"Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Today the Church celebrates Ash Wednesday, the beginning of her Lenten journey towards Easter. The entire Christian community is invited to live this period of forty days as a pilgrimage of repentance, conversion and renewal. In the Bible, the number forty is rich in symbolism. It recalls Israel’s journey in the desert, a time of expectation, purification and closeness to the Lord, but also a time of temptation and testing. It also evokes Jesus’ own sojourn in the desert at the beginning of his public ministry, a time of profound closeness to the Father in prayer, but also of confrontation with the mystery of evil. The Church’s Lenten discipline is meant to help deepen our life of faith and our imitation of Christ in his paschal mystery. In these forty days may we draw nearer to the Lord by meditating on his word and example, and conquer the desert of our spiritual aridity, selfishness and materialism. For the whole Church may this Lent be a time of grace in which God leads us, in union with the crucified and risen Lord, through the experience of the desert to the joy and hope brought by Easter." 

- Pope Benedict XVI. Ash Wednesday 2012

 Full Text Here

This past Fall/Winter i had the wonderful experience of working with First Presbyterian Church here in Galesburg. Rev. David Parker had asked me to record and produce an album that would be part of his Doctorate of Ministry package. We recorded here at m3studios and also on location at First Presbyterian Church. The CD release will b held later this month. Below is a sample of the album. Thank u again to the fine musicians whom i had the pleasure of recording...peace b 2 u all!

This Is Our Song - Album Sampler
Worship Band of the First Presbyterian Church
Galesburg, IL