Interruptions......

Now entering week 4 of Make Me an Instrument, we pause for a BRIEF INTERRUPTION...on Wednesday, February 13, our team will NOT meet at the church--but feel free to practice on your own at home! There are several conflicts on Wednesday night (including the Waverly HS basketball tournament game) so some of the leaders decided we should take that night off. We will resume at the regular time on Wednesday, February 20.

Additional interesting information:
(1) This weekend is the Boys Chrysalis Flight in Portsmouth--a 3-day spiritual retreat for teenage boys. Several of our own rvcc folks will be leading worship and leading the retreat (and some of our HS boys will attend) so pray for a great weekend.
(2) The Amazing FAITH Race kicks off on Friday, Feb. 22--7:00 p.m. at rvcc--and River Pure will be leading some worship there. Come and join us for some friendship-building, singing and making music, and a little healthy competition!
(3) LET'S TAKE A TRIP....to see STOMP! on Sunday afternoon, Mar. 30, 3:00 p.m. It will be a great way to finish up our music experience together!! All Make Me an Instrument kids & families are invited to the Ohio Theatre in Columbus for this AMAZING performance. You can read about the show here.
The details and deadlines:
* Place your order by - Sunday, February 24.
* Pay - by Sunday, March 9.
* STOMP Ticket prices: $15 (balcony), $30 (loge or back orchestra), $40 (front orchestra)
You can order in any price range. A signup sheet will be at church this weekend. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

I will sing and make music

My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.


Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

Psalm 57:7-8

Week 2 begins...

For everyone's benefit, here are the updates for this Wednesday, January 30--Week 2 of Make Me an Instrument.

(1) Locations for teaching groups: John Manasco - upstairs Nursery room; Megan Eubanks - downstairs Preschool room; Marty Ford - downstairs Youth room; Trent Pekkala - auditorium; (Jordan, Zack, and Julie - same as last week)
(2) Supplies available: Some of you have requested guitar supplies...so we will have these for sale Wed. night...Korg GA-30 Guitar Tuner - $15, Guitar Chord Chart Book - $3, Black Pearl Medium Guitar Picks - 25 cents.
(3) Some new group assignments in an effort to align the students' levels of experience: Sly Nunn move to Trent Pekkala's group, Christian Caudill move to Marty Ford's group, Hudson Diener add to Trent Pekkala's group.
(4) Everyone will get a copy of the chords for the song "You Are So Good to Me." We will play it using D and G (no bridge yet) just to experience moving from one chord to the other, practicing the simple strumming pattern for guitar, and a basic beat for the drums.

REMINDERS: Practice a little each day. On Wednesday, plan to come a little early to set up, get tuned, etc.--we want to try to start right at 6 pm. Pack up and clean up at 6:35, Meet in upstairs lobby for prayer at 6:40.

Teachers or parents or kids with questions--you may post them in the comment section below if you wish. Get ready to be an instrument of worship on Wednesday night!

Good Beginnings....

The kickoff for Make Me an Instrument was Wednesday night, January 23. Wow!! Seventeen young and eager future musicians joined seven teachers for a few minutes of get-to-know-you, get-to-know-your-instrument, and have-some-fun-with-music. As expected, a few bugs need to be worked out, but overall, the night was a success!

This blog is for kids and parents to read and comment and ask questions about Make Me an Instrument. Feel free to offer your suggestions. The goal of this 9-week adventure is to start kids on a worship journey....enjoying music, making friends who enjoy music, gaining confidence in their abilities to make music, and eventually becoming an instrument of worship to our Heavenly Father.

Changes for next week:
* We are going to move the 4 guitar groups into their own areas...using the small upstairs nursery, the HS Youth room, and a preschool room downstairs. This should help alleviate the noise distractions in the auditorium.
* Guitars: Try to come at least 10 minutes early to get tuned up. Tuning took a long time last night....so if we can do that first, then we can start on time at 6.
* If you have a "toy guitar," and you are sure you will stick with this process, you may want to consider buying a better one. The toy guitars don't really stay in tune and the sound production is limited. If you do not want to spend the money, that's ok......we will work with what we have knowing our limitations.
* Next week, we will have a familiar song to work toward. ...not sure which one yet....something using G, C, D...open to suggestions.

If parents or kids want to make comments or ask questions, just click on the word "comments" below on the right. This is our first experience with something like this, so we are all learning together. Oh, and DON'T FORGET TO PRACTICE....even if it's just a few minutes each day. Get that instrument out and play everything you practiced on Wednesday night. Our prayer is that God will BLESS YOU for it!