Worship & Music Ministries: Upcoming Events & Items of Interest
Updated 7/7/10

Season after Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent Christian feast, celebrated on the 49th day after Easter Sunday - or the 50th day inclusively, hence its name. Historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot or the day, fifty days after the Exodus, on which God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, Pentecost now also commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles as described in the Book of Acts. Pentecost Sunday is also called Whitsunday, especially in the United Kingdom. The Sundays following Pentecost, until Advent, are numbered from Trinity Sunday (which is the Sunday after Whitsunday: The Day of Pentecost). The liturgical color used is green. On a few Sundays during this period, special Sundays are celebrated with their own emphasis (Reformation, All Saints, Christ the King).

Abendmusik is our series of concerts, arts events and worship that is offered free to the public. It is our mission to reach out into the community and invite newcomers to our programs, and to make most programs child friendly. A season brochure is available in the Atrium.  Donations are always welcome. Become a Friend of Abendmusik by making your check out to Christ the King and note in the memo line, “Abendmusik.”

Upcoming Abendmusik Events:
•    plans are now being formulated for our 2010-2011 season.  Suggestions are welcome! A brochure with complete details will be available in August.

Chancel Choir: newcomers are always welcome!  Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings, 7 p.m., in the Music Suite.  We alternate singing at the 9 & 11 o’clock services (and special events).  Be part of the best small group (high school age and up) at CtK! Child care provided.  We are not holding summer rehearsals, but still singing on Sundays. Call John Marsh for details.

Summer Choir: can’t sing during the year? Join us over the summer.  We sing old favorites and easy anthems with minimal rehearsal. See John Marsh for details.

Men’s Chorus – Women’s Chorus  If you are interested in singing in a men’s or women’s choir that would rehearse and sing only once a month, please contact John Marsh.  For those who are busy and cannot be part of our Chancel Choir, it’s an excellent way to support our worship and enjoy music-making.  We would sing music that can easily be together and reflects our Church’s rich musical heritage.

Celebration Ringers: new handbell ringers are always welcome.  Pianists and other instrumentalists find it an easy transition to bells, but anyone can learn.  We rehearse on Sundays at 5 p.m.  If you cannot be a regular ringer, consider being a sub (“an irregular ringer”) – someone who fills in when a regular ringer is gone.  Summer rehearsal hiatus June-August, but bell quartets rehearse and play for services.
 
Celebration Orchestra: our instrumentalists (high school age and up) are the best!  If you play an instrument, we have a seat waiting for you!  Rehearsals are Tuesday at 7:15 p.m., in the Music Suite, and play two Sundays per month.  If cannot be with us all the time, play when you can.  We play a wide variety of music and I’ll work with you to be certain you are “up to speed!”  Summer rehearsal hiatus June-August, but we play once a month.

Saturday Night Together Worship (SNT) – YOU are welcome!
The Saturday Night Together music team invite you to visit this service at 5:30 each week in the chapel.  Enhancements of energy, spirit and connectedness give increased intimacy to worship.  Our music includes a wide range of hymns, spirituals, gospel, and familiar contemporary pieces with uplifting lyrics.  Our music leadership team meets at 4 p.m. Saturday to rehearse music for the service.
 
Looking ahead  .  .  .  
•    LPM Atlanta (Leadership Program for Musicians).  This program prepares capable and confident worship leaders who will enable their congregations to sing well and take their part in the liturgy of the church.  Anyone is welcome to attend!  John Marsh serves as coordinator for Atlanta.   For more information, see www.lpm-online.org, click on this link for a brochure.
•    Kindermusik Classes at Christ the King:  Each Kindermusik class is a world of discovery and adventure. In every class, you'll witness your child's developmental evolution in language skills, literacy, listening, problem solving, social skills, self-esteem, and musicality. Contact Judy Madson for complete details, bassett30@yahoo.com
•    Peachtree Symphonic Winds: This wonderful Atlanta wind ensemble rehearses at Christ the King and performs at the church several times a year.  For details, see http://www.peachtreewinds.org/

Did you notice  .  .  hymn info?
Many of you have asked about the sentence or two of information that’s being included with our hymns at worship.  Yes, it’s intentional.  Every hymn comes with its own unique story.  Knowing that story and its background helps all of us enjoy the words and music more.  So keep looking for it in the bulletins.

Everyone is welcome in our musical groups!  (Newcomers especially)
Most groups are currently on summer hiatus. Rehearsals resume for the fall season.
Cherub Choir (Ages 2-5) – Sundays at 10:10 a.m. – location varies
Children’s Choir (Grades K-5) – Sundays, 9:30 a.m. (choir room) OR Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. – Room 240
PROCLAIM (youth music; Grades 6-12) – Wednesdays, 6:30-7:15 p.m. – Room 155
Celebration Ringers (handbells; High school through Adults) – Sundays, 5:00-6:30 p.m. – Music Suite
Celebration Orchestra (high school-Adults) Tuesdays at 7:15 p.m. - Music Suite
Chancel Choir (high school-Adults) - Wednesdays 7 p.m. - Music Suite, Child care provided.
Saturday Night Together Worship Team - Saturdays at 4 p.m. – Chapel

For more information or questions about any ministry or event,
please contact John Marsh at 770-449-1211, ext. 109, jmarsh@ctklutheran.org
Check out our new website for complete details, www.ctklutheran.org

The Lutheran Service

Lutherans use a liturgy as their basic form of worship.  Liturgy means “the work of the people.”  It is what we do together, pastors and people, to worship God.

We begin with Confession to clear our hearts and minds and make us receptive to the Word.  We receive Absolution or forgiveness of sins so that we are renewed in soul and mind.

A Gathering Hymn draws us into a community of worshipers and sets the tone for the day.  The Kyrie, a responsive prayer for Jesus’ intercession for peace in and among us, and the Hymn of Praise (or Gloria) set a tone in which we celebrate the power of God in our lives.  All of these are parts of the Liturgy of the Word.

Now comes the reading of the Word: a lesson from the Old Testament, from an Epistle, and from a Gospel.  In the midst of these, we say or sing a psalm, an ancient hymn of faith.  Lutherans hold the Word to be the norm and authority of our faith.  A Sermon follows the readings, a thoughtful approach as to how the readings have meaning for us today.

The Creed is one of three that can be used and expresses in brief form the totality of our beliefs.  This is followed by the Prayers of the Church in which we pray for one another and for the needs of the world.

We then share the Peace, a means of reaching out to one another with our personal ministry of witness and promise.

With the Offering, our gifts to God of our treasures, and the gifts of Bread and Wine placed at the altar, we are ready for the Liturgy of the Eucharist or Holy Communion, the place in our worship where we encounter the Risen Lord in the person of His Body and Blood and receive His personal forgiveness and renewal.

This section begins with the Great Thanksgiving, one of the oldest and least-changed parts of the overall liturgy.  The Preface to this order concludes with the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy,” the most ancient and universal of Christian hymns.

The service then moves to the Eucharistic Prayer in which we hear of God’s salvation of His people and in which, through the Words of Institution, the elements of bread and wine are consecrated, or set apart, for our use.  Lutherans believe and teach that these are now become True Body and True Blood, that Christ is present “through, with, and under” the bread and wine.

Following communion, the altar is cleared as we sing a hymn of thanksgiving and the service moves to its conclusion with the Benediction, a final blessing as we prepare to leave.

We end with simplicity – a Sending Hymn and a final Dismissal: “Go in peace.  Serve the Lord” to which we respond “Thanks be to God.”