Christ Episcopal Church - Martinsville, VA

Aurora Wolchko, Alanya Williams, Landon Wagoner, Ann Mason Smith

Graduating in The Midst of Crisis

I find it both baffling and humbling that I have been at Christ Church for almost the entirety of our graduating seniors’ high school careers. During the Pentecost service, I got fairly nostalgic and even teary-eyed when I listened to their reflections on Christ Church and what it has meant to them. I was so busy filming, editing, and preaching during the week that I did not think about the change that was happening both in their lives and within our community.
Blessings,

Nick

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My Life Goes On in Endless Song——

But When Can We Sing Again?

Some months ago I wrote an article for the newsletter on the benefits of singing, both health benefits and social benefits. There is pure joy in making beautiful music with a group of singers. For church choirs, singing is never a “performance”, rather we sing to the glory of God, and indeed, to God alone the glory. For three months now we have been silent, and we wonder if life will ever be normal again.

My life is music. I started piano lessons at the age of 5, I sang in church choirs, accompanied church choirs, directed church choirs, played with a symphony, and for many years have been organist and choirmaster at several churches, but the majority of those years have been here at Christ Church. It is a joy and a gift to do this work.

“My Life Goes On in Endless Song” is a favorite choir anthem of mine, but that endless song has been silenced. When can we sing again? We have missed being together and singing together. Making music expresses and deepens our faith, congregation and choirs alike.

What do science and data say about the near-term future of singing, not just choral singing, but also congregational singing? A pandemic webinar organized by leading choral musicians featured a panel of scientists, doctors, and musicians. The conclusion they reached was clear, and sad. There is no safe way for singers to rehearse together or sing together until there is a vaccine widely available and a treatment protocol that is 95% effective. Until then, we cannot sing. That vaccine and treatment is 18-24 months away. There are no spacing solutions that prevent risk. There are no masks safe for singing. Even when wearing a mask, scientists have found that virus-filled water droplets spray through the front of the mask. This is not good news for church musicians and choirs.

But I am optimistic that a vaccine and protocol will be found, sooner rather than later. I miss the choir terribly, I miss the joy of making music with them and with the congregation. Meanwhile, Raul and I, very distantly, try to keep music alive in our church and in our hearts. Don’t stop singing! Sing in your hearts, sing out loud, sing favorite hymns, sing in the shower—sing in your soul.

“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live, I will praise my God while I have my being”. Psalm 104, vs. 34

Lynn H. Gardner,

Organist/Choirmaster

Beverly Parish Award Recipients

Dear Christ Church,

We announced the recipients of the Beverly Parish Award in our Pentecost service, and this year we are having a bit of a paradigm shift. I recommend watching the service (click here) if you have any more questions about the Beverly Parish Award. Four of our graduates have done a remarkable job in discerning their call to serve the Church. Each one shows genuine dedication to the Church, is active in serving the Church, and excels in school and other activities. Each graduate has their individual interests and strong areas in the Church and in life. They may differ in how much they are able to participate, but I could not ask more of them. Each one has done what I ask every adult member of the Church, which is to find where God is calling you to serve in the Church. We do not want everyone to do everything, instead we need to work together and realize we cannot do this Church thing all by ourselves. It would be an injustice if these four graduates did not receive this award, so I am proud to announce that Aurora Wolchko, Landon Wagoner, Alanya Williams, and Ann Mason Smith are all recipients of the Beverly Parish Award.

Blessings,

Nick

Celebrate the 2020 Graduates!

Graduates, both high school and college are listed with brief biographies on the homepage of the website, you may view them by clicking here.

Daily Office Changes

Dear Christ Church,

Since we have begun to work remotely, we have been offering Morning, Noonday and Evening Prayer at 9:00, 12:00, and 5:00 every day on Facebook Live. I have been thrilled to see Tara Williams and Ed Gallop step up as leaders in these services as well. Now that Easter Season is over we are slightly changing the format in order for the services to appeal to a wider group and to make the lessons less repetitive.

Morning Prayer will now always be Rite I, and Evening Prayer will be Rite II. The Psalm changes from Morning until Evening, but the other assigned lessons do not. For Morning Prayer the Psalm, Old Testament and Gospel lessons will be offered, while Evening Prayer will offer the Psalm, New Testament and Gospel lessons.

If you have any questions on how to watch these services, or what these services entail, please feel free to reach out.

Blessings,

Nick

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Martinsville, VA | 24112 US

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