Roger Williams obituary: Pop pianist Roger Williams dies - latimes.com

Roger Williams obituary: Pop pianist Roger Williams dies - latimes.com: "The son of a Lutheran minister, he was born Louis Weertz on Oct. 1, 1924, in Omaha and grew up in Des Moines.

At 3, he toddled toward the piano and just started playing, Williams often recalled.

While majoring in piano at Iowa's Drake University, he began developing a style that was a fusion of jazz, classical and pop.

When a school official overheard him playing the show tune "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," he was expelled because the school had a "classics only" policy, Williams later said."

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GJ - Roger Williams was an LCA member originally, a member of St. John's in Des Moines. The pastor at the time--Henry Opperman--was later my supervisor in Canada, returning to Kitchener, Ontario. At St. Peter in Kitchener, the largest Lutheran congregation at the time, we always had a liturgical service and stood for every verse of every hymn.

Registration for the ELCA’s 2012 Youth Gathering to open - News Releases - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

"Have fun, kids, because
you are already forgiven."

Registration for the ELCA’s 2012 Youth Gathering to open - News Releases - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

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Online registration opens Oct. 9 for the 2012 Youth Gathering of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The gathering will be July 18-22 in New Orleans with the theme of “Citizens with the Saints.” The ELCA hosts churchwide youth gatherings every three years.

Registration opens online only at 2:00 p.m. EDT and will close on May 26, which is also the deadline for final payment. There will be no onsite payment option in 2012.

The registration fee is $315 per person and includes inspirational sessions in the Superdome, Community Life activities, service learning experiences and community-based justice projects. A $150 nonrefundable deposit per person is due at the time of registration.

At the Gathering, youth and adults will be invited to step into a global community of interactive learning through the program area called “Practice Peacemaking.” The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will be transformed into a learning space where participants will engage in multi-sensory opportunities that will invite them to reflect on God’s value of everyone, particularly those who are marginalized by society.
Young people are invited to participate in this event by accompanying neighbors next door and across the world.

A Definitely-Abled Youth Leadership Event will be July 16-18 at the Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans. The event offers time for participants to acclimate and orient themselves to the city of New Orleans before the Gathering begins.

Any teenager going into the ninth through the 12th grade or having just graduated from high school at the time of the Gathering is eligible to register as part of a congregational group. Registration for the Definitely Abled Youth Leadership Event will open with the Gathering registration on Oct. 9.