Pastor's Page -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 11/22/2000
Last Visited: 3/8/2001
However , one year our Minister of Music , Jack Kay , decided to take the youth choir on a trip to California.It was going to be a ten-day adventure , hyped with all kinds of additional attractions like Disneyland , the beach , etc.When it was announced that fall in hopes of attracting some would-be choir members , I was interested.But powerful pressure of my peers held me back . . . until one Wednesday evening when I was hurrying into church following basketball practice , I ran into Mr. Kay.We exchanged pleasantries and then he said , You know , Mike , I sure wish you would join the choir and go with us to California. I was polite and said that I would love to do that , but I didn't have the time or money.I remember his words to this day : If you'll make the time , I'll get the money for you to go. I told him I appreciated it and moved on.The next Sunday he went out of his way to bump into me again and told me , I meant what I said.I'd really like for you to go..
Well , to make a long story short , I agreed to come to a practice or two.They were fun.And then I screwed up the courage to even sing with the choir in church , fully aware of the grief that I would get from my pals in the back.I even mentioned my anxiety to my mother , and she , in her wise way , said , Don't let them keep you from doing something you like.Be positive. So , after that evening service when I first appeared in the choir , sure enough , they came at me with a couple of jibes.Strangely enough though , they weren't as vicious as I thought they might be.
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We all had to get jobs to go , but Mr. Kay helped us.I threw a paper route in the morning - 5 : 00 in the morning - to generate funds for the trip.It was difficult , but it was worth it.Why , that experience with the choir changed my relationship with the church.Singing was good for my soul , literally and spiritually.
That is one of the reasons I , along with many of you , have pushed Kern to take our young people places they haven't been before.