Luckily, I wound up at home for Easter weekend. I got home Thursday evening, in time for Good Friday, and I don’t leave until Tuesday. Though it was a quick trip, it was a good time to be home.
We had lots of musical stuff going on at church. It’s not like playing with a professional jazz group, on several different levels, really. The music’s purpose goes beyond the music itself. Though some jazz does, too, I generally think of the genre as being more of a language, adaptable to any message or none at all, rather than a specific message. So-called Christian music (as is typically played on Easter Sunday in churches around the world) is obviously message oriented regardless of what stylistic genre it comes from.
On Good Friday we had a service featuring a cantata of sorts that I actually hadn’t heard before playing it. We rehearsed some of the pieces in their entirety and others in part. I read some of it for the first time during the performance. The rest of the musicians and choir had obviously rehearsed it much more. It went well, though, and it seems to have communicated the message clearly and effectively.
The organization of the music this morning was a bit opposite of Good Friday, but achieved a similar effect. Several pieces were put together, some of which weren’t originally intended for this morning. It turned out, though, that the music flowed, both in terms of style and message, in such a way that the message came through. Most of it was ‘older’ contemporary (meaning 70’s – 90’s), starting with “I’ve just seen Jesus,” a Gaither piece. Then there was Don Francisco’s “He Is Alive” followed by Rich Mullens’ “My Deliverer.” That set up the sermon asking the pivotal question of the Christian faith, “Who is Jesus?” At the end came “Take Up Your Cross,” which is, of course, the call to action, and was done in a (gospel) style that, though well within our personal preferences, was plenty energetic for this crowd (Edi did the solo on that one). The whole thing was pretty evangelical… appropriate for an Evangelical Free church.
Now it’s time for lunch. Leftover ribs and pizza. Not all of Easter is traditional for us… 😉
V-
A new one for me this year was realizing what some families consider “traditional”. In the words of my friend Dave H.: “Yep, Easter. Set around a big Jewish holiday, and we’re having ham for dinner. Always do. Just seems wrong.”
I mentioned that to Tracy and Mary. Mary commented that she always had ham for Easter while growing up.
Hmm, maybe it’s a “no longer bound by the law” thing… 😉
As for us, we had lamb (pan fried with salt, pepper, and rosemary). Blame the French.