MAMA: Mission and Music Alive.
I'm not sure who (and how) did come up with such an acronym. But the way it sounds, serves the purpose. This was a fundraiser event for Salem Lutheran Church (near downtown Toledo). In the event program, Salem Lutheran was described as the mother church of our ELCA congregations in the Toledo area. They are very active in social work (uh oh, as a born again sociologist I'm beginning to use secular words for jobs that have been an integral part of all religions all over their history). This event was a joint effort by Lutheran churches in the area to raise funds for Salem.
I was very busy for the day, but I always enjoy music fundraisers at churches (and Grace is always a pioneer for such events). Furthermore, I missed my friends at Grace (especially Pastor Jacobs) after a long lapse in my church visits and I could use this event to meet them after such a long time. It appears that I'm so fond of Grace as my church that 3 months sounds like a long time to me. When I visited the church, it appeared that they felt the same way.
One of my senior friends (who is very traditional), warned me that some of the music I would hear this evening would not be completely church-style. Or maybe he was warning himself, because he is not such a big fan of contemporary music, but as a member of welcome team, he had to be present there all over the event. He is a retired professor BTW.
And when Zoar Band started their program, I knew what he meant. I think the word band in a church chorus name should explain enough. I'm comfortable with contemporary music (even when it borders on Rock, combined with Country or at times sounding like Bluegrass) but looking at my senior friend's face indicated that he didn't feel the same. I'm not a person to make fun of other people's discomfort, but looking at his facial expression while Zoar Band was playing, it was difficult for me to stop myself from laughing. The rest of the music performances (which included Whitney Houston style songs) were not completely graceful to him either.
But joking aside, hearing all this and watching contemporary dance at the altar of a conservative (more or less) traditional church was quite an observation for me as a sociologist. It was also interesting to watch Pastor Jacobs (who usually has a venerable restrained appearance) imitating some sort of dance at one point when the music was too animated.
When it came to Salem pastor to explain about their activities, I found that they are not limited to feeding the poor and needy (as I'd assumed based on their location downtown). And she was a lively remarkable pastor. In between music performances, different ministers at Salem would talk about what they do for their community. And I was impressed.
As a church whose web presence is limited to a modest webpage like this, they're more progressive compared to some churches who are obsessed with showing progressivism merely in their appearance or worship styles or efforts at sounding liberal (at the expense of compromising Christian principles).
The last speaker was not a minister or maybe not a regular minister. He explained that he had made mistakes and ended up in jail and he was appreciative of Salem for giving him new chances for a fresh start. You can hardly find people going to such legnth as to give an ex-felon the opportunity to work in a church (later on, I found him to be a registered sex-offender). Yet, Pastor Baumgartner had the faith and courage to give him the chance. When he finished his speech (which was too eloquent for a former inmate), everybody was impressed and gave him a long applause.
The event ended with a reception provided by God Empowering Mothers (Salem Mom's Group). As I was fasting, I could not participate in this last part which was very well-prepared. And there was a Salem Cookbook, Feed My Sheep, filled with family recipes contributed by members of Lutheran congregations of the Nothwest Ohio Synod. Given the quality of the book, I found the book very reasonably priced ($15). All sales would benefit Salem Lutheran Church to support their mission. The book (the main object of fundraising) was promoted like this: "If you love me, feed my sheep".
I'm not sure who (and how) did come up with such an acronym. But the way it sounds, serves the purpose. This was a fundraiser event for Salem Lutheran Church (near downtown Toledo). In the event program, Salem Lutheran was described as the mother church of our ELCA congregations in the Toledo area. They are very active in social work (uh oh, as a born again sociologist I'm beginning to use secular words for jobs that have been an integral part of all religions all over their history). This event was a joint effort by Lutheran churches in the area to raise funds for Salem.
I was very busy for the day, but I always enjoy music fundraisers at churches (and Grace is always a pioneer for such events). Furthermore, I missed my friends at Grace (especially Pastor Jacobs) after a long lapse in my church visits and I could use this event to meet them after such a long time. It appears that I'm so fond of Grace as my church that 3 months sounds like a long time to me. When I visited the church, it appeared that they felt the same way.
One of my senior friends (who is very traditional), warned me that some of the music I would hear this evening would not be completely church-style. Or maybe he was warning himself, because he is not such a big fan of contemporary music, but as a member of welcome team, he had to be present there all over the event. He is a retired professor BTW.
And when Zoar Band started their program, I knew what he meant. I think the word band in a church chorus name should explain enough. I'm comfortable with contemporary music (even when it borders on Rock, combined with Country or at times sounding like Bluegrass) but looking at my senior friend's face indicated that he didn't feel the same. I'm not a person to make fun of other people's discomfort, but looking at his facial expression while Zoar Band was playing, it was difficult for me to stop myself from laughing. The rest of the music performances (which included Whitney Houston style songs) were not completely graceful to him either.
But joking aside, hearing all this and watching contemporary dance at the altar of a conservative (more or less) traditional church was quite an observation for me as a sociologist. It was also interesting to watch Pastor Jacobs (who usually has a venerable restrained appearance) imitating some sort of dance at one point when the music was too animated.
When it came to Salem pastor to explain about their activities, I found that they are not limited to feeding the poor and needy (as I'd assumed based on their location downtown). And she was a lively remarkable pastor. In between music performances, different ministers at Salem would talk about what they do for their community. And I was impressed.
As a church whose web presence is limited to a modest webpage like this, they're more progressive compared to some churches who are obsessed with showing progressivism merely in their appearance or worship styles or efforts at sounding liberal (at the expense of compromising Christian principles).
The last speaker was not a minister or maybe not a regular minister. He explained that he had made mistakes and ended up in jail and he was appreciative of Salem for giving him new chances for a fresh start. You can hardly find people going to such legnth as to give an ex-felon the opportunity to work in a church (later on, I found him to be a registered sex-offender). Yet, Pastor Baumgartner had the faith and courage to give him the chance. When he finished his speech (which was too eloquent for a former inmate), everybody was impressed and gave him a long applause.
The event ended with a reception provided by God Empowering Mothers (Salem Mom's Group). As I was fasting, I could not participate in this last part which was very well-prepared. And there was a Salem Cookbook, Feed My Sheep, filled with family recipes contributed by members of Lutheran congregations of the Nothwest Ohio Synod. Given the quality of the book, I found the book very reasonably priced ($15). All sales would benefit Salem Lutheran Church to support their mission. The book (the main object of fundraising) was promoted like this: "If you love me, feed my sheep".
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