Rev. Peter B. Armstrong was born and raised in Olympia, WA, and educated at Calvin College and Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife Lily moved to NYC to start Dwell Church and served there from 2010-2016. On January 1, 2017, Pete began a new calling, serving Parklane CRC in Portland, Oregon. He enjoys running, playing bass and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
Discovering fresh worship music for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphanycan certainly be a challenge. In no other season is the pressure to singfamiliar songs so evident. And yet, in this season we are surrounded bywhat we already know. We hear the old Christmas strains on our commute,at Starbucks, and in the mall.
To help my faith community stay spiritually awake in December, I usetwo methods: creatively arranging old favorites and introducing newworld and modern songs. Here are a few suggestions for doing both.
People get ready
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels humming
Don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
For the past five months, I’ve had the unique privilege of leading worship and preaching at Flatbush Reformed Church in Brooklyn, NY every week. As FRC is in the final stages of calling a new minister and my church meets at 5 PM Sunday evenings, this has been a great arrangement. FRC is the oldest church in Brooklyn and one of the oldest churches in North America.
Someone recently introduced me to the website www.challenge.gov. It is a list of competitions set up by 80+ agencies across federal government. Its tagline is “Government Challenges, Your Solutions.” These are real problems that need creative solutions from us, citizens of this great nation. It’s an opportunity for people to make a difference on the government level not just by voting in their candidates but by stepping up, using their gifts, insights and intellect to make real change.
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