singers at singing

Harmonies held its annual hymn sing at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church Sunday, March 24, 2013.  A choir of select singers from Berks and Conestoga Christian high schools added choral sounds.  The hymns sing itself featured a set of newer hymns from "Sing the Story" on the theme of season of spring (Passover, Pentecost, etc.) and a set on season of prayer, 19th and 20th century traditional hymns on prayer.  Here are the singers warming up.

Swiss choir concert

The Swiss Baretville Reformed Choir sang Tuesday evening. The organ was integral to the music. See also the Alp Horn on step (and close up), used for call to worship. The emcee asked for hands up of those who have visited the Anabaptist cave--more than half the hands went up, a good indication of who came and the agenda of reconciliation between persecuted and persecutors of the 16th century. Our faithful Neffsville choir and others provided a meal before the concert.

subbing again: choir

After the Wednesday meal it was subbing again--leading the adult choir in a rehearsal. Again, had to snap a photo to help put names and faces together.

festival of hope, Dec. 6

Here's a chance to sing in a choir and help out the cause of our Lancaster City food bank. The event is called the Festival of Hope. It will be held on Sunday, December 6th at Grace Lutheran Church, 517 North Queen Street (parking is available in adjacent lots, including LGH- north on Queen Street and follow the signs). The service will begin at 3:00 P.M. WGAL’s Katelyn Smith will be this year’s Worship Host.

Local artists performing include F & M’s Voices of Praise Gospel Choir and Voices of Cecilia Children & Women’s Choir.

Here's your chance to sing...the mass choir will rehearse from 1:30 to 2:30 on the 6th; they are to meet in Grace's Fellowship Hall. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the service.
Offering to Benefit LCCC’s Food Ministries. Please contact the Council of Churches at (717)291-2261 if you have any questions.

choir member at inauguration

What a great picture! It's from a wrinkled front page of The Reporter, but it's our very own Katie Clough, an alum of our choir currently on college leave.

Congrats, Katie! I'll attend the inauguration in my living room, via TV. I'll see if the camera ever pans you.

the glow of a candle

What is this power of a candle?

While the choir sang the anthem last Sunday, "In the seasons of our silence," people were invited to light a candle in memory of someone lost this year. It was our simple way to appropriate All Saints (Souls) Day. My back was turned to the memorial station. Was anyone taking advantage of the opportunity, I wondered?

All 18 candles were lit when I turned and looked after the choir was seated. We sang: " neither life nor death can part us..." and "for the silver thread that binds us to these lives we've touched and known."

"Tears," the pastor told me afterwards.

autumn worship

One of the great features of the Zion campus is the barn (see pic). This Sunday, Oct. 26, there will be some autumnal colors in the leaves around it.

Maybe its the agriculture in my family background, maybe it's Americana. I don't know for sure. But autumn draws me to barns and to anthems such as the one the choir is doing this Sunday, "Look at the world," by Rutter.

choir on steps again

Here's the choir this morning--first singing the anthem, "Take time to be holy." We stayed on the steps for the hymn, "Listen, God is calling." Then a close-up. A few persons have asked me about when the choir will wear robes again. The schedule has us doing it in November. But if there is interest maybe we should do it before then. Four persons are singing with the choir this fall who didn't sing last year--Kara, Ned, Lia, and Danielle. I'm so grateful for them. (Pic by Julia).

joy of the job

One unblemished joy of the job is getting new music. In this case, new anthems for the adult choir.

They look pretty. Smell good. And most of all they sound good.

Here's how you do it. You, hopefully, go to an anthem reading session, which is sponsored by several of the biggest publishers. A fellow church musician who faces the same congregational situtation you face has already winnowed out the titles which will not fit. Then the group of other church musicians sing through a stack of 50 or so titles. I mark down the ones I think Zion would appreciate.

Then I take them to the piano in the sanctuary and run through them myself. And I take the cream of the cream. Photo is the anthems which came in this week.

tracking down the singers

Or in this case, trucking them down.

Only days until choir starts up again. I always wanted to see our good bass singer, Floyd Landis, at his trucking business and I found him.

Old Red is his favorite truck. Okay, singers! You don't need a truck to get to choir. Wednesday night, 7 p.m. Starting Sept. 10.

choir time soon here

With September will come the reconvening of the adult choir. I'm contacting everyone to invite them back. Most get the telephone call. But I had told Clyde Moyer a long time ago I wanted to see his farm.

So right before lunch on Tuesday I drove over and found Clyde on a John Deere. It was very inspiring to see the church at work during the week.

Now I know that he likes John Deeres. He tells me he's the last farmer at Zion.

Spread the word--we need singers to join the choir this fall. With or without a tractor.

Choir attendance awards

Drum roll, please...

And the Adult Choir high attenders, out of a possible 20, for the period of time from January through the end of May (rehearsals and Sundays each count) are...

Nancy Fridey, 19
Bill Fridey, 18
Floyd Landis, 17
Royden Nyce, 17
Brad Alderfer, 17
Mary Jane Koehler, 16

And the prize is...getting your name online. Thank you to one and all of the singers.

church in the field

Sometimes church plays baseball. Here's Zion in red. We have two teams this year.

If we only had as many basses (singers) in choir as we have baseballers.

Dock rock

Last evening I had the pleasure of introducing the Christopher Dock Mennonite High School Touring Choir at the 7 p.m. evening concert. Director Rodney Derstine lead a mostly acappella concert spanning many styles.

This is a choir which has not succcombed to the pop sound. They excell in all the classic vocal and choral skills--great tone, great support, great blending, spirited interpretation.

I said in closing: you can pray without singing but you can't sing without praying. Our own Katie Clough stands middle row far left.

a funereal detour

My wife's sister died and the funeral was in Maryland on Wednesday. That's choir night. What to do?

Nancy and Gail to the rescue. Thanks a lot everyone for keeping the program going even when I had to be away.

That's a nice advantage of a larger church such as Zion.

choir ministers at Dock Meadows

It's not a clear picture on the right. But it's all I found. The building is Dock Meadows along Rte 309, close to Souderton.

Our Zion member Jim Derstine, who ministers as chaplain at Dock Meadows, invited the Zion choir to sing there for the evening service, May 4, at 6:30.

not this Sunday

This is not the anthem we're doing this Sunday. Just found this online. I guess it's Chinese.

The words are prettier than the notes.

In fact, we're not doing any anthem this Sunday. Last evening at choir rehearsal we as a group decided not to sing this Sunday because several singers are not able to be at church. We're planning to do "The Lord Is My Shepherd" next Sunday.

Democracy at work the day after the primary election.

my defenseless head

Here's Charles Wesley, born 301 years ago. This Sunday the choir is singing his "Jesus Lover of my Soul" in a setting by Martin.

Ever have one of those musical gnats that keeps buzzing inside your head? After rehearsal Wednesday the accompanist said, That's going to keep playing in my head. I said, Me too.

One phrase in particular: "cover my defenseless head with the shelter of thy wings." I'm like, defenseless head? Maybe Charles was bald. I look up images on google. This obviously was not his real hair. This is a wig. So, maybe the bald hypothesis is right.

Maybe, I think, it's that the head is the most vulnerable.

Powerful stuff, that Wesley.

choir flexes Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday the choir proved very flexible. Pastor Hunter was planning a very "intimate" service, a clustering of the people into as close to a circle as one could get in the sanctuary. Being a weekday, I also determined that no robes would fit the setting better.

Besides, the choir had to sit in the amen corner. And they had to stay after the service to prep for Easter. No complaints that I heard.


Church music people like me tend to get stressed out by the time Easter arrives--not unlike Christmas. Yet I experienced glorious moments of worship and praise and prayer despite the extra responsibilities on my shoulders.


The photo shows the first time in my sojourn at Zion that I used the "new" technology of a sign stand. Three of these tripod-like stands have been stored in the music office. Finally I made use of one of them.

sports in their place

Yesterday's Reporter had this "sound off" letter and I quote:

"As someone who had two children involved in sports...I would gladly melt all their trophies and burn all their ribbons if either one of them could play a musical instrument." Whoah! Off to a daring start.

Then: "Sports is so overrated. When you're in your 40s, 50s, and 60s you're not going to be out there throwing a ball. But if you can play a piano, or a flute, or a saxophone, wouldn't that be enjoyable?"

As a church musician I gotta add--or if you sing in a choir. I've had singers in their late 80s singing away in choirs making a great contribution.