Easter 3 - Wausau, WI

Another hymn festival...another shot in the arm for those hard-working leaders of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists in Wausau, WI.

The event was held at First Presbyterian Church, downtown Wausau. It was a great event - good choir, good turn out for the congregation and community, good singing, good response. All this is mostly due to the hard work of the local planners. They really work hard for these events, and it sometimes doesn't seem fair for me to show up Friday and do the weekend in a whirlwind, and get a lot of the credit. Sigh. Anyway, it was a great experience.

It also surprised many of them for me to attend worship there. It is always a good thing to experience liturgy in contexts other than my typical place. The service was thoughtful, carefully planned and thematic - very nice to see thoughtfulness put into the mix. One practice I keep forgetting exists: for Communion, the bread and wine are brought to the people IN THEIR pews! All eat the bread right away, and wait to all drink the shot-glass (or grape-juice) at the same time. Reminded me of the "Love Feast" we experienced in a Moravian Church in Bethlehem, PA - where they did this kind of distribution with Sweet rolls and coffee (for real!! in a very ritualistic way!!), all drinking the coffee at the same moment - as the music came to its climax (and no words! Hmmmm...)

Nevertheless, it is always wonderful to witness how meaningful a congregation's worship is to them. They really do love God!