Minneapolis Moved

Hello, Friends! We're firmly in the routine now, after having finished our second concert last night. We were at St. Matthew's Lutheran in Columbia Heights and, although the crowd was small due to a whole bunch of community and church activities already underway, they made up for it in enthusiasm and hospitality. We even had our first mosh pit, although the entire pit was only about hip-high! Several of the crowd were Rothfusz relatives, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. It was a special treat to have them there. An extra special treat was the appearance of Liz Heller, one of Gary and Chris' musical and Christian inspirations from long ago - the woman who married Chris and Gary. Waaaay back in college days, Gary and Chris (and several others) were supported financially and spiritually on a musical tour around the west coast. Although the years have slowed the lovely woman, Liz and her husband were there in the front row, singing along with us during the concert. It was a moving moment for me and I'm sure Gary and Chris feel the same.

The ministry we are doing is working. Last night, the Music Director of St. Matthews bought our song books and asked if she could start using our songs in their worship. "Yes," I replied, "that's why we're doing this!!" We had a nice long conversation about how hard it is to find contemporary Lutheran praise music that has "meat" to it - not just shallow praise songs. The same thing happened the day before at First Lutheran in Alexandria, where representatives from at least seven other churches from the area attended our workshop and the concert. Someone even came from New Ulm which is in southern Minnesota. There is clearly a thirst for contemporary worship in the Lutheran church and we are helping to satisfy it.

It's hard to explain the energy we feel when the concerts start. The setting up, taking down, and traveling wears us out (most of us took naps on the church pews yesterday), but when the concert starts, the Holy Spirit enters the room and we come alive. That's the only way I can explain it. Now, if only the Holy Spirit would help us remember our words, chords, bridges, tempos and breaks better... but, hey, we're not complaining. That's just the picky musicians in us. God is definitely at work here.

Finally, I want to publicly thank Sue Field for her efforts in making our trip to St. Matthew's a success. She took on the bulk of the advertising, coordinating and even cooking (with help from husband Matt) for the event. Without her selfless efforts, we would not have had a place to play last night. Thanks, Sue!!

Quote of the Day: "You've gotta stop talking so much!" (Karla to Lans after last night's concert.)