Siloam playing in Danbury this evening

Siloam and guest Jonathan Mellett will be playing tonight at Community Coffeehouse in Danbury. Doors open at 7:00 PM, concert starts at 7:30. At intermission there is free food and drinks. Admission is free, a $5-10 donation is suggested. The Community Coffeehouse is located at 7 Madison Avenue in Danbury, CT. For more info go to www.1heartonline.org or call (203) 748-4972.

Rock the Sound IV coming up on November 15!

It's the Northeast's biggest night of Christian music!

Rock The Sound IV features Newsboys, David Crowder Band, Skillet, Leeland and Nevertheless all in one evening. The fourth edition of RTS will be held on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT.

This year's featured charity is Love 146. Love 146 is an organization dedicated to stop the trafficking of human beings.

For tickets and more details, please visit RockTheSound.com.

Christian events in Connecticut this week (May 19-25)

Dove Award winner Mitch McVicker in Danbury this Saturday

For more complete information or to submit events, please visit the Connecticut Christian Events calendar.

Monday, May 19
Litchfield County Regional Prayer meeting (Torrington)

Wednesday, May 21
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)

Friday, May 23
Good Fridays Christian Coffeehouse (Naugatuck)

Saturday, May 24
Tom Conlon @Studio 150 Coffehouse (Wethersfield)

Mitch McVicker @ Community Coffehouse, appearing with Courtney Reid of Maeve (Danbury)

Switchfoot in concert at Stamford, May 2

Top Christian band Switchfoot returns to Connecticut on Friday, May 2 with a concert in Stamford's Palace Theatre.

For tickets and more details, please visit www.RockTheSound.com.

Dave Pettigrew coming to House of Grace Coffee House

Christian recording artist Dave Pettigrew

The "House of Grace" Community Coffee House will be hosting Dave Pettigrew for an uplifting program of Christian music. This concert event will be held on May 10, 2008 at Grace Baptist Church, 400 Burnt Plains Road, Milford, CT. Join us for food & fellowship at 6:00 PM, with music following afterwards at 7:00 PM.

For more information call (203) 874-8928 or visit www.houseofgracecc.com. Free admission, food & drink.

Last minute Christmas gifts

One more week to go to get that special something for that special someone! If you're stuck, here are some suggestions.

BOOKS: The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Bestsellers List, December, 2007:

1. Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life, Tony Dungy

2. 3:16: The Numbers of Hope,Max Lucado

3. 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life, Don Piper with Cecil Murphey

4. Between Sundays, Karen Kingsbury

5. Get Out of That Pit: Straight Talk about God's Deliverance, Beth Moore

6. Home to Holly Springs (Father Tim, Book 1), Jan Karon

7. Breaking Free Day by Day: A Year of Walking in Liberty, Beth Moore

8. Become a Better You, Joel Osteen

9. Jesus: 90 Days With the One and Only (Personal Reflections), Beth Moore

10. Facing Your Giants: The God Who Made a Miracle Out of David Stands Ready to Make One Out of You, Max Lucado


MUSIC: Praise and Worship Bestsellers, from Amazon's sales reporting

1. All That Is Within Me by MercyMe (Audio CD - 2007)

2. Remedyby David Crowder Band (Audio CD - 2007)

3. The Christmas Sessionsby Mercy Me (Audio CD - 2005)

4. See the Morningby Chris Tomlin (Audio CD - 2006)

5. Portable Soundsby Tobymac (Audio CD - 2007)

6. Coming Up to Breatheby MercyMe (Audio CD - 2006)

7. Open the Eyes of My Heartby Various Artists (Audio CD - 2005)

8. Thirstyby Marvin Sapp (Audio CD - 2007)

9. I Can Only Imagine: Ultimate Power Anthems of the Christian Faith

10. See the Morning (CD/DVD)by Chris Tomlin (Audio CD - 2007) - Special Edition

Garage bands for Jesus

...but with high production values.

Dressed in a faded black T-shirt, jeans and skateboard sneakers, he bent his shaved head. “God,” he said, “I hope these songs we sing will be much more than the music. I know it’s so difficult at times when we’re thinking about chords and lyrics and when to hit the right effect patch, but would you just help that to become second nature, so that we can truly worship you from our hearts?...”

The house bands that play every weekend in High Desert Church — there are a dozen or so — scavenge some of their musical style from the radio and television. They reflect popular taste, though with lyrics about the power of God, not teenage turmoil.

They are not aiming for commercial success. Church-based Christian rock — often referred to as C.C.M., for contemporary Christian music — does not exist primarily to compete in mainstream culture; it exists first to bring together a community.

“When you start a church,” said Tom Mercer, 52, the senior pastor, “you don’t decide who you’re going to reach and then pick a music style. You pick a music style, and that determines who’s going to come.”

Interesting look at modern worship from the New York Times.

Music festival this Saturday in Middletown

Siloam

Eternal Perks Coffee House is hosting an outdoor Music Festival with food, crafters, exhibits, and playground on their 14-acre property. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, picnic and coolers for a fantastic day. The following New England artists will be featured:

Raging Grace – Blues Rock (www.raginggrace.com)
Undue Favor – Pop (www.unduefavor.com)
Siloam Band – Pop Rock (www.siloamband.com)
White Stone – Contemporary (www.whitestonemm.com)
2 Plus Change – Folk (www.myspace.com/2pluschange)
Grace Worship Band – Eclectic

Tickets are $8.00 in advance and $10.00 day of festival. Children under 12 are free.

Advance tickets can be ordered by check from Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Attn: Festival Committee, 1055 Randolph Road, Middletown, CT 06457. For more information call 860-346-2641 or visit www.GraceMiddletown.org

Directions from Route 9: Exit 11 Randolph Road/Route 155. Turn left at end of exit ramp onto Randolph Road/Route 155. Drive 1.8 miles. Free parking is on the right. Festival is on the left behind Grace Lutheran Church.

Update to Christian search engine site

Our friends at Kingdom Engine have revamped their Christian search engine site with a more pleasant appearance and some useful custom search engines available on a variety of topics such as:

• The Bible
• Apologetics
• Creeds and Confessions
• Spurgeon
• Worship Music
  

You can also add these searches to your own site or blog, if you have one.

As they note, the Web has grown so much that searching for "King David" on Google gives you 84,700,000 results. Custom search engines limit searches to just a few hand-selected sites that deal with the topic you're interested in. They're great for research.

Happy searching!

Christian Events in Connecticut this week (July 23 - 29)

The following events are taking place in Connecticut this week. For more information or to add an event to our Connecticut Christian Events Calendar, please visit our website here.

Wednesday, July 25:
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)

Thursday, July 26:
Prayer in the Park (Hartford)

Saturday, July 27:
Solid Rock Cafe Christian Coffeehouse, featuring Victoria James Norris (North Haven)

Doug Hartline in concert in Redding, Sunday July 22

Doug Hartline in concert.

Doug Hartline will be holding a free concert this Sunday on the Green in Redding, at 10 Lonetown Road, from 6-8pm. The event is very casual. Bring lawn chairs, food, kids, etc.

Doug's CD’s “Simple Gifts” “ A Gentle Presence” “It’s Nice To Be Home” and “From The Heart” demonstrate his ability to write strong, memorable, melodies, which combine with a flowing optimistic breeziness. The music might be considered jazz with strong folk influences such as The Beatles, Steely Dan, James Taylor, and Pat Metheny. Critics have described his sound as buoyant, soulful, bright, and positive.Doug has explored presenting his music in different formats such as with jazz dancers and in contemporary church services, which subsequently drew attention from The New York Times in a feature article.

To purchase Doug's two most recent CDs go to: www.itunes.com or www.cdbaby.com and search “Doug Hartline.”

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week (July 9 -15, 2007)

Renowned worship leader and recording artist Kent Henry comes to Manchester this weekend.

The following events are taking place in Connecticut this week. For more information or to add an event to our Connecticut Christian Events Calendar, please visit our website here.

Wednesday, July 11:
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)
Fairfield County Pastors' Fellowship Lunch (TBD)

Thursday, July 12:
Regional Prayer Meeting (New Haven)
Prayer in the Park (Hartford)

Friday, July 13:
Men 4 Men Ministries Coffeehouse (Clinton)
Kent Henry (Manchester)

Saturday, July 14:
Gospelation 2007 (New Jersey)
Statewide Intercessors Gathering (Kensington)
Grace Community Coffee House (Milford)

Sunday, July 15:
Kent Henry (Manchester)

Warrior Poetes in Meriden this Friday

Musical group The Warrior Poetes will be at the Fusion Youth Center this Friday, June 29, 92 Main Street, Meriden, CT. For details contact Pastor Rob Dennis at (203) 630-3012 or write him at pastorrob@fusionlive.org

Connecticut-based Christian band suffers bus fire

The New Haven Register couldn't resist resorting to puns in reporting on the bus fire suffered by the band Holy Fire. But it was no laughing matter. Read the story and then consider helping out:

Fortunately for Holy Fire, not all was lost.Most of their equipment, such as amplifiers and instruments, was in a trailer towed behind the incinerated bus. It was largely undamaged and the contents are mostly salvageable.

However, clothes and other personal belongings were lost in the fire. That’s why any donations to the band would be "greatly appreciated," members said.

For more information about helping the band, call 203-887-3141 or write to the band’s central office at 2340 State Street Hamden, 06517.

Backyard Festival Comes to Greenwich

Mid Point Cafe announces the 2007 Backyard Music Festival at Harvest Time Church in Greenwich, Saturday June 9th. This event will feature six great Christian music groups ranging from rock to rap to soul to gospel. In addition to musical acts on the main stage, there will also be children’s activities, fresh food from the grill, and iced coffee drinks.

Musical guests include: SilOam Band, Tyrone Birkett, Brothers Inc., NuSoul Generation, Craig Crawford and Sam Cintron.

General admission is free; parking is $10 per vehicle. Gate opens at 12 noon. For information, contact Harvest Time Church at (203) 531-7778, or visit: www.midpointcafe.com.

The DaVinci Code is nonsense - mysterious carvings are probably musical notes

Mysterious church carvings in that spooky church in Rosslyn, Scotland? They must reveal the secret truth about the children of Jesus and Mary Magdalene! Or perhaps a medieval Scottish UFO crash!

Ummm, no... turns out it's probably just musical notes, actually. The wire services are buzzing today with the news that mysterious carvings in Rosslyn Chapel are actually musical notation. Britain's Sunday Mail says:

Music teacher Thomas Mitchell, 75, strived for 27 years before he and pianist son Stuart, 41, deciphered symbols in the chapel which featured in the Da Vinci Code book and film....

Thomas, of Edinburgh, said: "The music is the result of years of painstaking research, recreating secret notes hidden for almost 600 years in carvings on the arches within the chapel itself.

"We believe this is the Holy Grail of music and, unlike the Da Vinci Code, it is absolutely factual...."

Using skills learned as an RAF code-breaker during the Korean War and his lifetime knowledge of classical music, he finally realised they depicted the vibrations of musical notes. He said: "It was a Eureka moment to end all Eureka moments.

"Many angels were carrying musical instruments and some were even grouped as if they were a choir.

"But one angel gave me the biggest problem. He was carrying something and at first I thought it was musical instrument which had been lost in the mists of time.

"It was only when I realised that he was carrying a musical stave, the blueprint for all musical composition, that I knew I was looking at a secretly coded piece of music.

"By recreating the patterns on each of the carved cubes, with Stuart's help, we unlocked the notes to find a haunting piece of music had been hidden in the arches for centuries.

"For the choral sections, we've used the words from the hymns to St John the Baptist taken from Matthew in the Old Testament which is fitting because the chapel itself is dedicated to St Matthew."

Stuart, a classical composer and pianist, used computers to decipher the carvings' secret music.

He has named the mediaeval music the Rosslyn Motet.

He said: "I also used authentic mediaeval instruments to recreate the music exactly and it truly is a masterpiece.

You can hear a snippet of the music here. Interesting stuff, and quite haunting actually (mp3 file about 45 seconds long).

To me, the discovery of music hidden for many centuries is more interesting than the Da Vinci Code because the Da Vinci Code is fictional and this is quite possibly very real.