January 2003

Dear music ministry team member,

"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.
See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare;
before they spring into being I announce them to you." - Isaiah 42:8-9

A new year (and a few days off) usually moves me to consider things anew. God is a God of newness, as well, and is looking to renew our hearts. My prayer for all of us is that we might make the most of this season of newness for His Glory.

I am so thankful that you've been willing to participate in all of the newness of FEFC's music ministry. I want to take this time to let you know of some of the plans we are making:

Choir

Good News! Krista Joy Luedtke has agreed to continue in her role as our choir director! Weekly choir rehearsals start January 21^st from 6:45-8:00 PM. While we won't be working on any specific "project," we will be performing twice a month and preparing for Easter season services. While we will be preparing pieces that aim to inspire and draw our church closer to God through our singing, we also want to be a "worship choir," helping to lead others in singing/worshiping. There may be weeks we'll ask you to stay a little bit longer for the sake of running through some worship songs with us. I will try to know a week in advance so I can warn you!

The choir will sing:

February 2 & February 16

March 2 & March 16

April 6, April 13 (Palm Sunday), April 18 (Good Friday) & April 20 (Easter)

Orchestra

The orchestra will continue to play on the fourth Sunday of the month. Be ready to rehearse by 8:15 AM. I will continue to try and make music available the Tuesday beforehand if you'd like to pick it up. Do any of you have email addresses that I could use to email reminders? Do you check your email? I know some do and some don't. I'm looking for ways to communicate better with you.

Prayer for a Band

One of the desires of my heart is to see a number of bands and/or rhythm sections develop this next year-to accompany both congregational singing and special music. Having worked in the past with musicians, I know that God wants me to "pray and ask" and He will raise up the workers. Would you be willing to pray that God will raise up band/rhythm section members of all ages to play along with us? Would you be willing to pray for this cause? Please do so!

Looking forward to a new season of praising God with you,

Eric Twietmeyer