (My first time ever playing while the congregation sang!!) It was so beautiful- everyone was just belting it out to God's glory.
I made it, though! Lydia also played "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and a piece by Handel for a filler, (great job :)) and I played a piece also by Handel during collection. Overall, it was a pretty awesome evening...what a blessed heritage we have!
Wednesday night our church hosted the annual Reformation Rally that we, the Canadian Reformed Church in Chatham, and the Strathroy and Wyoming URC share.Our minister had an inspiring speech on Luther's 95 Theses and how they set the Reformation in gear. What was pretty interesting was that the Theses weren't really arguments against the Roman Church; they just stated the abuse of indulgences, the abuse of the pope's power, etc...not condemning the Church's wickedness like I'd thought.
Then we sang "A Mighty Fortress", "What is in Life and Death My Only Aid?" (Lord's Day 1 from our psalmbook-so beautiful!) and some other songs from the URC psalter.
Then, *gulp*, I accompanied "In Christ Alone" on the piano! (My first time ever playing while the congregation sang!!) It was so beautiful- everyone was just belting it out to God's glory.
I made it, though! Lydia also played "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and a piece by Handel for a filler, (great job :)) and I played a piece also by Handel during collection. Overall, it was a pretty awesome evening...what a blessed heritage we have!
Here's the 1st and last verse of "In Christ Alone": (I love this hymn!!)
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In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease.
My comforter, my all in all,
Here in the love of Christ I stand
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No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
'Til He returns or calls me home,
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand
by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
P.S. We had a storm go through that night. It was rainy and windy and the power was out for over an hour! Obviously, it's freezing out now.
P.S.S. If anyone's wondering when I'm posting pictures, that all depends if I can find my USB cable... :(
Wow Rach! I'm proud of you! As I mentioned before, our church has a similar event with the St. Thomas FRC. The topic was really interesting (I'll tell you more about it another time) and we sang some of the same songs you guys did. Every year I come home from it, amazed by God's grace in giving us this great heritage, and this year was no exception!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! :)
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