The Villager Voice
The world of music lost two rock stars this week, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson. Sly and the Family Stone created and occupied its own niche of music, and was notable for their integrated lineup, an uncommon feature in the mid-1960s. Their twenty minute jam at Woodstock remains an iconic moment in rock history. And Wilson, the driving force behind the Beach Boys, wrote or co-wrote more than 250 songs in his career, many of which you probably have stored in your musical memory. While they will be missed, their legacy will remain.
The world of theology also lost a rock star. Walter Brueggemann, an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ (although he never served a church) and Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies at Georgia’s Columbia Theological Seminary, died last week at the age of 92 at his home in Traverse City, Michigan. Brueggemann’s expertise was in the arena of biblical prophetic literature. He was author of 58 books, including a wide-ranging theology of the Old Testament, a foundational text used by many seminary students through the years. His 1978 work, The Prophetic Imagination, sold more than a million copies. In its obituary for him, Christianity Today noted “[Brueggemann] showed how the biblical prophets, called to imagine a different world, disrupted politics and the dominant culture and its assumptions.” He was critical, the writer noted, of American consumerism, militarism and nationalism.” He was one of the giants on whose shoulders future generations of theologians and prophetic preachers will stand.
This Sunday we will honor our choir and music director Karli Gilbertson for all the wonderful music they have provided for us in weekly worship. Please join us as we salute their dedication and their abundant gifts and grace. We are grateful for all they continue to do for us.
Links to the bulletin and service are here: