Friday, August 2 Holy Comforter enthusiasts will travel to Lutheridge for a field trip. We will explore the camp, get a personalized tour, and have lunch on the mountain. Departure is at 8:00 am and we will return at 6:00 pm. Pre-registration is required for lunch. $5.00 per par-ticipant. 

Lutheridge is “our” closest church camp and is supported by the southeastern synods of the ELCA. Just 1 hour and 30 minutes drive from Belmont, Lutheridge provides ministries for all ages year round. If you are available to assist with transportation, contact Greg Cline. 

Sunday, August 11 at 6:30 pm Worship and Music Ministries will gather for a brain-storming session. This meeting involves Altar Guild Min-istry as well. Make plans to attend and help us plan for the future. 

Sunday, August 18 ALL musical activities will resume at Holy Comforter. We have had a nice summer break. “O, Come, All Ye Faithful!” (See Calendar!) 

We have purchased a new music planner pro-gram entitled, “Prelude.” This state-of-the-art system will enable us to digitally catalog our entire worship and music library. This will be a very useful tool to our congregation in the fu-ture. Entering all this information will be time consuming. We would like to form a task force team to assist in this undertaking If you have a laptop computer and a willingness to share some hours of your time, contact Greg Cline. 

At some point this summer we will do some light renovation to the choir balcony. Every-thing that is not nailed down must be moved to a secure location. We need helpers (angels) when the time comes to do this. Please let Greg Cline know of your potential generosity! 

Thanks to the members of the church choir who continually lead our services of worship throughout the hot days of the summer. Speaking of hot...we invite all cold natured Lutherans to sit in the balcony this summer. The air conditioning system for our 40-foot ceiling was not the best design in the 1950’s. Thus we sometimes must chill extra degrees to be able for the choir to survive. 

We have signed a contract to repair the Carillon. The electrical system on the tower rendered the bells inoperable in October 2012. It will take a few months before the work can be completed. We hope to rededicate the Carillon by late summer. These repairs are being completed thanks to an anonymous benefactor. 

At some point during the summer we hope to replace flooring in the chancel and choir areas. When these projects are being done we may need to relocate to the fellowship hall for a Sun-day. We will keep the congregation informed of our progress. These Sanctuary enhancements are also a gift from Holy Comforter benefactors. We are a very blessed congregation in so many ways. Those desiring to make gifts to Holy Comforter through living wills, stocks, life insur-ance, or other venues may speak with a member of church council or staff. There are many areas of ministerial need inside and outside our church walls. 

Greg Cline and Elizabeth Bruchon will be representing Holy Comforter during music week at Lutheridge. There are activities for hundreds of participants of all ages. Campers and clinicians from many states, as well as other countries, participate in worship, instrumental, vocal, and spiritual growth opportunities. Thursday, July 11 a hymn festival is featured in Hendersonville. Friday, July 12 there are concerts literally all day long with closing worship/festival concert in the chapel on the summit of Lutheridge mountain. Any folks desiring to attend any of these events, contact Greg Cline. 

Greg Cline, Music Director 

The Holy Comforter Carillon: Many folks have asked why the bell tower has fallen silent. Back in October the entire compass of the keyboard mysteriously stopped functioning. In the past we have been plagued by lightning strikes. The tower acts almost as a lightning rod. At this point we are contacting the technicians in Ohio. Hopefully, the issue can be rectified in the not too distant future.

Music Week for Adults and Youth July 7-13, 2013 (Sunday - Saturday)

A week of music, worship, and fellowship in the midst of God’s Creation A wonderful week of singing, worshiping, learning, and music making awaits you at Lutheridge this summer. Sacred music in the midst of God’s creation and Christian Community!! Choral, organ, handbells, recorders, and instrumental music... all led by excellent clinicians! Whether you are a director of church music or you enjoy singing in a choir (or both), you will find this week to be one of refreshment and learning. The week is highlighted by a HymnFest and Friday concert. The week is led by gifted clinicians from around the country. 

KidzCamp provides fun and music for children under age seven while their parents have sessions. KidzCamp campers who are old enough will combine with First Camp for music instruction and a closing concert. 
Adult choir and handbells will be featured in closing worship at 7:30PM on Friday. NOTE: Children and youth (grades 1-12) also have a full schedule of camp and music activities available during this week.
Friday Concerts
First Camp and KidzCamp Concert: Friday, July 12th at 11:30AM (Bischoff) Youth Concert: Friday, July 12th at 2:15PM (Faith Center)
Closing Worship: Adult Choir & Handbells Friday, July 12th at 7:30PM (Whisnant Chapel)

For more details go to www.llmi.net/youth/MusicWeek

On May 12 we honored Don Robinson for his 60 years of singing in our church choir. Wow, since 1953; and still the youthful tenor! That is quite a feat that one does not come across every day. As is inscribed on the plaque: “Don, you are a blessing to this choir and our congregation.”

South Point High School (150 students) visited Holy Comforter this Spring as part of their geometry/architectural class. I told them a bit of history regarding the building and pipe organ. Comments regarding my knowledge of geometry did not take long at all. I did state that if I could pass the course, anyone could! They were a great group. At the conclusion I played a demonstration of pipe organ capabilities. Pulling out all the stops brought thunderous applause. Young folks like it loud!


During May we hosted 50 architects from Raleigh/ Durham on a bus tour. They were touring modernis- tic homes in the Charlotte/Metro Region. Of course our church house came up. A very kind and com- plementary group of folks who were very impressed with our facility. They loved the worship space, pipe organ, and stained glass windows. May we always be grateful for the blessings we have to worship in such a beautiful structure.

As mentioned in previous articles, we will be making improvements to our worship center this summer. Anonymous donations will allow us to include up- grading in lighting, chancel space, choir area, and carillon. The sanctuary committee is working on getting bids/pricing for these projects. Soon we will all be seeing and hearing the difference!

The choirs of Holy Comforter are now on much needed siesta with regard to evening rehearsals. The church choir will continue to gather each Sun- day at 10:10 am to prepare for worship. The choir and congregation is reminded that Holy Comforter is open for worship every Sunday, regardless of the weather or school calendar.

Personal words of thanks to the members of the children’s ensemble and their drivers; not least of which are Maria Carr, Beth Brittain, and all the mom and dad support. This group has been very faith- ful and has demonstrated a willingness to serve in this ministry. We have heard them ring and sing over the past year. We would like to consider tak- ing this group to Lutheridge for a day tour. Shirley & Tommy Causby have volunteered to host lunch at their home at Lutheridge. Pastor John and Liz, who live there on the grounds, volunteered to assist with the tour. The challenge, when?

Currently we are trying to compile a master email list for the children’s ensemble family. Folks, give me your email addresses, even if you know I have it. If your child has not participated in the past, we invite that to change. Let me know if you would allow your child to become a part of this growing ministry. We do more than just sing. This is our future teen/youth group!

Greg Cline, Music Director 

Thanks to the members of the church choir who continually lead our services of worship throughout the hot days of the summer. Speak-ing of hot...we invite all cold natured Lutherans to sit in the balcony this summer. The air condi-tioning system for our 40-foot ceiling was not the best design in the 1950’s. Thus we some-times must chill extra degrees to be able for the choir to survive. 

We have signed a contract to repair the Caril-lon. The electrical system on the tower ren-dered the bells inoperable in October 2012. It will take a few months before the work can be completed. We hope to rededicate the Carillon by late summer. These repairs are being com-pleted thanks to an anonymous benefactor. 

At some point during the summer we hope to replace flooring in the chancel and choir areas. When these projects are being done we may need to relocate to the fellowship hall for a Sun-day. We will keep the congregation informed of our progress. These Sanctuary enhancements are also a gift from Holy Comforter benefactors. We are a very blessed congregation in so many ways. Those desiring to make gifts to Holy Comforter through living wills, stocks, life insur-ance, or other venues may speak with a mem-ber of church council or staff. There are many areas of ministerial need inside and outside our church walls. 

Greg Cline and Elizabeth Bruchon will be representing Holy Comforter during music week at Lutheridge. There are activities for hundreds of participants of all ages. 

Campers and clinicians from many states, as well as other countries, participate in worship, instrumental, vocal, and spiritual growth op-portunities. Thursday, July 11 a hymn festival is featured in Hendersonville. Friday, July 12 there are concerts literally all day long with closing worship/festival concert in the chapel on the summit of Lutheridge mountain. Any folks desiring to attend any of these events, contact Greg Cline. 

Greg Cline, Music Director 

Many thanks to all our music ministers at Holy Comforter. The Lent and Easter seasons require intensive rehearsals. 

It is difficult to compete with so many per-sonal schedules. The month of May also brings competition through Mother’s Day, Pentecost/Pig Pickin’, Memorial Day weekend, and the annual Congregational Retreat. All of these events diminish our music related attendance. 

In light of this, May 5 will be the last af-ternoon/evening meeting for the Chil-dren’s ensemble and church choir. On May 5th at 4:00 pm the Children’s En-semble will have a party in the Fellow-ship Hall. All participating children and their parents are invited to attend! 

The choir will continue to meet every Sun-day at 10:10 am to prepare for worship. 

Greg Cline, Music Director 

Thanks to all the members of the chil-dren’s ensemble and their drivers who faithfully support and attend this ave-nue of ministry. These children are not our future choir...they already are. We in-vite all children of God at Holy Comforter to come be a part of this group. We contin-ue to meet each Sunday at 4:00 pm. 

Thanks to the adults of our chamber, church and handbell choirs who went be-yond the call of duty during the season of Lent. Many members lead us in Evening Prayer each Wednesday, as well as Holy Week and Easter. 

I received several interesting phone calls of late. The entire Geometry departments from South Point High School will tour our church Sanctuary on Thursday, April 25 at 10:00 am. Martha Stowe, teacher, said that the classes who did not tour Holy Comforter last spring heard about how beautiful and unusual our worship space is. So, they are ALL coming this time (All 150 of them). 

Another call was a request from the Archi-tect Commission of North Carolina based out of Durham. Fifty architects will visit our sanctuary in May. Many long-time mem-bers from Holy Comforter will remember that our church won state awards for the design in the late 1950s-1960. Odell and Associates, from the 1940s-1960s, were world-renown for their concepts of design engineering. 

We are blest to have such a beautiful structure in which we gather for worship. 

The Holy Comforter Carillon: Many folks have asked why the bell tower has fallen silent. Back in October the entire compass of the keyboard mysteriously stopped functioning. In the past we have been plagued by lightning strikes. The tower acts almost as a lightning rod. At this point we are contacting the technicians in Ohio. Hopefully, the issue can be recti-fied in the not too distant future. 

Super Bowl Sunday, February 3 we will try to ac-commodate all our sports fans without canceling our all important rehearsals using the following schedule: 

4:00 pm Handbells 

5:00 pm Church Choir 

6:30 pm Kick-Off 

The ladies Morning Circle will host a church choir appreciation dinner on Sunday, February 10. On this day we will modify the afternoon adult schedule: 

4:00 pm Handbells 

5:00 pm Choir Dinner 

6:00 pm Choir Practice 

Handbell Classes will be offered again during Lent. Children in grades 3 and up may register. This class is designed for beginners, and those with limited ringing and music reading experience. Deadline for registration will be Ash Wednesday. We need a mini-mum of 6 participants. Classes will be held in the sanctuary and participants are asked to commit to all 5 sessions at 5:00 pm. See Greg Cline to register! 

Through a generous donation to the music fund, Holy Comforter Music Ministries is currently offering a 50% scholarship to members who wish to participate in music week at Lutheridge. You must register during the month of February. This is the most popular event of summer camp. Additional scholarships can be ap-plied for through Lutheridge (based on financial need). Children completing grade 1—high school and adults may attend. See Music Week at Lutheridge article in this publication.