Music Moves Us

There is a lot of planning that goes into a Sunday morning. There are prayers, liturgy, and sermons to be written, bulletins to be created, slides to made for online worshipers, choirs to be rehearsed, piano and organ pieces to be practiced, ushers to be recruited, nursery workers to be organized, lessons for Sunday school to be planned, coffee to be made, doughnuts to be bought, doors to be scheduled, the list goes on. All of these things require a lot of time and energy from staff and volunteers.

When it comes to the worship service, a lot of thought goes into the scriptural theme of worship and how the music and flow of the service support and drive home the subject of the sermon and liturgical season. Depending on the scripture and theme, the music might be in major or minor key, or both. The season of Lent lends itself to minor keys which is meant to inspire contemplation of our fallenness; the same fallenness that made Jesus’ death on the cross inevitable. Many churches intentionally leave out the “Alleluias” during Lent with the intention of making them more profound on Easter morning and, again, encouraging a Lent of contemplation and repentance.

Many Sundays you will hear hymns and other music in both major and minor keys that seek to mirror the ups and downs of our day-to-day living. Life is not always “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”; there is plenty of “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” Life is full of ups and downs, light and darkness, and, of course, life and death. And while in the Reformed understanding of worship every Sunday is supposed to be a “little” Easter, our worship should not be rooted in some otherworldly place that does not take seriously the realities of violence and injustice in our world. For our worship to be relevant and resonate, it needs to be honest about the darkness of the world. It needs to tell the truth about the crosses so that the meaning and the need for the empty tomb is illuminated. Obviously, there is no Easter, “little” or otherwise, without the cross.

Worship is at the center of everything we do as a church. Hopefully, we all leave here each Sunday both challenged and inspired. Central to our worship is music. We have such a talented music staff in Lisa and Pam and such a dedicated group of volunteer musicians who sing and play bells and many other instruments. I know we all appreciate and enjoy the great music program we have here at First Greer, but we may not always stop to appreciate how essential it is to our ministry and mission. The emotion, both the ups and downs, that our music and hymnody inspire, helps teach us how we are to live and serve as Christians in this world.

As we prepare to replace our organ it is important to remember that it is not simply about getting a new piece of equipment. It is about replacing an important tool for our mission and ministry that will continue the legacy of inspiring people to faith and service. I encourage you to keep this in mind and in heart as we move into the official fundraising campaign for our new Cornel Zimmer organ. We all have an opportunity to take part in an important advancement in the ministry and mission of First Greer and every gift, both small and big, will make a tangible and lasting impact. I look forward with great excitement to the new things that God will be doing through this church in the future and thank you for your generous support. 

In Christ,

Will

We welcomed these new members into the fellowship of

FPC Greer during 11:00 worship on February 11th.

Virginia & Vivian Cononie

Karen Scott-Kubias

Karen Stoddard

FPC Greer Financial Summary

Year to Date Actual Income

as of 01/31/24 = $99,754.00

Year to Date Projected Income

as of 01/31/24 = $74,763.00

Variance = +$24,990.00



Thank you for your generous support of the

mission and ministry of FPC Greer!

A Word from Ally

As we continue to use this space to explore the ways our liturgy in Sunday worship provides ways for us to practice faithful living, we find ourselves this month looking at the Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon. The Prayer of Confession is one of the more “heavy” pieces of our liturgy. Heavy to the point that many congregations around the country have moved away from corporate confession for fear of leading people to wallow in despair and self pity. Which, to some extent, I understand. Confessing our sin, owning our humanness, is hard. But it is essential. When we confess our sin, we not only examine the ways in which we individually have fallen short, but we acknowledge the social and systemic nature of sin itself. In other words, sin is complex and inescapable. But by confessing our sin, both individually and corporately, we practice drawing near to God and we open our hearts and minds to be transformed more into Christ’s likeness. 

While the Confession of Sin and Assurance of Pardon are two distinct pieces of our liturgy, they are also deeply interconnected. In the words of Dr. Martha Moore-Keish, “sin is always framed by grace.” When we confess our sin, we do so with confidence that God’s grace precedes and follows our confession. Our time of confession and assurance draws our attention to the ways that our world is a mess, but it also reminds us that, in Christ, we are continually being made new. So, while we intentionally carve out time during Sunday worship to both confess our sin and celebrate God’s forgiveness and grace, we are also invited to be mindful of these dynamics in our daily lives so that we might work with God’s Spirit who is already at work in the world to make things right.

Peace,

Ally

Young Ladies’ Ensemble will sing for worship on Youth Sunday, March 3rd. Please meet in the sanctuary at 9:00 a.m. to rehearse.   

Grace Notes (1st-5th grades) will participate in 11:00 a.m. worship on Palm Sunday, March 24th. Rehearsals are 10:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in the children’s choir room on March 3rd and March 10th.

All are welcome to sing with the choir for Holy Week and Easter. Please join us for Wednesday rehearsals at 7:30 p.m. 

Ten FPC ringers spent a weekend at Lutheridge learning about the art of handbell ringing from conductor Sandra Eithun. Thanks be to God for this time of study and fellowship!

Upcoming Youth Events

3/3 Youth Leading Worship

3/10 Game and Movie Night

3/17 Party with Fort Hill Youth

3/24 Palm Sunday Party

3/31 Easter - No Meeting

2024 Youth Ski Trip at Holston Camp and Retreat Center in

Banner Elk, NC

February 23-25

Want to help out around the church??

Visit our new webpage for volunteer opportunities within the FPC Greer community. Sign up to serve as an usher or to assist with children and youth activities. There is always a need for helpers!

Click HERE to visit the FPC Greer Volunteer Webpage

Prayer Concerns

Louise Ables

Luanne Baker

Amy Caldwell

Jim Caldwell

Larry Caldwell

Sarah Cannon

Traci Cartee

Beverly House

Dave & Susan Macer

Susan Tompkins

We extend Christian sympathy to the family of Carl “Oochie” Gibson who entered the Church Triumphant on February 1. Services were held at the church on February 17.

Dear Church Family,

I want to thank you again for all the prayers, cards, food, support and love you gave me while I was recovering from my latest surgery. I am so grateful to be a part of this church family! You all remind me of the meaning of “love thy neighbor" and I appreciate you.

Much Love,

Betsy Porter

Dear FPC friends,

Thanks for all your prayers and cards following my recent surgery. It helped to get me through a difficult time.

Craig Kubias

Click HERE to view the latest photos of FPC Greer events!

The next issue of First News is April 4. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to Lisa Johnson at lisaj@fpcgreer.org by Monday, April 1.