Let's Talk About Church Things...

A few months ago the organ broke at Church. We have waited for a very long time for the right part to come in so it could be repaired. A couple of weeks ago, they managed to get it repaired. I received a text from the Bishopric asking if I could go over and play it to be sure it was okay for Sunday. I happened to be visiting Papa and assured them that, after I returned him to the nursing home, I would go and play it and respond to their text after I finished playing the organ. I did this and played all the hymns for the next Sunday. Yippee, it worked!! They were very happy and made sure the other congregation that meets in our building knew we now had the organ for Sunday services. 

Then on Sunday as I entered the chapel Gail Rowand came up to me and said, "The organ is working!!" I assured her I knew this and was also very happy we had an organ to sing with again. It was fun to listen to the number of people who commented on how great it was to hear the organ being played for services again. You just don't think that many people really notice it. We have had the piano and it has all been good but there is something special about the organ. This Sunday our opening hymn was "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning". This is a favorite in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is robust and full of energy and meaning for each of us. I put on lots of fun stops and we filled that chapel with voice and music that must have made the angels smile. After singing the hymn, a member of the bishopric stood to announce the rest of the meeting. He commented, "It is so nice to have our organ working again to sing a hymn like that!" Amen. 

Along the way to Michigan, we stopped for gasoline. On Sunday Marissa Noe gave a talk in Church about her experience with making Christ the center of her life. It was an excellent talk. As I waited for Claude inside the station, I was looking at the books on the shelf. I found this one with a very interesting title. I took this picture and sent it to Marissa explaining I felt like it fit very nicely with her talk. It is an interesting question, "What if God wrote your to-do list?" Bet it would be a little different than what we find important enough to spend time putting on a to-do list and then accomplishing. The title just gives me pause for thought even without reading the book. I love this title.

Claude and I work in the Self-Reliance Services program as our Church callings. We had a person who has taken the Personal Finance for Self-Reliance class and now wanted to participate in the Starting and Growing Your Business for Self-Reliance class sent me a text stating this. I assured her I would post to wards (congregations) Facebook pages in our area to see if others were interested. Sure enough, we had others interested. This last Sunday I facilitated the first of this 12-week course. I love these classes. I have no interest in starting or growing a business. But I love the friendships that are developed while taking these courses and the spiritual uplift from studying a gospel principle each week that connects with a practical principle, I am looking forward to facilitating this topic.