Easter Services, Lyrical Mishaps, and Trump

I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I get home after a Good Friday service (before our Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday service) and I have an email from my pastor with an idea for Advent (actually, being the liturgical nerd I am, I loved it, but I still thought it was pretty great/funny timing).

Well, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday went pretty well. Thanks to all who helped out! We did a pretty fun version of "This Is the Day" (Yep, that "This is the Day") with some gospel piano and alto sax (thanks, AJ!). The only problem was trying to avoid a train wreck when people tried to clap; it wasn't pretty. It's hard for a congregation of non-clappers to clap on the 2 and 4 of a faster song. However, I think it inspired me to have a gospel/jazz Sunday for Pentecost Sunday this week. I feel like the improvisational nature of gospel/jazz fits well with the coming of the Holy Spirit.

One kind of funny thing happened yesterday morning during the singing of "In Christ Alone" (yes, with "love of God exemplified" instead of "wrath of God was satisfied"). So, we got to the last few stanzas of the last verse:

No power of hell, no scheme or plan (alt. from "scheme of man" although, as one of my female friends notes, maybe this is a time when we can keep gender exclusion because it's usually the men who are scheming.)

can ever pluck me from his hand.

Till he returns or calls me home,

here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

And I had planned to return again vocally to "No power of hell," but I could not find the right lyric on my sheet. All I could think of was "hell," and I wasn't about to prompt the audience with the lone word, "hell." So, I kind of made some noises, looked up at the screen, and found my place. I'm Imagining it sounded like this: "baa maa daaa hell, No scheme or plan."

After the service, I headed up to the Phelan residence for a great Easter lunch. It was a pretty great time. Now I'm planning on lounging around on this day off, finishing a book, and maybe watching a movie. Oh, and I need to go for a run. Marathon on Saturday! I probably should read through my thesis as well. Thesis defense on Friday!

I also enjoyed this electoral map of the US showing how Donald Trump could possibly obtain the needed electoral votes in the election:

Now let reading/watching/running commence!