Infrequent Updates No More

If you actually here reading my site, you'll notice it's been about two months since I last added anything. I guess I just don't feel that I have that much to share with the world. There's just not that much that goes on in my life: I work a full-time office job during the week, participate in the usual church functions on Sunday and Wednesday, and sitting around at home if I'm not at one of those two places. So, I'm going to try to find (or make) something to write about at least once a week. Stay tuned!

Vacation's Over ... Back to Reality

Well, vacations are never as long as you would like. I'm back in Charleston and back at my desk at work. The service yesterday at my home church went well, I thought. Although, I'm certainly not used to the length of the song service that the music minister there does.

On Vacation

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in a public library on vacation in Virginia for a few days. My wife and I took a couple days off to go see some family and get away from Charleston for a while. We've both had a great time and seen just about all of our family that there is to see here. I'm going to be playing the organ for the worship service at the church I grew up in tomorrow morning and my whole family (who don't attend regularly anymore) is going to be there to hear me.

Honing My Vocal Prowess

With the upcoming God and Country presentation that the worship choir will be presenting on July 1, I have been asked to do a solo (or two). While it is not a solo-solo (where I would be the only one singing) since the choir will be backing me up, it will be the first time in many, many years that I have truly sung by myself and not as a part of the larger group.

In addition, I have also dedicated myself to preparing and performing a song at least once a quarter. God has blessed me with the gift of music and by only utilizing my instrumental abilities, I am not using the whole talent I have been given to His fullest glory. The first song I am working on (in addition to the solo mentioned above) is Angels Wish by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Another thing that occurred to me as I am starting to sing again is that in high school chorus, I was a low baritone and made regional chorus two years in a row as a bass. The songs I am doing now are most definitely in the mid to high tenor range and I have very little difficulty, if any, reaching all of the notes without straining (as long as I am able to provide the diaphragmatic support necessary). However, you certainly couldn't tell from my speaking voice that I am able to reach all of the notes that I can.

Orchestra Debuts in the Evening Service

The new instrumental ministry / church orchestra debuted tonight in the evening service. As of now, the group consists of a piano, a synthesizer, a flute, a clarinet, a trumpet, and a violin. We played as the accompaniment for the main song service at the beginning of the service.

I thought it sounded very good and it seemed to be a welcome addition to our worship experience as the congregation was, at time, singing loud enough for me to hear over the trumpet which was less that 3 feet from my ear. I'm looking forward to playing more with this group and seeing it grow as time goes on.

The children's choir also did a presentation of a musical named Sticky Notes and Bible Quotes. Unfortunately, I was unable to catch their performance as I had to step out at that time to pick my wife up from work.

The Choir is Back

This morning was the choir's first Sunday back in the choir loft after our break following our Easter passion play production. We sang Still which is what we sang one of the first weeks after we hired our current music minister last year.

Instrumental Ministry Kick-Off

Last night, we held the first rehearsal of our new instrumental ministry. Other than myself, the group consisted of a flute, a clarinet, a violin, a trumpet, and piano. I played a string reduction part on the synthesizer. The first thing we are working on is to accompany the main song service for an evening worship coming up. The group sounded very good for it being our first time playing together and I have high hopes that this ministry will grow.