Sunday, June 20, 2010
Father's Day
This is one of those days that is really hard when you have recently lost your Dad. It's been just over three months since my Dad passed away and, yes, it was hard. I have found myself fighting back tears repeatedly today... as I helped my Mom dress for church... As we sang Amazing Grace, which was one of my Dad's favorites... when I took my Mom to see the little memorial Dad for my that has been put up in the Fellowship Hall at their church... when I had to sing my solo....
The wise and wonderful Dorothy gave me a song to sing this week. I wasn't sure I would be able to get through it since it was titled "My Father Watches Over Me." But before I got up to sing, I said my favorite little prayer... "Please, God, don't let me mess this up" and I managed not get all the way through it without bursting into tears - which was my fear. Yeah me. Somehow, Dorothy knew that I would have to pull myself out of the grief I am feeling today and put my best face and voice forward... and I did. So today, while I am missing my Dad so very much, I am also thankful for Dorothy and her wisdom.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Amazing Grace
So a few weeks ago, the amazing Dorothy cornered me during choir practice. "Meg", she said, "I want you to sing a song for me on Sunday". "Yes, Ma'am." "I have a particular song in mind for you...and I want your Mama to hear you sing." It turned out to be a song written to the tune of Oh Danny Boy, which was ironic on several levels.
To make a long story shorter... we went through the song two or three times during choir rehearsal and I was expected to sing it on Sunday to the congregation. Often in this choir someone sings the verse to a song solo and the choir sings the chorus, or some variation on that kind of idea... but this time, I pretty much had to sing the whole song myself, with the choir joining me for one line of the chorus.
Okay, so it had been a while since I had to sing something solo... a very long while....like twenty five years or so... My older brother, Paul usually records the service every Sunday on a little digital recording device, so it can be transcribed. So when he walked over and put the device on the pulpit I didn't think anything of it... and the service went along as usual... then it was time for me to sing. The lyrics of this particular song meant a lot to me because it starts out,"Amazing Grace will always be my song of praise" and Amazing Grace was my Dad's favorite song in church.... As I was singing, I could hear some of the parishioners clapping and calling out encouragement... and when I finished, they stood and applauded as I went back to my seat. Applause is not unusual in this particular church, but standing and clapping...
There is a time during the service each Sunday when the pastor, Alison, walks around the congregation and people can ask for the church to pray for their causes... family members, political issues, environmental issues, etc. When she neared my brother, he stood and asked for "prayers of thanks for my sister and her gifts." I was very moved.
It turns out that even though he has been my brother for 52 years, he had never heard me sing. I think he was shocked. He went home and took the little digital recording device and made CDs of my performance and sent it to my siblings. I have a copy, and to be honest, I think I was a little pitchy. But it made both my Mom and my brother happy... and it was such a simple thing to do. Now I have been assigned the 4th of July, (unofficially 'old white guys' Sunday, this year) wherein I am supposed to sing all of the music for the service. I will do this not only because I love to sing, but because it is something I can do which brings joy to those I love.
To make a long story shorter... we went through the song two or three times during choir rehearsal and I was expected to sing it on Sunday to the congregation. Often in this choir someone sings the verse to a song solo and the choir sings the chorus, or some variation on that kind of idea... but this time, I pretty much had to sing the whole song myself, with the choir joining me for one line of the chorus.
Okay, so it had been a while since I had to sing something solo... a very long while....like twenty five years or so... My older brother, Paul usually records the service every Sunday on a little digital recording device, so it can be transcribed. So when he walked over and put the device on the pulpit I didn't think anything of it... and the service went along as usual... then it was time for me to sing. The lyrics of this particular song meant a lot to me because it starts out,"Amazing Grace will always be my song of praise" and Amazing Grace was my Dad's favorite song in church.... As I was singing, I could hear some of the parishioners clapping and calling out encouragement... and when I finished, they stood and applauded as I went back to my seat. Applause is not unusual in this particular church, but standing and clapping...
There is a time during the service each Sunday when the pastor, Alison, walks around the congregation and people can ask for the church to pray for their causes... family members, political issues, environmental issues, etc. When she neared my brother, he stood and asked for "prayers of thanks for my sister and her gifts." I was very moved.
It turns out that even though he has been my brother for 52 years, he had never heard me sing. I think he was shocked. He went home and took the little digital recording device and made CDs of my performance and sent it to my siblings. I have a copy, and to be honest, I think I was a little pitchy. But it made both my Mom and my brother happy... and it was such a simple thing to do. Now I have been assigned the 4th of July, (unofficially 'old white guys' Sunday, this year) wherein I am supposed to sing all of the music for the service. I will do this not only because I love to sing, but because it is something I can do which brings joy to those I love.
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