It’s 8:53 pm Easter evening, and I was up and out of bed at 4:00 this morning, so I am running on fumes and will need to keep this succinct. (Which I suppose is good news for you.) But it won’t be easy. What a wonderful day this was, from top to bottom. We had only one car available because we’d only shoveled half of our driveway, so I arranged for Pastor Jeff to swing by and pick me up on his way to church. That meant being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5:00 this morning, but it was fun to essentially start the day with Jeff- who greeted me with a chocolate chip muffin and a much- needed bottle of diet coke. Maybe that pleasant start of the day is one reason why everything which followed went so swimmingly well – and since today was my twentieth Easter as Holy Communion’s minister of music, it was especially nice that things went so very well.
One source of worry was that the cancellation of the Friday night Tenebrae service was also, in effect, the cancellation of what would have been the choir’s final rehearsal for Easter. . . and I wondered what that extra day of rust (as well as rest) would do. As it turns out, the senior choir did not miss a beat all morning. They sang wonderfully, and perhaps even more important, they sang joyfully ! And they sang joyfully all morning long, from 6:30 until approximately 11:00 when their last notes of music were dying away.
What everyone in the congregation was talking about, as usual, was the song “Resurrection,” which has been a part of every single Easter morning over these past twenty years. It’s actually a song which dates back to my days in high school with Atlantic, Iowa’s Now Disciples. Our director, Cherie Carl, had heard an incredible Easter song on the radio station of Moody Bible Institute and taped it- a song sung by the group Sixth Day called “Resurrection.” I can still remember sitting in her house with the most of the gospel team members, huddled around her stereo listening to this song which had at that point had not been published, and figuring out how to sing it. (And I had to figure out how to play it.) And it became the climactic song of every Now Disciples concert after that, with Cherie as soloist. I remember thinking back then that if I was ever in charge of music at a church or the conductor of a church choir, this song would figure in the proceedings. Little could have known that the song would become a beloved tradition at Holy Communion with my own wife as the soloist. And by now it is as essential to Holy Communion’s Easter celebration as anything else, and if in some seizure of temporary insanity I was to remove it from the proceedings, I would be tarred and feathered, drawn and quartered, ridden out of town on a rail, and fired faster than you can say ‘Easter Lily.’ It is of course a joy to know that I’m the one to have introduced this song to this congregation- and to the woman who sings it so beautifully. (Thursday night, when kathy was missing from choir rehearsal because of illness, I asked Kate Barrow to deputize on Resurrection – and she said yes and then almost immediately said “you know, that would just feel a little too sacreligious.” (sp?) By the way, this song – as far as my investigation can tell- still has never been published; it might very well be that we’re the only church on the face of the earth doing this song. By the way, I am always a bit bemused that when I greet church members after the Easter services, the only specific compliment I ever receive is for Resurrection. We could do the Rutter Gloria and the Bach Christmas Oratorio with full orchestra, but Resurrection would be the only thing mentioned. . . and the compliments are typically accompanied by a thinly veiled death threat should I ever plan an Easter service without it Resurrection. And they’re right- it wouldn’t be Easter without “He is Risen! Alleluia!”
We did sing a couple of other things, beginning with a setting of mine of “This is the day that the Lord hath made” which featured Gary Wee. He’s one of my best guy singers but almost always has missed Easter because of spring break vacation for his wife. But this year he was there and I made sure to celebrate the fact by giving him a nice solo- although it felt a little like throwing a big banquet for the prodigal son when he finally comes home! We also did a new piece of mine called “This Day of Days” which is actually my music but the words of Brian Wren. It’s a hymn in the new hymnal but I thought the words deserved more exciting music. Speaking of exciting, the most exciting moment of the morning was at the third service, when trumpeter Ed Bergles joined in on the anthem, despite the fact that we had never rehearsed the piece with him and the organist and the choir together. And with Weston Noble himself sitting in the congregation, this performance has to rank as one of the most audacious bits of risk-taking in my twenty years at Holy Communion. But it came across really well and Ed’s final flourish up to a high B-flat nearly sent me (and the choir) through the roof. There was also the great fun at second service of helping Kate Barrow lead the Sunday School and Youth choirs in my song “this is why we sing” complete with choreography.
There were a lot people in church this morning, but I was especially mindful of Mr. Noble’s presence at the third and final service- – – and I was GIGANTICALLY relieved that he enjoyed the service and my music as much as he did. Afterwards, we took him (and Kathy’s dad) to brunch at the Charcoal Grille and Rotisserie – – – but right before we headed off to get our food, Mr. Noble actually sort of forcefully put his hands on the table in front of him and said “before we go any further. . .” and proceeded to talk about the morning’s music, so much of it written, as he put it, “by this mysterious composer named GB.” (That’s how I usually list my stuff in the bulletin.) I thought it was really cool that he wanted to talk about it, and he also reiterated his intention to help me if I ever get my act together and send something off to a potential publisher.
As if the day wasn’t nice enough, it ended with a meal at Polly and Mark’s at which Lorelai was in rare form. Among the highlights: being soundly beaten by her in Candyland, leading a Wizard of Oz sing-along around the dinner table, and enjoying some superb soup which apparently has 0 points on the Weight Watchers chart and easy enough for even me to make. (Talk about miracles.)
I titled this entry “Easter #20” quite intentionally – because you might think that 20 years of this would start to get old right about now. But no, not even a little bit. And maybe that’s another miracle for which I’m thankful today- that I am so fortunate to do work that continues to challenge and fulfill me in new and various ways. And if anything, Easter #20 was as fun and exciting as any of them have been. That has so much to do with the extraordinary group of singers in front of whom I stand- so I tip my hat to Kate, Bev, Jan, Donna, Kathy, Katie, Jill, Val, Ann, Lynn, Elaine, KathyF, Ken, Andrew, Gary, SteveSa, GregBr, KathyBr, SteveSm, John, Dave, SteveR, Julie and Don. They are so much of the reason why this is still such fun for me – and such a joy.
pictured above: this is the cross and flowers at the front of Holy Communion’s sanctuary. I actually took the photo last night after the Easter Vigil.