DaveMerkel.com

Rediscovering Worship

Dave — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:56:08 +0000

A typical approach to developing and building worship, in early postmodernity, has been to label it as one of three styles: traditional, contemporary or blended. Here's how those models have developed in my own mind:

Traditional worship is high church stuff. It is the vestments, ornate icons, high level decorum, proper gestures, an organ leading hymns from an approved hymnal played by an appointed organist, clergy directing worship, and it is structured with church-ordained liturgy. In traditional worship you'll typically see the credentialed people as principal leaders.
Contemporary worship is typically

Rediscovering Worship is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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For to us a child is born …

Dave — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:41:00 +0000

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas, 2011

May the Source of love bless you this Christmas, Dave Continue reading

For to us a child is born … is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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The Simple Gifts of Glacier National Park

Dave — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:23:06 +0000

I am blessed to live within a 30-minute drive of Glacier National Park. Added to that is the blessing of the larger community of humanity that makes up this area. Each December, with lots of help from some good friends and volunteers, I produce a Christmas concert for the community that we call The Spirit of Christmas Concert. There's more information about it in my blog post Spirit of Christmas: Giving is About the Giver. The financial beneficiary of the concert in recent years has been Flathead CASA for Kids Continue reading

The Simple Gifts of Glacier National Park is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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My Christmas Letter 2011

Dave — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:39:43 +0000

The period from Thanksgiving to Christmas has developed into one full of social expectations; we end up overextending ourselves with hosting and attending all the gatherings and special events, shopping, writing and mailing cards, shipping and delivering gifts, baking and people. In the midst of the increased stress of all that we feel the unspoken assumptions of needing to be filled with joy and love. That in itself - being filled with joy - can be difficult for those who have experienced loss in grief, especially in the past year. Recent technological developments tell us “there’s an app for that”, signalling instant Continue reading

My Christmas Letter 2011 is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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Thanksgiving Gratitude

Dave — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:25:31 +0000

I am thankful for:

The feast our home will enjoy today;
Communities of compassion, including mine, that seek to provide a harvest feast for all;
Worms and animals, swimming fish and soaring birds;
The splendor of the mountains;
Rolling plains of waving, dancing and singing crops;
The vastness and beauty of space;
August Rush, Sam I Am, Fiddler on the Roof;
Farmers and ranchers, gardeners and gatherers;
Virginia O’Hanlon who asked, and editor Francis Pharcellus Church who answered;
Authors, poets, composers, arrangers, dancers, visual artists and musicians;
The basic framework of structure

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Spirit of Christmas: Giving is About the Giver

Dave — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:35:39 +0000

I had to visit my own blog to see how long it has been since I last wrote and posted anything. Oops, it’s been four months. I see a need to improve my discipline for setting aside time for reflecting, creating and writing. That’s for another day. To the subject at hand. I, together with a caring group of volunteers, am making preparations for an annual Christmas concert. It has become an annual tradition here in northwest Montana. What started as a simple Sunday afternoon in 2004 with just me at the piano, a few charts (music scores), and Continue reading

Spirit of Christmas: Giving is About the Giver is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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Transcending the Music

Dave — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:57:44 +0000

A recent blog post at the Rethink Church (a United Methodist Church initiative) website challenges traditional approaches to music within the context of worship. Entitled “Music that’s authentic, not awkward” is centered on a church in Knoxville, Tennessee that has initiated a worship service with music led by professional musicians; some of them famous and maybe even chart-topping. The post is causing reactions in various networks and online social media groups. In one online group, a friend of mine asks, “Is the only real difference between authentic and awkward that the people know how to perform the music Continue reading

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“Harvest Time” updated music scores

Dave — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:44:09 +0000

To my friends and colleagues of the Yellowstone Conference of the UMC, and everyone else who wishes to utilize the song: I have re-notated and reformatted the music for “Harvest Time.” There are three different scores available on my Musical Arrangements page, each available in both Scorch and pdf formats:

Piano/Vocal/Guitar This music is now spread over two pages, which enlarges the staffs, notes and lyrics. I’ve added chords.
Vocal/Guitar lead sheet This is a new offering of just the melody and guitar chords, contained within one page.
Piano/Vocal – formatted for hymnal and bulletin inserts

“Harvest Time” updated music scores is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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Let the People Sing

Dave — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:26:01 +0000

Music, within a Christian worship setting, almost always involves musicians leading the congregation. The element of special music in worship, the sharing of musical gifts, can border on performance. I appreciate, and encourage when possible, opportunities – often unexpected – in which there are no leaders and no performers: the people sing unaccompanied. Those are the moments in which most everyone is participating simultaneously. It is a rare gift, to be sure, yet can be uncomfortable moments for musicians accustomed to always leading a congregation in song. Momentarily resigning the role as music leader provides opportune moments for the Continue reading

Let the People Sing is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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Saturday Night vs. Sunday Morning Music

Dave — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:07:15 +0000

Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. I have volumes of experience in both settings: Saturday night music in pubs and bars of varying size and aesthetics (or lack thereof), to the almost aristocratic setting of Christian worship that limited Sunday morning music to what “they” defined as “religious music.” They being the church elders, and religious music as that which overtly mentions God and any requirements they attach to the mention of God. It has been uncomfortable for me to separate and divide music that way, yet it’s something assumed by both sides; don’t mix one ingredient with the Continue reading

Saturday Night vs. Sunday Morning Music is a post from: DaveMerkel.com

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