Our Thanksgiving Day Service is fast approaching…a special time for us and our community to consider the spiritual power of giving thanks. The music committee, guest soloist and musicians, along with our organist, Scott Ayers are planning some very special and Spirit-filled music. In order not to miss one note, you’ll want to be seated in the auditorium no later than 10:15 a.m. Please bring your family and friends.

Everyone is welcome to this spiritual feast of inspiration, praise and Thanksgiving!

Third Church of Christ, Scientist now has the only concert-sized Bosendorfer piano in the city of Dallas!  It was recently  “unwrapped” at a hymn sing  for our congregation to celebrate.

So what makes the Bosendorfer so special?   Founded in 1828, Bosendorfer ranks among the oldest piano makers in the world.  The Austrian piano manufacturer employs artisans and craftsmen who skillfully assemble each piano by hand.

The result is that every piano features excellent “action”  (the response of the instrument to the player’s touch), and a wonderful “singing tone.”  Because these pianos are not mass produced, they are of the highest quality and longevity.

Our organist, Scott Ayers, is thrilled to be able to play such a wonderful instrument.  Come to Third Church and check it out!

-Brenda

This helped me spot a trend at work: last month it was a free health screening, and before that a walk for the homeless, a walk for the cure, a run for this, and a run for that. I started to notice how many people I work with, normal people, not movie stars or public figures, focused so much attention on their bodies. From  regular Botox injections to radical weight loss operations, and from  plastic surgery to hair extensions, the list of “physical upgrades” never seemed to end.

I started analyzing and mulling over these observations and realized that part of the reason these events and procedures might be so popular is because they offer people a sense of camaraderie and kinship with others –something to be worried about together as a group.

Photos: webmd.com, oregonlive.com, myhairextensions.net

It seems like a hypnotic state of what the Bible calls the carnal mind. If the carnal mind gets all the attention — by keeping our attention on me, myself, and I — then we lose sight of the real goal which is in Philippians 3:14,15.  “ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” And in Romans 8:6, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

As Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures says on page 468: 12-15, “Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.”

Then the thought came, “if I spent even half the time learning more about God/Spirit and my relationship to Him that I spend on taking care of this body, I would have no challenges facing me.”

If the carnal mind is able to distract us by taking care of the temporal, we don’t see what it is really doing: ensnaring us into a life of servitude. The carnal mind says, “pay attention to ME.”  And if we listen to the carnal mind, we forget that we are made in the image and likeness of God.

I have a question for you: If we spend all our energy and time focusing on the temporal, what do we do when it is gone? I want the biggest bang for the buck, don’t you? If so, it’s far better to  focus on the eternal instead of the temporal.

- Barb

There’s an exciting new voice on the opera scene – the young American tenor Aaron Blake. A graduate of Juilliard and Rice University’s Master’s Program, Aaron is delighting opera audiences at major companies across the U.S.

As the Resident Young Artist for the Dallas Opera in 2010/2011, Aaron performed in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet, Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. During the summer of 2011, he appeared in Verdi’s Falstaff with the Utah Opera and performed the role of Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo with Opera San Jose, whose reviewer wrote enthusiastically in the Livermore Independent:

“Newcomer Aaron Blake was arguably the evening’s most astounding performer. A perfect princely Idamante in looks and masterful acting ability, he displayed a voice of tender sweetness, virile strength, and overwhelming emotional conviction.”

Aaron returns to the stage of the Winspear Opera House during the 2011/2012 season in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Mozart’s Magic Flute, and Verdi’s La Traviata.

In December of 2011, Aaron makes his Carnegie Hall debut with the Oratorio Society of New York in Handel’s Messiah. He then returns to the Utah Opera in 2012 to sing the title role in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.

After winning first prize in the Florida Grand Opera Competition, and a prestigious Bagby Foundation Career Grant, Aaron appeared in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and La finta giardiniera, in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In the summer of 2009, he appeared with the Santa Fe Opera in Gluck’s Alceste. That same year, he made his concert debut performing with renowned soprano Renée Fleming.

In the 2009/2010 season, Aaron debuted with the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera in Handel’s Messiah, Bizet’s Carmen, Die Zauberflöte, and Gianni Schicchi. During the summer of 2010, he performed Don Ottavio in the Music Academy of the West’s production of Don Giovanni.

Aaron has blessed the Dallas community during this past year with his inspirational artistry as a frequent soloist at the Sunday services of both Third and Fifth Churches of Christ, Scientist.

Third Church is thrilled to sponsor Aaron Blake in concert on Sunday, November 13, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. The acoustic excellence of the auditorium offers a wonderful venue for the audience to gain appreciation for Aaron’s voice and the range of his talent.