Music Ministry: Reflections on Anniversaries Past
In awe of the music prepared in this church over the past 319 years!
(May 1,2015) As I write this week’s e-tidings and think about the music the choir has prepared for our Anniversary Sunday, I am in awe of how many choirs and directors have prepared special music for each Anniversary Sunday over the past three hundred and nineteen years! Next I think about the number of Pastors who also participated. I wonder what hymns they sang and what anthems they prepared to celebrate each Anniversary Sunday.
The organ in this sanctuary was built in 1919 by Hook and Hastings, and renovated in 1959 by Aeolian Skinner. There have been 9 organists during these years and many before this time. There is a silver coated plaque on the organ with each of the names engraved. Again, I am reminded of a special past here at First Church. My wife, Pat, and I have been fortunate enough to have been members of the choir under a few of these directors.
Have the words in our hymnals changed to fit the same melody? Have the melodies and harmonies changed, also? I am sure you can guess the answer to that question. Did the first church have an organ? A piano? A choir? The fact that so many families sat in the same pews and/or sat in the choir loft throughout the past 90 years is also a reminder of the rich tradition here at First Church.
In conclusion, I hope the music that has been prepared for this Sunday helps to celebrate our Anniversary and will in some way remind us of just how wonderful our tradition is here at First Church.
Jim Moriarty