John VanLeeuwen

Maybe so Ken, and no doubt that the Lord is right beside them, sometimes we people can have funny thoughts about God's love and nearness when someone is "Crazy" as we used to unkindly call them decades ago. But, boy, if you hear stories of Jews that were in concentration camps and saw what was happening around them, and then as the disease progresses, backward in their memory, they remember this as if it is in the present. I deliver to a nursing home and a lady in a wheel chair sat there crying, I asked what the matter was, she said, they are not going to shoot me today? Wow, is that a shock when you hear it, makes you near cry.

Thanks Mark, I better get going on it!

Hi Mark, thanks for bringing this up, it seems still a bit of a taboo, even though there are many suffering from dementia, not to speak of all the relatives, like you, who are so closely connected with it. My oldest sister, in Holland, had a form of it, it took 5 years after being diagnosed, We from over on this side of the pond witnessed only a fraction of it. Unfortunately it had some bad effects on her close family members to this day. When I was reading your article I remembered hearing a song on the radio, ordered the cd, which I can't find at the moment, it is not a christian song but so, so compassionate and fitting I found. It is on the net, the artist is Shirley Eikhard, the songs title is "Emily remembers", Strength and blessings from the Lord, John.

Mark, glad to have passed it on, it's a song that keeps on giving,drawing tears as well. Thanks for the link to this article in Parade magazine, it blew me away reading the results of this study trying such a simple solution. Would this be something we can post somewhere in this website? it seems like such a useful tool. I think that I will print up something for the older people (of which I am not a member, for another 7 months!, I do co-organize the meetings for them though, but that's another story how I got that job one and one half year ahead of schedule). Greetings, John.

Hmmm, always reforming? I rather like to say always changing, my parents worshipped different than their parents (perhaps just a little), we are worshipping different than my parents, (perhaps quite a bit more), our youth is or want to worship different than us, (quite a bit more). Things are changing all the time, if we like or accept it or not. The "Reformation" addressed a great wrong in the church, I don't think that we, the older and/or previous generation was wrong in the way we worship(ped) and therefor don't need to "Reform" to straighten a terrible wrong. (am I nitpicking?).

We are just getting into this, we call it "Intergenerational Worship", (too bad we can't mix that one up like wii, a bit of humour is always helpful!). I am the organist , Praise Team and Organist have been playing together in the services since we installed our "new" pipe organ in 2003, it works. Now we have youth led services once in the three months, how it will work out is unknown at this time, but our youth leader kicked my proverbial conservative behind by challenging me to play the electronic keyboard with them (heresy!?). We had one of our hymn fests, but this time in the morning service, the Genesis Club participated with the processional hymn, two 15 year old girls volunteered to sing a solo during the offertory (they picked a hymn!, I was thrilled), I played the keyboard for the first time while they sang, (I didn't know that I could play the violin, cello, flute and pan flute!, before the girls sang I announced to the congregation that in the last two weeks I had learned to play these instruments, a few came up after the service and asked where I was standing when I played these instruments, GOTCHA!) another young lady sang a solo with one of our youth leaders, a whole new world opened up for myself and I hope for the congregation as well. Our goal is to have us all appreciate the different ways in how we feel connected to God no matter how that is expressed, a two way street and tall order, but with Gods help it will be so.

So, is there no place for hymns, oh, and even the use of the organ at what we are now looking at, in appropriate places?Are we to discard everything even if it is good. Does the fabric of a particular church means piddely squat, is it like we might as well stop building concert halls, fire all musicians from the orchestras because they are using old material and to a large degree don't appeal to the young and bright in our midst. You might want to check out the concerts they show sometimes on TV from Europe, all old classics, thousands of youth are present and I would venture to dare say that they make as much joyful noise as is heard at any youth convention. Or would it be a good thing if we retain some of this old stuff and use it regularly in the service, not to placate, but to celebrate that which is good. What does this young, smart, full of fire person know about personal tragedy, which by way of still singing in hard times to God, find solace in Him. Don't kid yourselves, you will get there at some point, so yes, we must move on, but the foundation of that bridge across troubled water must still be there, even if the pavement has been changed from large timbers to electrically heated pavement. Just wondering!

Thank you Trevor and Koenraad, for your reply's to my rant, I know no one was saying something against the Hymn's/organ, nothing for it neither, and now I am confessing that I am just emerging from the old stuff is good, the new can maybe be ok, so I am fishing a bit. In some of the forums there looks to be a bit of anti establishment if you will, and I may pick that up perhaps easier than you guys, or perceive it to be that way. I am looking for reassurance on my way to I don't really know yet where, and I have the feeling that I may have some influence on my "buddies" from the other side of the fence, I am playing the keyboard now too (beginner stuff!), and I am being watched. On the other side, I like to have some influence on the "other" (Praise) side as well, I have been noticing in the past three or four years that I received messages that not all was as it should be with me and my fav instrument, our new youth director put the point on the pencil so to speak and challenged me to change, but other messages are bound to enter the fray and it is really not that difficult to see that things can go too fast, too far and without thinking or caring where this leaves the traditional side, without trying (communicating with them) to get them to move as well. So I enjoy seeing something reassuring too, something to calm the nerves in myself and others. just started reading "Someone Stole My Church", interesting book, but in the very beginning there it is, we don't sing the hymns anymore, the organ is not played anymore, and on we go, what to take from it? So you are right, the Spiritual side in all of my concerns is of the utmost importance, yet how....? Thanks guys, John.

Hey, go and visit Holland, you would be just about be convinced that most of the tall, blonde (the licorice I am not sure about) people have moved to North America!