June 15, 2025 – Trinity/Music Appreciation Sunday
Psalm 98
Sirach 32.1-6
Serenade to Music(ians)
Trinity / Music Appreciation Sunday
If I may have your permission clumsily to poeticize,
I will speak – not sing – of music’s magical mysterious powers
With no intent to heroicize, glamorize or otherwise romanticize,
But to speak plainly about the wonders of Karli and our choir, a task that could take hours.
A is for Abby, my buddy and my friend
Her ever-present smile and effervescent song lift our spirits high –
Her sweet soprano voice is a blessing without end
And my froggie collection, thanks to you dear Abby, will never run dry!
A – ah! also Anne! An advocate and activist alike!
(She can also tell you if that sentence is assonance or alliteration)
A solid rock among the tenors, a song to soothe our sacred psyche,
We welcome her prayers for democracy and justice for our beleaguered nation.
How we miss our sister singer Bridget, there is a hole in the choir without her,
And though absent in body, her spirit abides presently in tune;
Her familiar smile inspires us, we cherish all that is dear about her,
And pray to God she is back among us soon.
Casey! Our newest chorister – we are so glad you are among us!
Your prayer requests are like a window to your soul –
You remind us that in every instance God is never far from us
and is always, in church or with family or with friends, firmly in control.
Dear Cheryl, answer me this: how many miles do you commute weekly just to sing?
I’m glad you don’t e-bike all the way from Massachusetts, you’d never win that race –
Your presence in both chancel and pulpit are winsomely warm and welcoming,
And your sermons keep me awake nights with worry that some day you’ll take my place!
Music is a siren song – she lures us with charms of her sweet, sweet tunes,
as she lured our friend Claudia through the charms of her sweet, sweet spouse;
She can be found, of an evening, singing karaoke at local saloons
tell me, do you prefer to cover the Beatles and the Stones, or the dulcet strains of Strauss?
If you should spy a rainbow-clad elf, strumming a variant of Birdie, Bye-Bye,
and if she should sport a ukelele, kazoo or tambourine,
it is just our Diane, a veritable one-woman band in tye-dye.
But beware her Guthrie-like guitar, it too is a fascist-killing machine.
I should have switched these verses and followed Claudia with Ed
Who has sung with his bride more years than most of us can count –
He’s an electrifying tenor with a lifetime of music in his head;
Forty years? More? Your repertory catalogue holds an impressive amount.
Oh, the roles that Jennifer fills – she is your Deacon, your reader, your soprano today.
we even preached a duet – you were Jesus’ neighbor next-door,
Is there no end to your talents, the profusion of parts you portray?
And, like all in the choir, a person of faith, a well-tempered true-toned tuneful troubadour.
Magical – mirthful – magnetic – melodious – magnanimous and more,
A mouthful of modifiers for our musical Margie –
Whose joy-filled juggling keeps countless cares from the floor
Such a beatific busy bee that none dare rhyme your name with lethargy!
Univocal, multivocal, she can pretty much sing it all:
Solo, duo, trio, (quattro?), making music with both élan and éclat…
Soprano, mezzo, alto, a voice that will hold you in its thrall,
Call her Deacon or chorister or whatever you will – we’ll just call her Pat.
You may not know this, but I have a homie in the choir –
Rival high schools perhaps, but still a kindred spirit.
Paul Indorf, a Platt Panther who for this Maloney Spartan can inspire
With his versatile vocalizations – and if he can’t hit a note, he’ll at least land
somewhere near it!
[en français:]Richard, y a-t-il quelque chose que tu ne saches pas faire ? Tu construis, tu plombes, tu fais fonctionner l’ascenseur aussi ?
Tu es un véritable don pour l’Église et tu le fais avec bonne humeur.
Ta musique est comme un dessert, un apéritif, un lagniappe.
Elle est la note d’or d’une symphonie d’intelligence, de talent, de conviction et de foi.
[Richard, is there anything you cannot do? You build, you plumb, you run the elevator too?
You are a true gift to the church and you do it all with good humor –
Your music is like a dessert, an aperitif, a lagniappe –
It is the grace note for a symphony of intellect and ability , conviction and faith.]
Music’s enchantment and enticement are wonderful things –
And they regularly shine through Ruth Mowry’s face.
She will beam and she will smile and subtly emote while she sings –
Ruth, your love for your music and your church sing to us of God’s grace.
Z is for Karli, the Zenith of this illustrious panoply –
Your gifts and your graces are genuine and true, none by alchemy or trickery –
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of our vocal and organ and piano-play,
we are proud to call you the United Church’s own Terpsichore!
Now friends, if these verses have offended, think but this, and all is mended:
That we are all but players here, while these singers do appear –
And as if to seal this siren song, we will make amends ’ere long:
So give me your hands, if we be friends, and music shall restore amends!
Amen.