[Choir] Why I'm not there and thank you all

Mon Feb 11 06:48:30 CST 2019

Dear Choir,

I had a couple people ask, so I wanted to let you know that as I put in the effort necessary to gear the entire congregation up for our Pledge Drive (plus the intense work the Board has been putting in), I’ve taken a break from the joy of Choir. I’m so sad to miss your presence every week and the joy it brings me to create art with you, especially during the special Choir Sunday, which I will only be able to enjoy as an observer. I am still supporting the choir as best I can as a sometimes member of the music committee, and I’ll return I hope at the end of March, once we’ve raised 100% of what we need to fund our Mission for next year!

Thank you in advance to those of you willing to form a small group to sing some stewardship songs in support of the Pledge Drive. It truly takes a village to do the fundraising and I appreciate the choir’s support especially!  We’re really trying to bring the fellowship into the fundraising. Plus, they’re such fun songs. I think the congregation would get a HOOT out of learning one of them! Let me know if this group needs any support in organizing, and be in touch as we get closer to the Pledge Drive!

I’m also attaching the recent report the Board put out from our Next Steps Weekend. I personally put in a huge amount of effort to get Mark here, get all the things organized for his visit, get documentation from all over the organization, etc. and I’m so glad the congregation now has this guide to show us what we need to be focusing on! Please reach out if you have any questions about the report, or if you’d like to chat about the findings.

I look forward to creating with you again.

Warmly,

Charlotte

Charlotte Root
She/her
Facilitator, coordinator, holistic health coach, graphic designer
Also proficient at organic farming & gardening, mucking stalls, and spending time with & training dogs
Favorite thing: hugs
_______________________________________

> On Feb 10, 2019, at 5:57 PM, Lani Seifert via Choir <choir at unitarianchurchofmontpelier.org> wrote:
> 
> Thanks Dick, your kind words go a long way!  I am also happy to see everyone’s name!  It’s been about a year now and I still didn’t know some last, or even first, names until now.
> And...you are the best!
> Lani
> 
> On Sun, Feb 10, 2019 at 2:48 PM Richard Riley via Choir <choir at unitarianchurchofmontpelier.org <mailto:choir at unitarianchurchofmontpelier.org>> wrote:
> "I Believe" had a very significant impact on listeners this morning - or so I believe. My back, of course, is to the congregation, but at the end of every piece you sing I DO listen for a murmur, or the sound of arms being raised, or (of course) for the occasional applause in our more extroverted pieces. I could tell that you touched them this morning, and for that I am glad for you, and for them.
> 
> I was so glad that Joan was able to amplify on the text - that they were words scratched on the walls of a cellar in Cologne, Germany by a Jew hiding from Nazi persecution - as that was not indicated anywhere in the edition that we were using.
> 
> Now, here's a different, rather oblique reflection on a different moment in today's service, and a request:
> 
> When I was a choirboy back in the mid-to-late 60s, I sang in an Episcopal cathedral in Baltimore. Over time, as I became a student of the organist/choirmaster, he began to tell me stories about what he had experienced while making music in the cathedral. One story that I've never forgotten was about what happened one time while he was playing the postlude. He was playing a piece by Bach, who as I'm sure many of you know, wrote some absolutely great music for the organ. But in this cathedral, it was not at all uncommon for the parishioners to start talking the minute the postlude began. And if it was a big, loud piece, everyone talked more loudly. As the organist played this great (loud) piece by Bach, the noise level of the congregants got so loud that he became frustrated that no one was listening. So in the middle of the Bach, without pause, he began playing "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen", and, you guessed it, no one noticed! Not a great moment in church music.
> 
> So I pass along this observation and request from a fellow who in the congregation  this morning. One of the ways that UCM is special is that we sit and listen to the postlude, and indeed Eliza has "taken" us to some wonderful musical places at this point in the service because we are listening. This morning this gentleman's focus on the music was distracted by the popping sound of 3-ring binders while Eliza was playing. You were doing this to be ready for my eager collection of your music at the end of the service, but lets make sure that both you and I go into "post-service" mode only when we are truly done with the service.
> 
> Finally, also at the end of today's service, I had a request from Tom Schersten, one of our newest members of the choir, for the names of all who are currently singing. Tom is a bass. Some of you who live in the far-off lands of soprano and tenor are harder for him to know. And I can imagine that there are others of you who feel similarly about those exotic people who sing outside your section. Here's a list of those who have been singing in recent weeks: 
> 
> Sopranos
> Brenda Bean
> Beth Damon
> Kairn Kelley
> Fran Krushenick
> MaryJean McKelvy
> Charlotte Root
> Ginny Sassaman
> Lani Seifert
> Cecile Sherburn
> Joan Stepenske
> 
> Altos
> Bettie Barnes
> Liz Benjamin
> Bronwyn Fryer
> Erin Kelley
> Catherine Lowther
> Mhairi Paget
> Nan Prince
> Susan Bull Riley
> Sue Stukey
> 
> Tenors
> Sarah Hooker
> Ed Hutchinson
> Phil Morse
> Donia Prince
> Lindsay Wade
> 
> Basses
> Bill Paine
> Christen Lynn
> Bob Riggen
> Tom Schersten
> Harris Webster
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Unitarian Church of Montpelier
> Choir email list
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> Unitarian Church of Montpelier
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