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Dear friends in Christ, We're right in the middle of our new year's series on the book of Colossians called "Centered." For those of you who wish to read ahead, we will be focusing this weekend on Colossians 3:1-11. We're making the move from the Christology of the early church to the Ethics of the early church. Paul often begins with theology (understanding who God is) and then gets into practice. Theology without practice is like faith without works. It's interesting how often in our preaching, there are unexpected contextual illustrations that pop up that help us better understand the point. You may recall in our introductory message on Colossians, I likened Jesus to being the middle C of our lives. I mentioned that most pianos have 88 keys, and the middle C is considered the starting point. I learned that day that our Bosendorfer piano actually has 97 keys. Jeff Byers did a little research for us and shared some information that I found interesting and instructional. The iconic pianist/composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) loved Bosendorfer pianos and said that only the Bosendorfer and Bechstein pianos could withstand his violent, powerful playing. However, he had nothing to do with expanding the keyboard beyond 88 keys. Credit for that goes to Ferruci Busoni, Italian pianist/composer (18661924), who met and was inspired by Liszt. Busoni transcribed several Bach organ pieces for the piano and was frustrated because he wanted the range of the piano to go down to the C below the usual A (known as C-O; middle C is C-4). So he requested a custom piano from
Bosendorfer, who built him a large, unprecedented 97 key concert grand for his Bach organ transcriptions. The rest of the story is that when people heard the massive piano, they felt the overall sound was richer, deeper and clearer. It was thought to be due to the larger bass soundboard and the sympathetic vibrations of the massive strings, even when they weren't being struck. Some commented that not only did the mid-range notes sound more sonorous, but they also seemed to bend less as the sound decayed. Its kind of a "wide river, smooth boating" principle applied to piano acoustics. The new 97-key model, dubbed the "Imperial Grand" is still being made 100 years later. And we enjoy hearing it every Sunday! The gist of the story is -- the widening of the board actually improves our centering. Or, theologically and practically you could say that widening our witness improves our centering. That will preach! Come and join us this weekend in the place where Christ is center! Finally, it was good to welcome new members McKenzie Del Anderson, Joey and Chloe Loyd, Maxwell James Rohan, Brian, Megan and Chace Cournoyer , Todd, Amy, Alexis and Jake Harrison, Joe, Jacci, Rachel and Naomi Rodgers to our Brentwood campus. Welcome to our church community. Grace & Peace, Davis PS Please remember that our annual charge conference will take place on Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 12:30 p.m. in the chapel. And remember our confirmation class and our men's ministry. They will be having their respective retreats this weekend.