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Archives For November 2010

O Come O Come Emmanuel – New Arrangement

November 30, 2010 — 3 Comments

This past Sunday marked the first week of Advent. Our band was leading and we were asked to include the timeless O Come O Come Emmanuel. For those of you who don’t know, I don’t like gloomy, minor songs. I find them quite depressing, no matter how beautiful the words may be.

Since this song was to be sung as part of our Sunday morning “celebration”, I decided to do a new arrangement with some major, happy sounding chords. For those of you who hate when people revamp songs, please stop reading here. For those of you who dig this sort of thing, I’d like to share the arrangement with you. Download the PDF by clicking here. Since I want you to get the feel for the arrangement, once you’ve downloaded the PDF,  print it out and watch this video (It’s in the key of E. If you play guitar, have a look at this before you watch it):

O Come O Come Emmanuel from Jon Manna on Vimeo.

Do you have any Christmas arrangements? I’d love to hear about them! Shoot me a message in the comments.

In Music
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Playing Guitar – Key of E

November 26, 2010 — 7 Comments

Even though I am first a drummer, I also lead worship from acoustic guitar and over the years, a few friends and co-worship leaders have asked me about my playing. Some of my main influences in this area have been Paul Baloche, Dave Bonfa, Paul Rogers, and Israel Houghton.

For all inquiring minds (or if you just wanna see an amateur like me) here’s my method for playing songs in the key of E:

Playing Guitar in E from Jon Manna on Vimeo.

In this video I cover these chords:

  • E (1)
  • F#m7 (2m7)
  • E/G# (1/3)
  • A (4)
  • Bsus (4sus)
  • C#m7 (6m7)
  • E (8)

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I will definitely help you find some answers.

Enjoy and happy playing!

In Music
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Giveaway: “invisibleSHIELD” for the iPhone 4

November 25, 2010 — 1 Comment

Hey Friends, tomorrow I am giving away an invisibleSHIELD for the iPhone 4 from ZAGG. (if you don’t win, you can always buy the invisibleSHIELD).

This is my first attempt at a giveaway on the blog and hope to do some more in the future, so jump on board.

So why is my first giveaway linked to ZAGG? Simple answer. I love their products, especially the invisibleSHIELD. I’ve had it on my first-gen iPhone since day one, which I still currently use (I’m due for an iPhone 4, i know!). They are a cool company who are also giving away a ton of prizes leading up to Christmas:


Pretty cool right?

Here’s how to enter to win the invisibleSHIELD for the iPhone 4:

  1. Tweet the link for one entry.
  2. Leave a comment below for a second entry (also stating that you tweeted).
  3. Contest will close tomorrow, November 26, 12pm EST.


UPDATE

To the best of my knowledge there were no official entries. I guess that tells me that you all want me to keep it for when I buy my iPhone 4. Regardless, I’ll take this opportunity to say thanks to all of you who are reading – you rock! Have an amazing weekend!

In Life
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My Christmas Inspiration (video)

November 24, 2010 — 3 Comments

I don’t consider myself a great graphic designer, but every year I somehow get asked to design our posters and tickets for our Family Christmas Musical. Here is what I did last year:

Heart Beat of Christmas - Ticket

This year, I was given (told) specific instructions and had a more limited freedom to create. Nevertheless here are my offerings:

2010 Manger News Poster

2010 MANGER NEWS TICKETS

I decided to keep a similar background. I figured, why reinvent something that I already took time to do. So until further notice, that red background will be a trademark for our Christmas Musical.

So what was my inspiration as I set out to design? None other than Carrie Underwood and her stellar rendition of “Do You Hear What I Hear?”. (if you don’t see the video click here)

What is your inspiration as you design, plan your Christmas worship service, or just enjoy this special time of year?

Christmas Inspiration from Jonathan Manna on Vimeo.

(By the way, if you want to come and experience our Family Christmas Musical, completely written and developed in-house, come on Dec 10-11 @ 7pm. Click for directions.)

In Ministry, Technology
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Free Coffee at Starbucks and McDonalds

November 17, 2010 — 1 Comment

One of my first posts, ever, was on McDonalds free coffee.

That was March. This is November! This time, both Starbucks and McDonalds are giving away free coffee.

Although Starbucks’ offering is BOGO (buy one, get one), you can walk into McDonalds with no cash and leave with a small double-double. If you really want a medium or large, be polite and they most likely will be gracious and give them free as well.

Starbucks: Nov 18-21 // 2-5pm

McDonalds: Nov. 15-28 // All day long

What’s your pick?

In Life
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Bathrooms and Church

November 16, 2010 — 3 Comments

I posted recently on a few things that i love. Today I will share another thing that I am obsessed with: Bathrooms (for the purpose of this post, i will use “bathrooms” to mean restroom, washroom, etc..). I believe bathrooms speak volumes about people, as well as churches. I’m no expert but I do spend a lot of.. enough said.

A bathroom counter with clutter usually is a sign of a busy couple.. ahemm! A clean and neat bathroom might prove you actually have an o.c.d., and so on.

As for the church, here are some consider:

  • Don’t use cheap soap – it gives the impression that we are cheap and don’t care (something our church could do better with)
  • Make it smell pretty – it actually leaves a better first-impression on a first-time visitor and makes your “regulars” happy too
  • Supply products – I saw one church actually have men’s deodorant and other men’s products in a trendy basket for display. (i was the visitor and loved it). This makes sense if you have some volunteers who shovel snow in winter or do setup/teardown. AWESOME idea!
  • Do a complete renovation – Another church I preached at just finished a complete reno project and had amazing terracotta tiles that took me back to my Italian roots and I thought it was so classy!

Bonus: wifi :)

This post wouldn’t be complete without something for the creative class of musicians. Here’s a look at the bathrooms in a church in Maitland, Ontario:

Mens Washroom

This speaks to the drummer in me! After drooling for a few minutes, I finally stopped to write this post.

Womens Washroom

At least I’d have an excuse for my wife if we had drums in our bathroom.

What about you? Have you ever thought about your church’s bathrooms? Do you agree with me that they should be inviting? Or should we be trying to avoid them at all costs? Hmmm…

In Life, Ministry
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Here are my Twitter posts for 2010-11-15

November 15, 2010 — Leave a comment
In Twitter Updates
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Oh Christmas Tree

November 13, 2010 — 1 Comment

Today is November 13 and since Remembrance Day has passed, that means that we get to all hang out and watch the ladies put up the tree. I think they are doing a great job:

2010 Christmas Tree

When do you put your tree up?

Thanks to my bro Matt for the pic.

In Life
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Two (or More?) Things I Love

November 13, 2010 — 4 Comments

I don’t know what I’d do for entertainment without the Habs and Ferrari! I hope both win this weekend

Can you spot 3 more things that I love in this pic?

I’ll post a comment with the answers on Monday.

—————

UPDATE:

The 3 other things that I lovee:

Puma, Apple (earbuds), and Starbucks (almost impossible to tell, chalkboard in the background)

In Life
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[Amazing] Resurrection Sunday Dance (video)

November 9, 2010 — 1 Comment

On April 4, 2010, over 1,300 young people from Faith Church celebrated Resurrection Sunday in Budapest, Hungary.

I know it’s not even close to being Christmas yet, but I marvel at what the church can accomplish when we come together!

If you want, you can even partner with Faith Church and host your own dance in your city!

What does your church do that could impact a community, a city, a country, or the world?

In Ministry
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