Riverside United Church
Glidden Ave, 881 N8S2N6 Windsor, ON, Canada

This weeks church service: https://youtu.be/Iojtn1DftEY

FROM MARGITA'S BENCH Jan. 17, 2021 One month of winter down and 2 to go! If it keeps up like this, NO problem! Groundhog day is only 2 weeks away. Some wonderful news: Nina is a great grandma for the tenth time!! Her grandson Brian Stover and his wife Robyn are new parents to their first, little Charlotte Hendrix Hanna, who was born last Saturday weighing in at 7 lbs. 5 oz. Congratulations to the whole Stover/Dresser clan!! I also would like to congratulate our Minister Em...eritus, Rev. Don Hansford, on his upcoming 90th Birthday on the Jan. 20th. He has been a spiritual advisor and guide to all of us for many years, and has brought us through many ups and downs. Wishing you many blessings in your new year! The two pieces I am sharing with you this week are very close to my heart. J. S. Bach's "Bist Du Bei Mir" (When You are with me, I have nothing to fear) has been one of my faves for many years. Mark Hayes has done a beautiful job in arranging "What A Friend We Have In Jesus". This hymn has always affected me emotionally, and this arrangement really tugs at my heart. I want to thank Austin for continuing to come to church and make these videos for me - they certainly wouldn't turn out like this if I did them on my own!! I found a video of "Only Hope", which was one of the Youth choir's favourite songs. It is performed by the amazing One Voice Children's Choir, accompanied by The Piano Guys' Steven Sharp Nelson - absolutely lovely. Many of us are finding this journey increasingly difficult, having physical as well as other challenges to deal with. In Psalm 46, David states that "God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and the mountains fall into the ocean depths. The Lord is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge!" David often relied on music for healing when he was troubled - I do as well. I hope and pray that all of us will hang on together - we truly have a friend in Jesus! luv, m my music https://youtu.be/N8YczxPL0X8 Only Hope https://youtu.be/XRPQpdUSVCg

This week's service is now available: https://youtu.be/SxZMnsAZKI8

FROM MARGITA'S BENCH Jan. 10, 2021 Hard to believe it's already Jan. 10th - we are just clicking right along! This Sunday we are honouring and remembering our church family members who passed away last year, and what a list it is: Jane Angus, Jack Barlow, Doreen Bevan, Joan Dupuis, Sandy Ferguson, Lloyd Grondin, Elizabeth Guillermo, Mary Lou Hitch, Duane Matthews, Clarence McCauley, George Meloche, Betty Oegema, and Audrey Unguran. We hold on to that hope and reassurance th...at some day we will see them all again! This week I'm sharing an Etude (Op. 10, No. 3) by Chopin on the organ - his music is usually not very transferable to organ, but this piece is - very calming, especially after the week we have just witnessed. "The Wind Beneath My Wings", arranged by Dan Coates, is dedicated to the friends we lost, mentioned above. We will miss them all, especially when we can finally be together again, and not see them in their "usual" seats in the sanctuary. The choral anthem I'm sharing with you is brand new. Written by Heather Sorenson, "Some Things Never Change" has both beautiful music as well as words of hope and assurance as we move into our new year. It's a piece I will definitely be getting for our choir, once we are back to normal. Wishing all of you a safe and snuggly week - luv m my music https://youtu.be/2NovYFaWLJA Some things never change https://youtu.be/rLIKeltSCHI

Check out this week's bible verse and prayer for our kids ministry on the website!

Let us always remember this simple biblical truth #RiversideUnitedChurch #PeaceFaithLove

FROM MARGITA'S BENCH Nov. 22, 2020 I can't believe this is my last regular music recording of 2020! I'm going to start putting up my decs tomorrow - it's like I'm on autopilot - very weird! The choirs would normally have been practising Christmas music for weeks now. Tis the season of light throughout the world, whether it's Diwali, Hanukkah, or Advent, so I've decided to play Mark Hayes pretty arrangement of "The Light of the World is Jesus." My grand-daughter Emily who... is 5 requested a song a little while ago - decided to make that my second song - I'll let you guess what it is! Hopefully you all recognize it - lol!! For my song, I'm sharing one of my most heart-felt hymns, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". The robust singing of this congregation reminds me of all of you!! We'll be back in church again - just hang in there! my video https://youtu.be/2ogt5RSvu74 Great is Thy Faithfulness https://youtu.be/dTKIqmdfHSk

FROM MARGITA'S BENCH Jan. 3, 2021 Well Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2021!!! This Sunday is Epiphany (Wise men day), so my music is about the visitors from the east who came bearing gifts to baby Jesus. My first piece... entitled "The Starlit Journey" by Gilbert M. Martin, evokes images of the wise men on their camels, rocking back and forth as they journey through the night. My second piece is by Joel Raney. "We Three Kings" is a jazzy version of their trek, but still mosies along. I'm sure their journey was not without some challenges. About 2/3rds of the way through, the music gets a bit more frantic - maybe one of the camels had a flat tire; or maybe they suddenly were pursued by a marauding band of thieves. I'm sure there would have been lots of camel prodding going on at that point, but with Divine intervention, they escaped and then returned to their slower meandering pace. On my way home from recording at church today (Saturday), I heard a piece on the radio by G. F. Handel - a piece which I hadn't heard in a very long time. The gorgeous "Wher'er You Walk" is sung by tenor Richard Lewis, and is my featured song. We are not able to go south to the islands this year, so this video with its scenery and lovely reassuring words hit the mark with me, especially as we enter a new year. I sincerely hope and pray that all of you will have many blessings, peace and health as we all start our own journey from night into light!!! luv, m My music https://youtu.be/CMBiqaEXdbw Wher'er You Walk https://youtu.be/h7DXssuBNck

This weeks service is now available. https://youtu.be/eKCqqrcQaIU

FROM MARGITA'S BENCH Nov. 15, 2020 Hello again from your friendly neighbourhood organist! What a beautiful week we had - cut my last roses, took Arnie for one last top down ride in the Stang. Hope all of you were able to enjoy the warm days we had as well. There are a lot of upcoming virtual concerts planned throughout the world to commemorate Beethoven's upcoming 250th birthday. Now that the organ is fixed and tuned, I've decided to share with you the "Partita on Ode To Jo...y" by Charles Callahan. It has seven movements - I'm doing the first two and the last two: 1 - Introduction to the theme; 2 - Ornamented melody using the trumpet stop with tremulant; 6 - Adagio - melody in the pedals and lush harmonies in the hands; and 7 - The Finale which starts off like a jig, but ends with a big finish using all of the mixtures and reeds. I am also sharing with you a couple of related videos - the first is a flashmob of the 9th symphony, Ode To Joy in Nurnberg Germany. The second one is his birthday song! Partita on Ode To Joy https://youtu.be/KlbM5DvAYUA Ode to Joy flashmob https://youtu.be/a23945btJYw Beethoven birthday song https://youtu.be/DGURD1Lzq0c Frohen Geburtstag Ludwig :-D Stay safe, stay warm - until next week - luv m

This weeks service is now available. https://youtu.be/JiRCD12IAAo

The memorial garden at Riverside United Church.