Lift HIgh the Cross for Handbells

The hymn is quite familiar to us. We hear it frequently during Lent, sung in triumph, a celebration of victory over death. In preparation for this Lenten Season, our handbell choir has been rehearsing this arrangement for handbells and choir.

LIFT HIGH THE CROSS, handbell arrangement by Arnold Sherman

The hymn also carries a message of outreach - to lift high the cross and proclaim the Good News. (Source: The Center for Church Music)

Teen Stations - Text

From our guest blogger, Bob McCullough

This year we will use the French poet and theologian Paul Claudel 1911 libretto from Marcel Dupre's "Le Chemin de la Crois" ("The Way of the Cross") organ composition.  It is a powerful, intense and dense piece which has been updated for the modern teen audience, without losing its poetry.

Paul Claudel is himself an interesting example of a man of his time (playwright, poet, diplomat) whose faith remained unwavering despite the free-thinking of his generation.  Historians place his return to the faith at the age of 18 during Christmas Eve.  More on Paul Claudel here.

In Bob's next blogpost, he will discuss the music for Teen Stations. 

Teen Stations - The 15th Station

From our guest blogger, Bob McCullough:

We are often asked why we have a 15th Station for the Resurrection and I tell people that the church permits a 15th station for this purpose.   The last thing to contemplate should be the Resurrection, not the placing of Christ in the tomb.  

It takes an act of faith for modern teenagers to trust that there is power in the Stations of the Cross because most of them have not experienced it.  We want teens to experience, not just the sacrifice of Christ's passion, but also the hope that is in Christ's resurrection.  In these difficult times, trust God and make the leap of faith.  

Visit our blog again when Bob will discuss the readings for Teen Stations.

The Teen Stations of the Cross will take place on Friday, April 3rd 2009 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.   

Teen Stations - Video and Digital Images

From our guest blogger, Bob McCullough:

We are a sophisticated audio-visual generation and we believe that sight and sound must be used to maximum effect to create a powerful, yet prayerful experience.  The Teen Stations will begin with a short movie on the Passion created using Enya's "Pax Deorum" and 138 fine art images of the Passion.  I found these beautiful images over the last 16 years in my internet travels to the museums of the world.  This 4 minute movie places the congregation on the Via Dolorosa as witnesses to the Stations of the Cross.

We will be using digital images of our St. Mel stained glass windows for the first 14 stations. This will be the first time St. Mel will be using its stained glass windows for an evening service. The images will be computer projected 12' tall on the church's retractable screen.

Next post from Bob:  The 15th Station

Teen Stations - Beginnings

Our guest blogger, Bob McCullough, has been involved in the Teen Stations of the Cross at St. Mel's for 16 years.  

If the Stations of the Cross is the movie, our text and music are the soundtrack.   When we were asked to create a Stations of the Cross experience which would appeal to the Teen Community, we felt that we needed a few elements to be successful:

(1) full active participation of the teen community - as musicians, singers and lectors 

(2) powerful text that will speak to relevant modern day concerns 

(3) musical selections with the emotion and meditation of each station

(4) digital images and video footage that highlight the entire experience

(5) active participation from the adults who support the teen community

While the Passion has been depicted in artwork, music, plays and movies, the ritual devotion of the Stations of the Cross is a significant and prayerful way to enter the mystery of Christ's Passion.  We have refined our Teen Stations of the Cross over the last 16 years to immerse the congregation in the experience and provide insight into Christ's suffering and sacrifice. 

Bob will continue to post on this subject over the next few weeks.   The Teen Stations of the Cross will take place on Friday, April 3rd 2009 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.   

Teen Stations - The Big Picture

If you have a teenager at home, you know that look.  It says "I'm borrrred".  It starts with the eyes and then the entire body just becomes a lump of indifference.  St. Mel's Teen Stations of the Cross on April 3rd will use a multi-media experience to bring the Passion of Christ to a more engaging level and encourage full participation from our teen community.  

It uses the most eclectic musical resources to open the heart and mind to the spirit and emotion of each station.  Music comes from Broadway musicals, African-American spirituals, movie soundtracks and contemporary Christian music.  People have come to experience Teen Stations in Woodland Hills from as far away as Lancaster and Orange County.

Our next posting:  Guest Blogger Bob McCullough on Teen Stations - The Beginning

Forty Days and Forty Nights

The choir will call everyone to worship on Sunday (1st Sunday in Lent) with Heinlein’s arrangement Forty Days and Forty Nights.  I’ve always been curious about the number 40, as used in the Bible.  Why not 30 days?  Was language so limited that “forty” as used in the Bible would be equivalent to “lightyears” in today’s lingo?  Consider the other references to forty in the Bible:

- In the story of Noah and the Great Flood, it rains for “forty days and forty nights”

- Moses spent “forty days and forty nights” on Mount Sinai when receiving the Ten Commandments

- Jesus spent “forty days” in the desert before beginning his public ministry

While I have just recently become a more interested student of the Bible (as opposed to the “must study the Bible to graduate attitude”), it becomes evident that the number “forty” symbolizes a “long period of time”.  Within the context of the “instant world” that we now live in, forty days seems like a really long time.

Forty days and forty nights

Thou wast fasting in the wild;
Forty days and forty nights
Tempted, and yet undefiled.