choir boy

Early Sunday morning, I found a space where I could be alone, I bowed my head and tucked my chin down to touch my chest for eight counts or so. Then I tilted my head waaaay to the left. Then of course... waaaay to the right.

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Next, I relaxed and sounded a long, steady, smooth, low note with my voice, paying special attention to produce the air from deep in my gut.

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After that, I did scales. They were not loud. I tried to keep the throat relaxed the whole time. Our choir didn't warm up as a group, so I hope my efforts were of some help.

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After that, lots of hot tea--no sugar. Cough drops. I grabbed some bottled water from the case--room temperature... not chilled.

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During the past few weeks, I have been trying to build up vocal endurance by singing (hard) in the car on the commute to and from work. Last Monday's choir practice left me hoarse, and I could barely get through the ending on the last song. Sunday morning, my throat was still a little sore from Saturday night's rehearsal, and I had to find a way to make it through morning rehearsal and then two worship services!

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When we got through with the first four songs, the choir got a break, so that the regular team could do their song. I remembered someone's advice, so I went back into the church office. There, I found some olive oil that we use for anointing. Using a plastic spoon, I measured a quarter-teaspoon and swallowed it. (Not so tasty.) They say it lubes the throat, enabling singers to last longer. I rinsed the stuff off my tongue but didn't gargle. Finally, I prayed, that the Holy Spirit would carry me through, so that --at the very least, I would not be a distraction.

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Easter songs are triumphant. I believe they need to be sung with a certain... gusto! I held nothing back. But between all the hot teas, sips of water, cough drops and swigs of (shudder) olive oil, thank the Lord that I made it through the whole way without crashing horribly.

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Whew! Choir is done, and now I can go back to being the sound guy and hide behind the booth. No bruised uvula or sprained larynx... I think.

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I hope your Easter Sunday was amazing and wonderful, and that you can experience the uncontainable joy of celebrating the Lord's rising from the grave.

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How do you volunteer at your church?

fancy schmancy

"How many (fill in the blank) does it take to change a light bulb?" No doubt you've heard those jokes. Well, let me ask this one; do you know how many friends and family it takes to throw a bon voyage shindig for a local pastor? A lot!

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Our church's founding pastor was given a going away party. The honor of serving as the emcee was awarded to yours truly. Maybe they knew how much I love being a mic jockey or maybe it was that after you eliminate all the distinguished guests and all the people serving in other capacities, I was the only one left.

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Whatever the reason, I feel a twinge of guilt, because the program was for someone else's honor and I enjoyed my part soooo much!

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That night, the honor went to the pastor and his Mrs, but the credit went to a plethora of volunteers. The morning after, I went through the pictures and I found myself wishing that I had captured more of this and that. We have a few shots of the servers as they waited on our tables. I wish I had the artists as they painted panels or created center pieces. The shoppers gathering all the supplies from different stores. The script writer looking for appropriate verses on the computer. The bands and choirs at their rehearsals. The cooks preparing the meals. The childcare volunteers in the other rooms. The sound and video teams. Who knows what else!

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All I did was strap on a necktie and get up front to read segments of a script (that somebody else wrote), but there was a whole lotta people that invested a huge amount of time into putting it all together.

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Mr. Big Shot Emcee over here will have a slice of humble pie now. :-)