Hilltop Lutheran Church, gone but not forgotten

Today we'll be attending our final noon Advent/worship/lunch service at our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, UALC. I had a few minutes last Thursday and put my coat and purse down in a pew near the front and noticed something I hadn't seen before. Hymnals with a red stamp on the top edge from Hilltop Lutheran Church (west side of Columbus) that used to be part of UALC, but which is now Veritas Community Church. I walked between several pews and checked the hymnals and the memorial plates inside--each had been purchased and plated long ago. Those hymnals (green, Lutheran Book of Worship) came out about 1978. Some were dedicated to deceased parents, or an anniversary or a member of a women's circle. I didn't recognize any names. I saw Becki our congregational care staff member who also selects the hymns we use for worship and asked her about it. She said that so many of our hymnals were worn out that we used the LBW from that building when it was moved to another congregation. Sitting there I felt I'd been joined by a whole congregation that had never worshipped in our building.

Collecting My Thoughts: The long good-bye

Collecting My Thoughts  Hilltop Lutheran

Christmas Eve 2024, seven services

Our senior pastor at UALC, Steve Turnbull, has to give 7 sermons today, Christmas Eve.  This year an 11 a.m. service was added so that the people who like traditional with communion didn't have to go out at night, and that also provided an option for families with several generations, or who have to visit more than one home.  

11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship with Communion

2:00 p.m. Modern Worship with carol Choir

4:00 p.m. Modern Worship

5:30 p.m. Modern Worship

7:30 p.m. Modern Worship, live streamed

9:00 p.m. Traditional Worship with Communion, live streamed

10:30 p.m. Traditional Worship with Communion

And on Christmas Day there will be a 10 a.m. service and we'll be attending that, too.  All services are at the Mill Run campus this year because Lytham Road is a construction zone.

We attended the 11 a.m. service this morning and it was very nice.  We had all the traditional carols and communion and the organ. It was all congregational singing--no solos or choir, and everyone participated.   And also many children--so a little fussy and hyped up about Christmas but such fun to see.  The 2 little girls in front of us, maybe 5 and 9, wore lovely match green sequined dresses with cute bows in their hair.  Dad helped the little one with her lighted candled after careful instructions from Pastor Joe.

We're having carry-out-in from DaVinci's tonight.  The restaurant needed the pick up by 2 p.m. so our daughter brought everything over and it's been repackaged and ready to put in the oven around 5 p.m.  The table is set with good china and we're using Phil's Christmas tablecloth.

Merry Christmas to all.  Joy to the World and Hark the Herald Angels sing!

Lutheran Church of South Sudan

Our Sunday School class today had the opportunity to hear Rev. Jordan Long, President of the Lutheran Church of South Sudan, and to hear about some REAL persecution which in turn is spreading the gospel to the refugee camps of millions of Sudanese who have fled the violence to neighboring countries. During their civil war 2.5 million were killed, and now that they have their own country (primarily Christian) and aren't fighting the Arab Muslims who oppressed them, they are fighting each other! All politics is based on family and tribes, he said, and it is that way in all of Africa.

Three members of our church had traveled to South Sudan to observe and learn about opportunities there for service. They are endless! But as I listened I recognized the problems in our own country--how even in times of peace there will be people who sow doubt and anger in order to obtain or keep power. Their tribal system reminded me how our powerful Democrat and Republican "families" and tribes in D.C. or the state capitals don't want to give up their power.

The Lutheran Church of South Sudan has started a seminary, and because there are 64 languages spoken in that small country, all instruction is in English, which is also taught in the high schools. Sometimes we Americans don't appreciate the beauty or unity of having a single language--and there are even trouble makers among us, especially academe, who claim it's xenophobic and racist to be unified that way.

Five years ago they had a handful of students meeting under a tree, and now have buildings and 2700 students. They are moving ahead with western partners for pure water, "welcoming" bath rooms, and computers for their computer room in the seminary.

http://lutherancss.org/about.shtml

A blessed Easter

Our pastoral, church staff and volunteers went all out for Holy Week at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church. There were two high lights in a week of wonderful worship experiences.  At the Friday night solemn service, there were several teens participating, and one young girl was tasked with lighting seven candles between  the scripture passages read by the pastor and two other teens.  She was taller than me, but the candles were high enough and in a clear glass globe, that her arms were just not quiet long enough even stretched well above her head.  After she struggled with the first 2, our 6’5” senior pastor, Steve Turnbull. quietly stepped up from his pew and stood behind her in the dark.  When she struggled, he stepped forward took the candle lighter from her hands and effortlessly with one arm raised high and the other low to control the tool, lit the candle.  But he didn’t do it until she had tried.  What a beautiful example of God’s love and grace.

And then on Easter Sunday, Pastor Dave Mann gave the sermon at our Lytham Road traditional service.  I suppose it was full of the usual Easter message, but what I remember and what we told our family at dinner was the story he told about John and Ali.  John was having a very busy day, and he passed a black man on Route 23 going north who’d had a flat tire and was attempting to flag someone down.  John felt the Lord tap his shoulder but proceeded on as he had a busy schedule.  Then he felt a firmer tap, so he turned around to help the stranded motorist.  Not only was the tire flat, it was ruined.  Not only was it ruined, but the man, Ali, had no money.  So John paid for the tire himself, and then installed it for Ali.  When they were finished, Ali told him he’d been waiting for two hours and no one had stopped, so why did John stop?  “Because I serve the King,” John told him.  Then Ali said, he’d like to know about this King that John served.  Last Easter Ali was baptized a Christian and joined our Lutheran church.  Dave told him that he would experience rejection and even hate from his Muslim community, but God’s love, through John had touched him and he came to know the living Lord.

Pastor Dave also comments occasionally on Facebook and shares his faith.  Last summer Dave’s little grandson and his adult son both died within a week of each other, and Dave’s witness on Facebook probably reach many weak Christians or non-believers.

What are you hearing in sermons and homilies?

Howard Kainz, a Catholic, observes, “I was surprised in the last couple months to hear two homilies – one on the abuse crisis and cover-ups, the other on abortion. My surprise is based on the fact that I have never heard these two topics discussed at any Sunday Mass since Vatican II. And I have attended Masses in quite a few states.”

I’ve noticed the same thing at our church.  In over 40 years at UALC, I’ve heard one sermon on marriage and nothing about abortion, homosexuality, same sex marriage, war, poverty, immigration, and just a smidgen on finances, etc. It is up to small groups or social ministries to address those concerns—without a pastor and usually without Biblical leadership.

Forty years ago I was relieved not to hear about the culture and day to day drama from the pulpit, as we had transferred from First Community Church and that seemed the primary topic of the day, but with no gospel.  The preacher there in the 1970s was a fabulous speaker, impassioned, poetic, with sermons that read like the front page of the Washington Post;  and he was also unfaithful to his wife and children leaving in disgrace. Maybe he just had pent up energy or guilt.

But there are times I feel we conservatives Christians are drowning in a culture of hate, bias, misinformation, and scripture twisting. I understand the pastor has to speak to everyone, but it does seem we just quietly go out to coffee in the narthex to struggle on our own while munching blueberry donut holes.

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/11/12/homilies-on-hot-topics/

Rejoice you pure in heart

I usually save the printed hymns from the Sunday bulletin, and then noticed we had sung “The Church’s One Foundation” twice in a month, once as an entrance hymn and once as a closing hymn.  However, when I looked at the attribution, they were different, with one attributed to Plumptre and Messiter, and one to Stone and Samuel Wesley.  I was pretty sure that Wesley was the one we sang, so I looked up the other combination, and found “Rejoice you pure in heart” and enjoyed this lovely choir, the Metro Singers of Hyattsville, MD . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_GBKSqtgvI 

Then I looked back through what I’d saved, and indeed we had sung “Rejoice you pure in heart.” Don’t know if the misattribution came from the copied source, or if when inserting the hymn into the template, the attribution from a previous week slipped in. 

All Saints and Reformation Sundays

We had such a fabulous music selection on Reformation Sunday—choir, organ, brass.  I don’t know how these things are planned, if there is a worship committee or it’s the choir director Brian and organist Allan or the pastors, but it all worked together.  The prelude was a smashing organ-Trumpet piece called  Chorale with Interludes by Charles Callahan. https://www.morningstarmusic.com/composers/c/callahan 

Our musicians sit behind the congregation in the balcony, so I always have to turn around if I want to see them.  Anyway, as the prelude came to a glorious end, and the trumpet stopped, one pipe on the organ wouldn’t—a very low register with a rumble you could hear a few blocks away.  It must be every performer’s nightmare.  Dave Mann was the pastor who was leading the service (senior pastor Steve Turnbull gave the sermon), and he is also an organist, so he stood there and smiled and waited, but it got louder and louder and you could hear someone rustling around trying to shut down the organ.  So he decided to just go ahead with the Confession and Forgiveness, which had to be shouted. Soon the organ noise quieted down as it was shut off (?).  But an elaborate Call to Worship was planned, and we were not only reading scripture, but were supposed to sing all 4 verses of “A Mighty Fortress” interspersed with scripture, and the organ was needed for that.  So after each verse, the loud malfunctioning pipe would continue, and the lead pastor had to shout over it. Finally, at the end of that section, we heard the maverick pipe sort of quietly slink away.

During coffee time after the service in the narthex I asked one of the choir members how it was fixed and she said someone got a ladder and went up inside the pipes, and stuck in something to stop it.  I’m sure a repairman will be called.  The organ had a huge refurbishment in 2005, thousands and thousands of dollars which I think a donor paid for because it was about 30 years old, and I’m sure general maintenance is  expensive.  http://churchacronym.blogspot.com/2005/05/pentecost-concert-our-choir-presented.html

Today November 1 is All Saints Day, from which we get the festive contraction Halloween, for All Hallow’s Eve. So this coming Sunday is All Saints Sunday.  It too is a lovely service, but more sober.  The names of the congregants who have died since last October 31 are read from the pulpit. Since we are gone in the summer, sometimes I’m not aware of the death.  Then during communion the names of our own remembered friends and relatives are read from cards we had filled out.  "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus . . ." Hebrews 12:1

"Most Lutheran churches use the first Sunday in November to remember all the saints in the Church of Christ Jesus, especially those members and friends of the local congregation who have been called to Heaven in the previous year.

The custom of commemorating all the martyrs of the Church on a single day goes back at least to the third century. All Saints' Day celebrates not only the martyrs and saints, but all the people of God, living and dead, who together form the mystical body of Christ.

In Europe, All Saints' Day is also called All Hallow's Day ('hallowed' means 'sanctified' or 'holy'). October 31st, the evening before All Saint's Day is named All Hallow's Eve, which was contracted to Halloween." (Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Ypsilanti, MI)

Hymns of praise

 

We attend the traditional service at our Lutheran church (NALC) in Upper Arlington, Ohio.  There are two other types of services—one I call “happy clappy” which I’m guessing is mostly post-1960s songs and praise music without liturgy and the other “clangy bangy” with very loud guitars and drums, and we have two locations for one congregation. Right now we have a total of five services, but I can remember a time when we had 10, trying to suit all the tastes in worship style and preaching. Our traditional service at Lytham Road has a choir and the other two have praise bands with perhaps a quartet to lead the music.  The pastors rotate, so we all eventually hear the same sermons by the same pastors. Right now we’re in a study called “Gathered,” which is about worship.  Last week was on music (song) with sermon by senior pastor Steve Turnbull and yesterday was the sacraments by Aaron Thompson who is director of the high school ministry.  Lutherans have two sacraments—baptism and communion, but for 1500 years the Christian church had six sacraments, but Martin Luther cut them to two, and today many Protestant and Bible and non-denominational churches have no sacraments, only memorials.

So this all leads to the opening hymn of praise, “Praise the Lord! O Heavens. I always read the information about the hymn writers at the bottom of the page (I don’t like to read words on a screen, because I like to see the music so I can practice my dwindling ability to read music.) This one said, Text: The Foundling Hospital Collection, London, 1796.  One of the beautiful things I appreciate about the Internet is I don’t have to wait long to satisfy my curiosity. An antiquarian book dealer, Simon Beattie of London had one for sale and was discussing its history. You can go to his website for further explanation of the institution and its collection, and also http://www.intriguing-history.com/foundling-hospital-collection/  The hospital has a fascinating history which includes Dickens and Handel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundling_Hospital

The Foundling Hospital, Britain’s first children’s charity, had been established by Thomas Coram in 1739.  ‘The Hospital chapel, in use by 1749 and officially opened in 1753, soon became well known for its music as well as for its elegant architecture and adornments …  The singing of the children at ordinary Sunday services was a great attraction to fashionable London and became an important source of income to the Hospital through pew rents and voluntary contributions.  Music was specially composed and arranged for the Hospital chapel, and the success of the singing led to a demand for this music, which was met by the publication of a book called Psalms, Hymns and Anthems; for the Use of the Chapel of the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children.  It is generally known more informally as the Foundling Hospital Collection’ (Nicholas Temperley, ‘The Hymn Books of the Foundling and Magdalen Hospital Chapels’, Music Publishing & Collecting: Essays in Honor of Donald W. Krummel (1994), p. 6).  [from Beattie’s blog)

This hymn is in the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship and the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal of 1958, which notes the text is by John Bacchus Dykes, 1823-76, which wouldn’t work with the copyright of 1796.

Advent and Christmas Schedule, 2015, UALC

Pastor Brodie Taphorn graduates--again

I think this is a business degree.  He’s one of the pastors at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church.

Thursday Thirteen Christmas season 2013

Christmas  these days seems to begin around Halloween when Christmas themed merchandise appears in the stores, although for some retailers it’s even earlier and you see craft and decorating items stocked in strategic places.  This year Thanksgiving was the latest it could be and so the festivities and shopping had one less week. Our holiday season was saddened by the death of brother in law John Sterling, whom we had visited in October in California. He died the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  For us, Christmas more or less began at Thanksgiving when we began to discuss how we would do the holidays.  Usually our daughter has Thanksgiving dinner, but her father-in-law who lives in  Cleveland and who has been ill, was unable to travel, so they needed to be free “just in case,” so we had dinner here, and decided that I would host the family on Christmas Eve, and then we’d all go to our daughter’s for Christmas Day. I fixed a huge turkey, and we’ve had leftovers off and on since.  So beginning with Thanksgiving, we all went to church together at the Lytham Road campus of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church at 10 a.m. where we had worshipped when the children were growing up (began attending in 1974 and joined on Palm Sunday 1976).  Pastor TJ Anderson, our new senior pastor, gave the sermon. At this service we bring sacks of groceries to be distributed by the Lutheran Food Pantry. Our location of UALC has a traditional style worship with hymns and organ; Mill Run has contemporary style worship with praise songs and communion.

1.  On Wednesday, December 4, we attended with our neighbors Tom and Joyce the annual Conestoga (friends of the Ohio Historical Society) Holiday Party at The Boat House at Confluence Park. It was a lovely venue with views of the river and the downtown skyline lit up for Christmas.  Conestoga has 203 individual members and we learn about Ohio history, travel around the state together visiting historical places, and have fund raisers.  All the money supports the Ohio Historical Society. Our current endowment is about $66,000.

2. Mid-week day time Advent services are held on Thursday at the Lytham Rd. location, and we served communion on December 5.  Wednesday evening services are held at our Mill Run Campus. Usually serve at all these Thursday services, but this year we had conflicts on the other two dates. These services are followed by lunch in the fellowship hall.  Generally, it’s an older crowd, and follows the Thursday morning Bible study.

3.  On December 7, the combined choirs of Lytham and Mill Run presented a wonderful Christmas Concert on Saturday evening, “Glory, Peace, Joy” with conductors Brian Carlton and Michael Martin, with an orchestra. Members of our pastoral staff gave the readings from Isaiah, Colossians, Luke, and Matthew. I sat with the other women of our SALT group—our husbands were at home watching the OSU-Michigan football game, and they missed a beautiful concert.

4. On Sunday December 8, we attended our own service (8:15) and the 9:30 Celebration Service at Lytham, so we could participate in the installation of Pastor Thomas J. Anderson. Pastor David Wendel, assistant to the NALC Bishop performed the installation, with Pastors Brodie Taphorn and Buff Delcamp participating. Pastor TJ follows Pastor Paul Ulring who ended his service with the church in September. Pastor TJ said, “My primary mission is to kick you out of the nest.”

5. We were thrilled to have our friends Martti and Riitta Tulamo of Helsinki, Finland with us December 11-13.  We did some touring of the OSU campus where Riitta was a student at the veterinary college in 1978-80.  We spent a lot of time together in those days, so our children remember them well, and we had a dinner here on Friday night before taking them to the Brens where they would enjoy a few days, then going to the Rigolli home in Worthington before returning to Finland. We attended Advent services on Thursday and then stayed for a very nice lunch of lasagna and salad.

6. On Saturday December 14 our church’s Mission ministry had a pot luck at the home of the Camerons to meet with our missionaries Dave and Pam Mann who teach in Haiti and are home during the month of December.  It was so good to see them, and hear about what is happening at the school and clinic.

7.  On Sunday December 15 members of Conestoga were invited to a buffet and program at the Ohio Historical Society.  We went with our neighbors the Rieslings. The theme for this fall/winter has been the 50s—and there is a Lustron on display, so it was decorated with the much more simple décor of the 1950, including an aluminum tree and plastic poinsettias.

8.. Party with Faith of our Fathers study group Monday Dec. 16 and my  first training session with the Pregnancy Decision Health Center on Wednesday Dec. 18 where I hope to continue volunteering.  This is a Christian ministry that saves lives—of babies, but also mothers who may be in great distress with a pregnancy

9. Party for condo association hosted by the Thompson and Rieslings on Sunday Dec. 22.  The Thompsons had their twin 18 month old granddaughters with them, which really enhanced the environment. Joan and Joyce put out a beautiful spread of of wonderful food, and I think I gained back all the weight (6 lbs) I’ve struggled to lose during the fall.

10. We had a get together after exercise class at instructor Christine’s home on Monday December 23, and will have a 2 week hiatus.

11. We hosted our family for Christmas Eve for dinner—ham, roasted squash, potato salad, mixed fruit, cookies. Then together we attended the  UALC  9 p.m. service.  On  Christmas Day, we opened gifts at home after a leisurely morning, then attended church at 10 a.m. where we served Communion, and then went to our daughter and son-in-law’s for a lovely Christmas dinner and more gifts. Such lovely thoughtful gifts, and my daughter spiffed up my wardrobe, something I always look forward to.

12.  Friends of ours are hosting events in their homes in the next week, on Saturday December 28  the Sloughs, and on Monday evening December 30, the Zimmers.

13.  We will attend the New Year’s Eve Jazz Concert and Worship with Communion at our Mill Run church on Tuesday December 31 beginning at 5:30 for music and 6:00 for worship.

Bishop John Bradosky speaks at the prayer breakfast

Today all across the nation people met to pray. Our church, Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, hosted 2 events, a breakfast at the Mill Run campus and a noon worship at Lytham Road, our original church building where we attend the 8:15 traditional service. I attended the breakfast and Bishop Bradosky of the North American Lutheran Church hit it out of the ball park. He gave a fantastic review of religion in America--the role of the Great Awakening, the beliefs of the founders, how the United States form of government is different than all others, that 94% of the founding documents were based on the Bible, that clergy and pastors had a huge role throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, including the founding of such important universities as Harvard and Columbia, that "separation of church and state" was intended to protect the church from being harrassed by the state, not the other way around by keeping the church out of the public square, and that the change needs to begin not in the White House, or the state house, or the court house, but in the house of God! Wow. We were speechless. He even suggested that we all take a course on the Constitution!! We met in the fellowship hall where on Sundays there are 2 services, so I guess you could say this is the first time in my life I've ever heard a sermon about religion in America from the pulpit of a church where I was a member.

Visual Arts Ministry meets, greets and eats at the Bucket

The final meeting of the season was held at the Rusty Bucket. The hanging system has been put away for the summer (VBS starts next week) and the schedule is shaping up for Spring 2011, with the fall shows already in place. A great group of workers and friends. Wedding photos, summer plans, news about other missions, and family stories were shared making it a delightful evening.