by Eva Stimson

RICHMOND, June 28 - The swinging sounds of jazz greeted worshippers at the General Assembly's Monday evening service.

It was the Rev. Bill Carter at the piano, with the other three members of his "Presbybop Quartet" playing saxophones and flute, bass and drums.

Carter, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Clarks Summit, PA, is a leading figure in jazz-worship circles. His quartet, along with vocalist Warren Cooper, led the Assembly congregation in jazzy versions of such hymns as "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah."

The Rev. Teri Thomas, the pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN, focused her sermon on Jesus' words in Luke 6: "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks."

"Whatever you're full of will come out," she told her listeners. "Our speech will reveal what is at the core of our being."

Noting that it's easy to fill our hearts with anger, cynicism and hate, Thomas urged her congregation to join her in making "a choice to fill our hearts with hope."

More jazz tonight

Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet will provide "An Evening of Jazz" tonight (Tuesday) beginning at 8:30 at nearby Second Presbyterian Church, at 3 N. Fifth Street in Richmond. The special concert is sponsored by the Conference Ministries of the PC(USA) - Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, Stony Point in New York and Montreat in North Carolina.