Music

At Epiphany, we not only strive to maintain music of the highest order for our worship services, we also endeavor to make our resident ensembles open and engaging places where everyone, regardless of prior experience or musical ability, can praise God through music. To accomplish these goals we currently offer two choirs, both of which are open to all.

So far 2010 has been a blessed year: we’ve had steady and increasing choir attendance, allowing us to continue to explore new and challenging ways to praise God through music, and even a few much appreciated gifts of sheet music to augment our library. And speaking of our music library, Emily Kress has been graciously volunteering many   extra hours not only to help keep me organized (no easy task, I assure you!) in the week-to-week running of the Chapel Choir, but she has also begun single-handedly working through sorting and filing the backlog of uncataloged music that has taken over more than a few shelves! In fact, we find ourselves in the enviable position of having more music than we have storage capacity and so we are looking for one or two filing cabinets to give us some breathing room. If you have an extra one in your home or place of  business, or know of someone who might, we would very much appreciate it! 

As we move into summer, and towards the two-year anniversary of my humble service here at Epiphany, the Music Ministry finds itself in a bit of transition. The first and most pressing on my mind is the imminent departure of Cory and Jessica Westby, who have proven beyond invaluable on so many levels – musically, personally, and spiritually. Sunday, June 27th will be their last day, and there will be a meal to celebrate their time among us. While I remain optimistic about the prospect of finding our next organist, it is impossible to overestimate the gifts with which Cory and   Jessica have blessed us – they are leaving very big shoes to fill! We will conduct a search to find an organist with comparable qualifications to what we have become accustomed, but as for Jessica’s role as Children’s Choir Director we will be asking for volunteers for a number of reasons. Before the Westbys and I came the role of Director of Music included running the children’s choirs, but to capitalize fully on Jessica’s talents the position of Children’s Choir Director was created. Here she has accomplished so much with fifteen minutes (maximum) per week, from teaching them the fundamentals of reading music to playing hand bells and preparing musical offerings, as well as the discipline and rigor associated with ensemble work. For many reasons, I am reticent to put myself forward as her replacement, but chief among them are logistical concerns (I’d have to be in two places at once) and the fact that teaching children’s choir is not a strength of mine, even in the slightest. We are therefore considering placing the children’s choirs under the direction of one or two volunteers – we felt two would allow more flexibility in terms of scheduling (as they rehearse every Sunday after Sunday school) and also allow them to share duties as they feel comfortable. As we celebrate our time with the Westby’s and the ways in which they have enriched our lives and worship, I ask you to keep them in your prayers as they go forth to share their gifts with others, and also to ask that the Spirit will grant us aid in our search for a new church organist. 

Another minor point of transition is merely the normal one into the Summer Choir schedule: Chapel Choir and Folk Choir go on hiatus over the summer months of June, July, and August, and we invite not only members of those ensembles but especially those of you who haven’t tried us out yet to join us for Summer Choir! We rehearse every Sunday at 10:00 and sing at early and late services alternately every Sunday. We usually do very accessible anthems, and this summer we’ll be exploring some of the lesser-known gems in the still-relatively-new ELW – hymns both newly-composed and newly-rediscovered. We don’t wear robes or sit in the choir area – we just sing and have fun! If you have any questions contact me at music@conyerselc.org or 404.939.3452. 

In peace~

Robert