The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

Paul Soulek — cantor of St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, NE, and cantor for Higher Things, and Renata Peperkorn — Higher Things Summer Cantoral Intern, join Andy and Sarah at Higher Things in Carbondale, IL, to talk about their duties as Cantor and Cantoral Intern at Higher Things, what worship looks like at a Higher Things conference, their teaching about the work of church musicians and hymnody to the youth at Higher Things, and how Bach has played a role in their formation as church musicians. Learn more at Higher Things at higherthings.org.Listen to all previous Bach Week episodes at kfuo.org/tag/bach-week.

Dr. Jonathan Wessler, Kantor at First Lutheran Church in Boston, MA, joins Andy and Sarah during Bach Week to talk about Liturgy in Bach’s Leipzig, including the role of the cantata in the service, how hymn singing worked in those days versus what we're used to now, the “pulpit service” and preaching and its associated music, and music in the service and how everything except the sermon was sung.Listen to all previous Bach Week episodes at kfuo.org/tag/bach-week.

Rev. Brian Hamer, active duty Navy Chaplain and author of Cantatas Over Coffee - J. S. Bach Cantata 75, “The Poor Shall Eat and be Satisfied”, joins Andy and Sarah during Bach Week to talk about why Cantata 75 is so unique to Bach's Leipzig heritage, the liturgical context for Cantata 75, Hamer's Highlights for the Cantata, how the people of Leipzig reacted to the cantata, and the beautiful hymn we have inherited from the Cantata. Read Chaplain Hamer's article at whatdoesthismean.org/lifted-voice--brian-hamer/cantatas-over-coffee-j-s-bach-cantata-75-the-poor-shall-eat-and-be-satisfied and find Lutheran Service Book 760 "What God ordains is always good" at hymnary.org/hymn/LSB2006/760.Listen to all previous Bach Week episodes at kfuo.org/tag/bach-week.

Erica Sorensen — Executive Director for Higher Things, and Rev. Harrison Goodman — Content Executive for Higher Things, join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about the mission of Higher Things, how Higher Things facilitates conversations with youth about considering full-time church work, how Higher Things supports church workers in their vocations, and why conferences are important for teaching the faith to youth. Learn more about Higher Things at higherthings.org.Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/setaparttoserve.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.

Lars Gindler and Stephen Christian, CCVs at Higher Things in Carbondale, IL, join Andy and Sarah to talk about what a CCV (College Conference Volunteer) does to make conferences run smoothly, what they've learned as they've served in this way, why it's important for them to serve, and how this experience shapes their thoughts about future vocations. Learn more about Higher Things at higherthings.org.

Rev. Dr. Stephen Oliver, serving the Lord in Taiwan and the Asia Region, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about how he serves in Taiwan, mission projects happening in the Asia region, exciting new things happening in the Asia region, and the current project he's working on. Learn more about the Oliver family and how to support their work at lcms.org/oliver.

Rev. Carl, Chenhsi, and Lydia Hanson, Serving the Lord in South Korea, join Andy and Sarah to talk about how they serve in South Korea, the community where International Lutheran Church is in Seoul, their transitions on the mission field, and how they share the Gospel in their community. Learn more about the Hansons and how to support their work at lcms.org/hanson and International Lutheran Church at ilcseoul.org.

Dr. Jonathan Butterfield — Head of School at Lutheran High School South in St Louis, Savannah Butterfield and Aidan Toner — Lutheran High School South students, and Erin MacKenzie — missionary serving the Lord in Latin America and the Caribbean based in the Dominican Republic, join Andy and Sarah to talk about their time serving in the Dominican Republic, how they prepared for their service, who they interacted with in the Dominican Republic, what they learned from this trip, and how this experience impacted their thoughts and plans for the future. Learn more about serving on a short term team at servenow.lcms.org.

Lisa Clark — Senior Editor for Curriculum Resources with Concordia Publishing House (CPH), and Jonathan Schultz — President and CEO of Concordia Publishing House, join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve Series to talk about how they came to be at CPH, the Set Apart to Serve curriculum currently in development, how a curriculum like this is developed, how this curriculum will benefit churches and schools, and who will receive this curriculum when it is released. Follow updates on this exciting project at lcms.org/sas.Learn more about the Set Apart to Serve Initiative at lcms.org/setaparttoserve.Christ’s church will continue until He returns, and that church will continue to need church workers.Set Apart to Serve (SAS) is an initiative of the LCMS to recruit church workers. Together, we pray for workers for the Kingdom of God and encourage children to consider church work vocations.Here are three easy ways you can participate in SAS:1. Pray with your children for God to provide church workers.2. Talk to your children about becoming church workers.3. Thank God for the people who work in your congregation.To learn more about Set Apart to Serve, visit lcms.org/set-apart-to-serve.

Rehema Kavugha, Director of Synod Relations for Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the Synod 175 Student Art Contest from LCEF, including why LCEF created this contest, who was eligible, the response they received, and what the winners received.Then, some of the winners share about their artwork! These winners are: Lorraine Hester, Ava Anderson, Alayna Schnare, Lucia Schnare, Isaiah Schnare, Juda Schnare, Noah Casper, Sophia Williams (and Mrs. Leamon), Pearl Curtis, Eve Curtis, Arabella Blakely, Eli Boehmer, Chase Erickson, Irene Ball, and Serena Baumgarn.Learn more about this art contest and the full list of winners at lcef.org/artcontest.