... And, Speaking of Joy-ful .....

There's this reminder from XM Radio's "70s on 7" that, after 300+ years, Johann Sebastian Bach still rocks. With thanks to Shawn Herrington at lp2cd.com

So, Whatever Happened with That Tolkien Class, Anyway? Pt. 1 .....

The four CARDINAL virtues which form the foundation of character are : WISDOM, FORTITUDE, TEMPERANCE and JUSTICE.These virtues are natural to all mankind. They are Christian when they are perceived as fruits of the Spirit to help in the pilgrimage to our eternal home. --> -->The three THEOLOGICAL virtues are FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY. These are gifts from God. Our salvation is by faith, faith that Christ has redeemed and imparted

An Opportunity to Make a Joyful (?) Noise .....

He is risen ... Christ is risen, indeed ...

**********

A nearly-full house for early service this morning at First Prez-Midland, and I don't think anyone went home disappointed. The church's staff and ministry did themselves proud today, and the message of Christ's resurrection - and our salvation - was loud, clear and compelling.

There was a little something for everyone ... including me. A small notice in the church bulletin said, "Those who have sung the 'Hallelujah Chorus' and would like to join with the choir in this great anthem, please come to the chancel during the singing of 'The Day of Ressurection'"

I had ... so I did. And, for only the third time in more than thirty years, I sang that awesome piece with a choir. And not just the choir this morning, but accompanied by brass, tympani and organ.

I was a tenor in high school, and I don't quite have the range now, that I did then. The lump in my throat - not the result of stage fright but, rather of exhileration - didn't help either ... it was a wonderful moment. And even as I mangled this note or that, I didn't care ... I was making a joyful noise, nonetheless.

And, I enjoyed it so much that, this year, I came back and sang at late service, as well.

Perhaps what I felt was something like what Edward Hoagland once described ...

"Though I'd seen mobs behave savagely, some of my experience was of the moments when, on the contrary, a benign expressiveness, even a kind of sweetness, is loosed. When life seems to be an unmixed good, the more the merrier, and each man rises to a sense of glee and mitigation, alleviation, or freedom that, perhaps, we wouldn't quite dare to feel if he were alone. The smiling likeness, infectious blitheness, the loose, exultant sense of unity in which sometimes, the mass of people as a whole, seems to improve upon the better nature of the parts."

"This intrigued me."

"Just as with other natural wonders of the world, to which one relinquishes one's self, instead of feeling smaller, I often felt bigger when I was packed into a multitude And taking for granted the potential for mayhem of crowds, of which so much has been written, I was fascinated instead by the clear, pealing gaiety."

"It manifests itself, for instance, in the extraordinary quality that singing by a congregation acquires. The humdrum and unlovely voices gradually merge into a sweet, uniquely pristine note, a note angelic-sounding, hardly believable. Looking about, one can't see who in particular might have such a voice. Everybody in the pew has an expression as if he were about to sneeze, and squawks just a little. It is a note created only when hundreds sing ... it needs them all. No single person is responsible, any more than any individual in a mob lends that its bestiality."

"It's like riding in surf. It's like a Dantean ascent ... one circle up. Suddenly, we like all these strangers, even the stranger in ourselves, and seem to see a shape in life, as if all the exertions of the week really were justified and were a source of joy."

Alleluia ... Amen

**********

With thanks to Florence Sherwood, Chorus Director at Dallas Senior High School, Dallas, Pennsylvania, for her wonderful talent and her incredible patience.

Appearing in Today's Obits Page .....

..... is this notice .....

And, Another Departure .....

A fact of life and work in a television market this size, is the coming-and-going of many, many young people ..... West Texas has always been what we call a 'teaching market' where young media professionals - reporters, photographers, producers/editors, etc. - hone their craft and develop their resumés in preparation for moving-up and moving-on to the bigger markets .....

The latest is Shawndrea Thomas, a reporter at NewsWest 9, who is bound for Columbus, Ohio ..... Shawndrea is also known to local radio listeners ..... we will miss her, but we wish her good luck and Godspeed .....

Of course, that doesn't mean we've seen/heard the last of her ..... West Texas alumni revisit us, in a manner of speaking, through news packages they produce in their new markets, which are then made available to us through NBC's newsfeed ..... like this report from NewsWest 9 alum David Marino, who now reports for KVOA-TV, in Tucson, Arizona .....

Another (slightly) New Look .....

..... and new message for MSNBC's website ..... check it out .....

Another Departure .....

Good luck and Godspeed to another longtime fixture in West Texas media on his departure ..... Doug Cole, general manager at KOCV-FM, at Odessa College - and host of their weekly "Zero G" program - has accepted the position of station manager and operations coordinator of KCCU-FM at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma ..... I will miss "Zero G" - but not as much as I will miss Doug .....

Foregoing Words for THE WORD .....

Something a little different for Palm Sunday service, this morning at First Prez-Midland ..... instead of the usual sermon, we had an extended and dramatic reading from the Gospel of Luke, Chapters 22 and 23 ..... a wonderfully spirited and provocative presentation by Carl and Jane Moore that conveyed to us all why these are not simply words, but The Word .....