The Dunnemans

It was wonderful to have Gretchen and Reg Dunneman here in Oakfield and Eden to lead worship yesterday. They are both deeply spiritual people that sing, preach and speak the word of God. They are very engaging and provided a lively and meaningful worship service for both congregations. I can see why we have had them here so many times before!

They joined Christa and I to watch the second half of the Packer game. Sadly, the Packer game did not end in a victory for the Pack, but it was a nice time to chat. We are both glad to have had the opportunity to get to know them better. They have a wonderful music ministry going!

October 17 Service Schedule

Morning Worship

The Dunnemans will be providing a musical worship experience at our morning services. They have provided worship and concerts before at both Oakfield and Tabor. Sunday School will still take place and the Mission Moment & Children's Sermon will be incorporated into the service. In addition to our regular Sunday offering, a freewill offering will be taking at the end of the worship service to thank the The Dunnemans for sharing their talents with us.

Here is a little information from their website:

"History is filled with tales of traveling musicians. In the Middle Ages the minstrel was a primary means of distribution of news from far lands. Well The Dunnemans are not medieval minstrels, but they bring a message from a land that is as far as the end of the earth, or as near as your heart. Through their songs the bring the message of hope in Jesus Christ.

Reg has always been singing for the Lord, starting with “Christian Cowboy” sung when he was four. In his teens he organized The Victors Trio, and in his twenties, he organized The Tabernacle Trio, both of which ministered in Ontario, Canada. U.S. and Canadian fans of Canada’s Galileans trio/quartet then enjoyed his voice and piano for twenty years.

Gretchen has always been singing for the Lord, starting with Caesar Franc’s “Panis Anglicus“ when she was nine years old. She was active in school, church, college and community choirs, and then sang with The Friendship Trio in Montrose, PA for fifteen years.

Since their marriage in 1992, Reg and Gretchen have, together, given their hearts, talents, and repertoires to the Lord and He has blessed their efforts. The ministry became full time in 2002 and was recognized as a non-profit ministry in 2006."

Evening Worship

At 7:00PM at Tabor UMC, we will have an evening worship service focused on Preparation for Worship. Our Bible readings and discussion will look at making the most out of your worship experience. We will look at what you can do on Saturdays, what you can do in the pew before the service starts, what you can do to be ready to focus in worship, as well as what to do to maximize putting into practice what you learn and experience in worship.

Even if you were at the morning service, there is still something new to be gained by attending this service. We will also be taking Holy Communion as a part of worship. If you miss it on the 17th, we will have a similar service at Oakfield UMC on the 31st.

Putting that Undergraduate Degree to Work...

We got a bit of a late start on Sunday morning, so I got to church with less time to mill about than usual. I did not plan ahead as well as I would have liked for worship, so I was pulling together some materials for the children's sermon. I also wanted to go over a few things with the organist regarding the music that was a part of the service that morning.

While the time might vary a little bit, usually the organist would have arrived by 5-10 minutes before the service. It was now 8:45 and there was no organist. I was informed by a member of the congregation that our organist would not be available for the service. Hmm...time to put the music education degree to work.

In addition to pastoral duties for the worship service, I also got to be the organist. I managed to muddle my way through three hymns and the Doxology. There were a few musical components that I eliminated. We also changed the last hymn...I was not playing anything with five flats ;).

In the end, it was actually quite fun. When you don't expect to do something, all you can do is smile and do the best you can. Although fun, it gives me a great appreciation for the volunteers from our congregation that are much better at this than I am. It also allowed me to utilize my piano skills from my time as a music major ;).

Who Would Have Guessed?

The transition from working at a university to working in a church has been smooth in certain ways and quite abrupt in other ways.

Living on a college campus brings a great deal of temptation and frustration. It is really easy to immerse yourself in a secular mindset.

I certainly understand that there are great advantages to living in such an environment. I certainly miss easy access to art, music and other other performing arts events. I miss having various workout facilities within minutes of campus. I miss having many friends around, all within a few minutes walk...even if it is through snow. I miss having a meal plan :).

I have certainly adjusted to being more alone. Christa and I have definitely struggled to re-connect with some friends and are still trying to establish some friends in Oakfield and the Fond du Lac area. As such, starting over in many ways has caused me

One thing I always shunned, even while being a believer, is Christian rock and Christian music.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided that I would be willing to give Christian music, Christian rock in this case, a try.

I created a Pandora station called "Christian Rock" just to see what comes up. I figured as a pastor, I should give it a try. So far, it's not too bad. I'll keep you posted.