Choir Initiation: I'm In

A few weeks ago, I finally made the decision to leave my former church and branch out into another church. Five weeks later, I’m so grateful to GOD for HIS direction and sense of timing. I can say with confidence in HIM that I am where I am supposed to be right now. The Chancel Choir at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church has welcomed in this former Baptist, former Grace Brethren, former non-denominational fundamentalist with open arms and an incredible amount of warmth, grace and kindness.

I love my new choir family. The second sopranos have been an incredible source of encouragement and friendship to this newbie, and the rest of the choir members that I have met thus far have been more of the same. Our choir is 160+ members strong, but it feels like a family, a big extended family.

I love the heart and worshipful atmosphere in our rehearsals and our Sunday mornings together. We end our rehearsals holding hands and joining in prayer together, as we seek our MAKER, CREATOR and SAVIOR. Sunday mornings are a flurry of activity as we dress in our robes, do a final rehearsal and prepare for the worship service, but our director always brings us back to the object of our worship, our GOD, before we make our way to the platform. I’ve never experienced such a worshipful atmosphere in any choir I have ever sung with.

I love the action and the drive to serve together, both within the choir members and the heart of the church itself. There are so many opportunities to get involved and serve within the church community that it’s hard to just pick something and dig in. I was feeling a bit intimidated. I told my friend Barb that I needed to get involved on one of the teams or committees within the choir. Next thing I knew, I was being recruited to serve on a committee for a special project. And thus, yours truly is now a co-chair on a program/promotion/ticket committee for a fundraising event in October. Talk about ironic. For years, I've been struggling about using the spiritual gifts that GOD has given me, and so it's very humbling to see HIM bring HIS plans forward and specifically place me where HE can use my talents for HIS glory.

Yes, I’m enjoying my new experiences, friends and service at St. Luke’s UMC, and I’m excited to see what GOD will do next.