Something New
Chorus-pondence from Gene LeVasseur
When is the last time you did something for the first time? As I get older there seems to be less frequency in my new adventures. A couple of years ago I had complete shoulder surgery and after a year of therapy and exercise I still had not recovered as much as I’d hoped for. My surgeon suggested that I add Yoga to my regimen. I’d never tried this before. I sheepishly entered a class at the last minute and stayed in the back. I followed the instructor religiously and then exited right away. After the class I thought, “This was just breathing and stretching and didn’t do anything for me,” but later that day I felt sore in a few places. I decided to do yoga for three months and test my strength and range of motion. I made more progress during those three months than I did the previous six months, and have been hooked on yoga ever since. One of my instructors is OSL member Melissa Nelson, who once called yoga “medicine for your body,” and I agree with her 100%!
I snore when I sleep and Toni, my wife of 36 years, has endured my “evening concerts” for our entire marriage. I’ve been nudged and kicked thousands of times during the night. A couple of weeks ago she gave me a box of Breathe Right strips. Large. It seems I have a big nose. They have greatly reduced my snoring and I’m sleeping better too! Why didn’t you get these for me years ago, honey?
Obviously, trying something new can be a very good thing. Perhaps you’re ready to try something new in your worship life. If so, be sure to come to OSL’s Worship Summit on Wednesday, September 5! The purpose of the summit is to give people a quick introduction to the various worship ministries, so everyone, young and old, who is not currently involved in OSL ministries will consider serving in a new way this fall.
The Worship Summit will begin at 6:00 p.m. Ministry leaders representing musicians, sound techs, media techs, TV techs, greeters, ushers, communion assistants, readers, nursery helpers, food service volunteers, bulletin support, and Information Center workers will conduct 15-minute sessions to give an overview of these ministries and sign up to give one (or more) a try. Pr. Randy will begin the summit with a greeting in the Celebrate Center, then you may explore as many ministry areas as you like.
During the last two weeks of August we recognized the hundreds of people already enjoying these wonderful ministries. Musicians, sound techs, media techs, TV techs, greeters, ushers, communion assistants, readers, nursery helpers, food ministry volunteers, bulletin support helpers, and Information Center volunteers—these ministries all enable the congregation to fully focus on God and worship without distractions. And there’s plenty of room for you to be involved too!
Here are a few Bible verses using “new”:
• “Be reNEWed in the spirit of your minds, and clothe yourselves with the NEW self.” (Ephesians 4)
• “Get yourselves a NEW heart and a NEW spirit.” (Ezekiel 18)
• “He put a NEW song in my mouth.” (Psalm 40)
• “We have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the NEW and living way that He opened for us.” (Hebrews 10)
Again, when was the last time that you did something for the first time?
Sing-cerely,
Gene