Announcements
From the Desk of Dr. David McConnell
Fourteen years ago, I conducted a series of concerts in Portugal at the beginning of Holy Week. The invitation came from a dear friend, Myguel Santos E Castro, to lead his Vox Laci choir. It was, as you might imagine, a highlight for me, both personally and professionally.
In January of this year, I emailed Myguel asking if I might bring a choir to Portugal in the next few years. He responded by asking me to call him right away. When we spoke, he asked if I might be interested in returning for a Ramos (Palm Sunday) concert series, and I thought he was inviting me for 2025 or the year after. But he had taken my reaching out to him as a sign, so he was asking about this year! The Ramos concert series stopped during Covid lockdowns, and efforts to restart it last year did not work. He had no plans to offer the series this year. To ensure its success, he asked if I could also bring singers with me (to concerts happening in less than two months). We ended the conversation in agreement that it was a crazy idea, but then went to work.
Pastor Steve, my two university positions, and NJ choir were all supportive of the idea, so I sent an email out to all of my choirs and found several adventurous folks who could make it work: we took 19 singers, 6 choir ‘friends’ and me – 26 in total.
Most of us arrived in Lisbon on Tuesday (with no rehearsal that day, it gave us time to adjust to the time change). Wednesday, I worked with three of Myguel’s choirs and then we had our first rehearsal, from 7-11 pm (a late rehearsal by any standard, but most especially for those who only arrived on Wednesday).
My program was designed to guide the listener into Holy Week. Its general thematic flow was the need for forgiveness, important teachings of Jesus (Come to me and I will give you rest/I am the living water/God so loved the world/Grace is freely offered). This was followed by movements from a large work written for Palm Sunday by a wonderful Brazilian composer, José Maurício Nunes Garcia (you can expect to hear some of these movements in the next few years). We then sang music for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, ending with a wonderful setting of words by Desmond Tutu (the text can be found in the ELW, No. 721) and “Until Love Is Spoken” by American composer Karen Marolli – a plea to reject the hate and violence of this world and to live as Christ loved us.
We performed four concerts, the final one about three hours away from Lisbon. We also took part in a Palm Sunday Mass – the church had been abandoned for almost three decades, but two dedicated priests recently opened it up and are working to revitalize the congregation.
Over the last few days, I have struggled to describe what it felt like to return to a place Tama and I love, with members of my musical family (drawn from three choirs) in tow, to work with Myguel and his wonderful singers. The best I can do is indescribably meaningful. My thanks to Steve and Murray and the members of our Senior Choir who remained in Lancaster for making this trip possible.
-Dr. Dave
Thank you to Patti Hartman for sharing her photos!
Save the Dates
- April 7 (Sunday after Easter) 4 p.m. “Bach Vespers at Grace Church” – the beautiful service of Evening Prayer with one of Bach’s great choral cantatas, No. 4, based on a classic Lutheran Easter Hymn, with orchestra and the Grace Choir
- April 14 (Third Sunday of Easter) 4 p.m. “C. Emlen Urban and Grace Lutheran Church” Gregg Scott is our local expert and evangelist, getting the word out about the life and influence of architect C. Emlen Urban and his influence on the City of Lancaster. Grace Church is a notable part of Urban’s legacy of beautiful buildings in our city. Gregg’s historical presentations are fascinating and entertaining opportunities to learn and appreciate the past and its effect on our lives today. The public will also be invited to this special presentation.
- April 21 (Fourth Sunday of Easter) Festive Celebrations at our Sunday worship, giving thanks for 150 of worship and serving. We will also kick off the next phase of our Capital Campaign to retire the renovation debt and enjoy a “Anniversary Homecoming” with delicious food and refreshments afterwards. Please RSVP to the church office by 4/17!
- April 21 at 4pm – Organ Concert by Dr. Daniel Aune of Christ Lutheran Church, Inner Harbor, Baltimore. A varied concert of great organ music by a fabulous organist to celebrate our 150 legacy of music!
- As soon as possible! – A book on the history of Grace Church by Dr. Karl E. Moyer is currently in the editing process and will be published in this anniversary year – if you are hiding any great pictures of Grace’s past somewhere in your home, please let us know!
April Schedule
Download the PDF below for the April worship assistant schedule and the birthday/anniversary list!
Grocery Cards
Grocery cards are available at both services on Sunday mornings. You may order cards by calling Duane and Kitty Weiss. Remember all purchases of cards realizes 5% in cash back to Grace. These funds are used to support our many ministries.
Easter Fountain Flowers
Opportunities to share plants and flowers for the fountain are available beginning April 14 and ending May 26. Families may buy plants and flowers to decorate the Fountain on the Sunday they choose, delivering them to church on Saturday and following Sunday services, take their plants home. Please contact Angie with questions or to sign up.
Thank You
Thank you to everyone who helped make Holy Week at Grace amazing! If you were unable to join us in person you can watch the live stream of our 10:30 Easter Servie here
Thank you to Kath Verkouw for the pics of the fountain flowers, the Baptismal font, and the Easter breakfast.
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