by Rev. Ralph Manuel --Welcome to September and some much-needed cooler weather! Summer is over and school is starting—and our new music season is beginning as well.

“I went down to the potter’s house . . . but the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”  (Jeremiah 18:3,4)

 Welcome to September and some much-needed cooler weather! Summer is over and school is starting—and our new music season is beginning as well.

 Here is what you need to know about when our various musical groups are starting up.

 Adult Choir – rehearsals on Wednesday evenings from 7:15-8:30, beginning on Sept. 7.

Youth Choir – rehearsals on Sunday afternoons from 5:15-6:05, beginning on Sept. 11.

Childrens Choirs – rehearsals on the first Sunday of each month from 9:30-10:15 a.m., beginning on Oct. 2.

 Other groups, such as Handbells, Youth Handbells, and Orchestra, will begin rehearsals later in the year.

 Advance notice: Mark your calendar now for October 17, when the Virginia Baptist Male Chorale will present a concert at our church at 7:00 p.m. This is a choir made up of full-time ministers of music from Virginia, plus a certain member from “extreme northern Virginia” (yours truly). Make plans to attend and enjoy some wonderful music.

To God be the glory,

Ralph

* * * * * * * * *

Adelaide Pollard was depressed and thought that God had deserted her. She had a great burden for the continent of Africa and she believed that she should go there as a missionary, but now as she was preparing to sail, it was evident that the funds she needed could not be raised. That evening she read Jeremiah 18:3,4, the story of the potter. As she read she believed the story was her own. “Perhaps,” she said, “my questioning of God’s will shows a flaw in life, so God has decided to break me, as the potter broke the defective vessel, and then to mold my life again in His own pattern.” That evening she wrote the poem, which became the hymn, “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.” Adelaide Pollard finally did minister for God in Africa. She would speak publicly until she was 72 years old.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay!

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

while I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o’er my being absolute sway!

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me.

(Courtesy The Schaefer Homepage)