June 24, 2016

“David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.” 2 Samuel 6-1-5

“Charleston Chew is a candy bar consisting of flavored nougat covered in chocolate flavor coating. It was created in 1925 by the Fox-Cross Candy Company, founded by stage actor Donley Cross and Charlie Fox. The candy was named for the Charleston, a popular dance at that time.” (Wikipedia)

Here is another of the interesting candy selections at the local Dollar Spot. I am always interested in the origins of the names of things – things like candy bars. It is no surprise that there was a candy bar named after the popular dance, the Charleston. The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called “The Charleston” by composer/pianist James P. Johnson. The dance came out in 1923, and the candy bar in 1925.

I have never tried to dance the Charleston, and I am sure that I would probably break a hip trying. But dancing is not just a secular activity. Dancing for G-d as part of our worship of G-d has been a part of worship for thousands of years. We don’t see it often in the Lutheran church, but maybe we should. It is always good to try different ways to offer praises to G-d – so why not dance.

Pastor Dave