Another installment from Fascinating Facts of the Faith. Not a song this time but rather an important site. Here goes. See if you are familiar with this.

Oberammergau Bavaria

     “In the early 1600s, much of what is modern-day Europe faced a seemingly unbeatable foe: the Black Death. As the bubonic plague swept the countryside, one small town in Bavaria boldly called on the only one they knew who could stop this indiscriminate executioner. They called out to God.
     In 1633, nearly every family in Oberammergau had lost someone to the plague. So its citizens joined together and vowed that if God would spare their town, they would honor Him by performing a “Play of the Suffering Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ” every ten years until the end of time. As the number of deaths radically diminished, plans for the Passion Play began to take shape. In 1634, on a stage erected on the still fresh graves of the town cemetery, Oberammergau performed its first Passion Play. Every decade for the last three centuries (except 1870 and 1940 during times of war) has seen the Passion Play grow in scope and popularity.
     The now world-famous Passion Play is performed in years that end in a zero. The pageant involves over two thousand actors, whose good moral standing is as crucial as their acting talent. Hundreds of musicians and stage technicians also take part in the production. Anyone involved in the musical extravaganza must have lived in Oberammergau for at least twenty years. Performed in an open-air theater before an audience of more than five thousand, the play lasts more than six hours and is repeated five days a week from May through September.

FACT: Every ten years, on Ash Wednesday a year before the Passion Play is to be performed, the “Hair Decree” goes into effect. All the men in Oberammergau involved in the performance begin to let the hair on their heads and faces grow out.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14″

If this is new information for you and/or if you are pleased to read these Thursday Fascinating Facts of the Faith, please let me know.

This story and something I heard on Christian talk radio has formed a question for me. It has been said that Esther was called to be Queen of Persia in such a time as to deliver the Jews from destruction. The actions of one woman in obedience to God saved a nation. What acts of obedience am I called to in such a time as this to turn back the tide of destruction that is coming to bare on America? What acts of obedience are you called to in the same regard?

Praying for These

Until then + + +
Kathie

Fascinating Facts of the Faith 

 2008 Barbour Publishing,Inc.

Songs of the Faith

Imagine how it must have felt to be separated from your loved ones and taken far from your native land–against your will. Is it any wonder that African-Americans living as slaves in America embraced Christianity? It provided the promise of hope and freedom from bondage in the life to come.

Unlike free men, those living under the fist of slavery had no time for a convenient faith. It was to them a port in the storm, a life boat in the ocean, a vibrant part of everything they did. It had to be. One of the results of their passionate faith was a body of African spirituals–simple, poignant, and faith-filled–that remains with us today.

All that’s known of this beautiful, almost childlike melody is that it is of African-American Christian origin. Perhaps it was sung by weary, frighened voices on board slave ships or later as the slaves labored side by side in the fields. The song’s message of simple surrender to God’s loving care is certainly consistent with the slaves’ experience. And it is still capable–even these many years after the abolition of slavery–of rendering a tender, heartfelt emotion for those who raise its lovely strains to heaven.

As is the case with other African-American Christian folk songs, this one is meant to be sung by one or many singers and lends itself well to both unison and harmony. 

Fact: Gene Shay, cofounder and host of the Philadelphia Folk Festival, said, “In the strictest sense, [folk music] is music that is rarely written for profit. It’s music that has endured and been passed down by oral tradition. . . .Also, what distingishes folk music is that it is participatory–you don’t have to be a great musician to be a folk singer. . . .And finally, it brings a sense of community. It’s the people’s music.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34

God Is So Good — music provided, you provide the praise.

Praying For These

 If you would like to put your name in the drawing for the book, Free To Be Me by Betty Robison click HERE and leave me a comment. A drawing for the winner will be conducted Thursday night at 8:00 PM. So don’t wait too late to give me a shout.

Another day of Fascinating Facts of the Faith.

Originally, the first line of this great hymn was “Crown Him with crowns of gold,” which proved to be quite popular in the United States. With the gold rush still fresh in singers’ minds, this must have seemed particularly appropriate.

Matthew Bridges, an Anglican, wrote his version at the age of fifty-eight, shortly after converting to Catholicism. He named it, “The Song of the Scraphs.” More than twenty years later, Godfrey Thring wrote six additional verses and added them to those of Bridges, making twelve verses in all. Each celebrated a different aspect of Christ’s kingship, providing a musical teaching of His person and ministry. Since that time, both their names appear with the song in hymnals, even though they most likely never met.