Tell It Like It Was - 7 reasons to watch Angela’s video of Max Bade’s ordination

Femme Osage UCC_Rev. Jeffrey Willey_John Deere?_church bell_organ in the choir loft_Rhonda Winters_sit down, paulO

Gentle readers, I’m sure most of you know that I’m partial to the written word, but what I have to say today is about a video recently released by Friends of Historic Augusta and Angela Stephens.

You can find it on YouTube by clicking on this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQxX0n70E5k  but I’d rather you read first what I have to say. 😊

Angela’s latest video is about Max Bade’s ordination at the uber-historic UCC church in Femme Osage. On Sunday, August 9, 2026, Max became a minister and Tell It Like It Was was there…of course! And now Word© is having a fit because I typed Was next to was.

Max Bade displays the certificate of ordination which Femme Osage Pastor Jeffrey Willey presented to him. Note Max’s new stole which features the John Deere logo. (Max is a farmer.)

So, let me offer you 7 reasons why you should watch this video.

1)       Angela’s videos, when not confined to an interviewee on the stage at The Harmonie, are quite creative and well crafted.

2)       She has a great sense of motion and direction. Watch the first 45 seconds and tell me you weren’t drawn right into that church.

3)       But that wasn’t enough for her…now you’re up in the loft (like I was) getting a bird’s eye view and immediately you’re back in the vestibule sharing the perspective of two of Max’s grandchildren waiting to light the sanctuary candles. Again, you’ve been pulled in.

4)       Angela’s choice of music might or might not interest everyone, but I enjoyed how she layered the church’s own bell over the music.

A photo of said bell from July 6, 2023, taken on my iPhone.

Now gentle readers and viewers, I must insert and assert myself. The music she chose was used in one part of the ordination, generated from someone’s laptop and played through the house p.a. All fine and good, but what a shame viewers cannot enjoy the rich tone of the beautiful organ up in the choir loft.

Photo from a TILIW visit on July 6, 2023.

 And on this historic occasion that beautiful organ was played by Rhonda Winters of Gerald, MO. Rhonda proved herself worthy to play this amazing machine. She is good. And really, the congregation did a respectable job of singing the selected hymns. So, there you have it…my only criticism of the video. Now, I’ll sit down again in my pew and offer you more reasons to watch the Bade Ordination video.

5)       If you watch this video, you can get a condensed history of Femme Osage UCC.

6)       Also, think of the time you just saved by watching Angela’s heavily edited rendition of the ceremony. (In reality, the ordination lasted a little over 2 hours.)

7)       Max Bade is a very nice guy!

Rhonda Winters plays Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.

Stay cool (it’s been a hot summer) and curious,

paulO