Wednesday, September 6, 2023
COMING HOME to ST. JOHN'S
OLIN JOHANNESSEN
“Our Old Church,” written and performed by Olin Johannessen.
Well it's Wednesday, September 6, 2023. I am in charge of the music reflections that come to you most weeks on Wednesdays. This morning, I got a text from Rob, asking if I'd like for him to send out a reflection..... which reminded me that I was supposed to have done this yesterday! Oops!
As I thought quickly about which musical selection from our cache I'd like to share with this wonderful community, I was reminded that it was not so long ago that we weren't able to gather together inside the church. For those who don't know, our first inside-the-church Rite II service in 2021 was pushed almost to November. God and the weather were on our side, allowing us to stay in the Goodwin Garden that year all the way into October, the 17th as I recall. Then on 10/24/21, we came back into the sanctuary. It was a day charged with lots of emotion. We did a whole lead-up to it online and through reflections, "The Road to Homecoming." It was a really neat time and one I remember fondly.
Now, two years later, we sit days away from the start of another new Program Year. Sunday School, Youth Group, Choir School. Youth Cooking Ministry, Service Sundays. Reading Between The Lines, Centering Prayer, Exploring Loss. Common Table, Parish Choir. Wrapped in Love, The Breakfast Club, Usher Team, Technology Ministry, Welcoming Committee. So many ways for us all to shine our light into and outside of the community of St. John's.
I wish for us all to remember that we are welcome here. We feel most connected to others when we give of ourselves, when we open up to those nearby us. Share your gifts with our community and get that amazing feeling of being seen, being known, and seeing and knowing others.
So today, I hope you'll enjoy this song I wrote about St. John's. And maybe you'll skim backward in the video to be reminded of that special October day when we all came back into church together, and get excited about the promise of this new program year, kicking off this Sunday! Look for specific scheduling details in your inbox this week!
The Old Church, composed and performed by Olin Johannessen
We all came down
From lives left behind.
Left troubles and cares
And worries of mind.
We all joined hands
Our heads down and bowed.
We took up the prayers
And spoke them out loud.
CHORUS:
Inside our old church
On top of the hill
Where we come as one
To follow your will
We don't ask for much:
Just forgiveness and grace
To follow you home
To that heavenly place.
We count on our actions
To speak louder than words.
To walk in your ways
And spread peace here on earth
With music and food,
As we gather all,
Our love multiplies
When we answer your call.
CHORUS
Atop this fair city
At the end of the world
We break bread together
All souls will be served
With the glorious promise
Of a hero's return
To the great ever after —
Our faith reaffirmed.
CHORUS