In our new Sheepskin format for 2021, we will offer ministry updates in each edition. It is our sincere hope that you will learn more about the wide variety of ministries we offer, and be inspired to participate or volunteer in the future. This edition highlights Good Shepherd’s Music ministries.
Good Shepherd has a rich, vibrant music program that highlights several different groups who support our services with an eclectic mix of music from both classical and more modern composers. We believe that offering many styles of music broadens our appeal, and that all music created with God at its center is good.
Whether you are in one of our ensembles, or if you are just singing from your seat, music helps us all develop a sense of belonging and connection to one another. While our main goal is to honor God and give Him the praise he deserves, there is no doubt that we as Christians gain an abundance of benefits from music - improved mood, stress reduction, and a way to feel nearly all emotions that we experience in our lives.
The following is individual updates from each ensemble written by their respective leaders.
The Good Shepherd Choir
Connie Branton, Choir Director
cbmusik@comcast.net
There is no way to fully thank everyone who has participated in the music for Good Shepherd over the past 15 months. It was a difficult time. But our musicians have persevered and tried to give the parishioners of Good Shepherd a good quality music program in spite of disease, restrictions, and fear. Many people have offered their talents to benefit the congregation’s worship experience. There are several people on the outskirts of our church who have consistently volunteered their time and talents when we were forbidden from using our own choir singers. When our church was CLOSED due to COVID restrictions, we enlisted my family members and other soloists outside the congregation who came to our aid to provide a truly quality music program.
I’m most grateful to my family and a few other friends who were able to come and make music with the social distancing requirements and masking so that we could worship each week with beautiful singing and playing. I heartily thank my family, Sarah Harrison, Anna Branton, and Joel Rinsema for donating so much of their time and talent to our church. Others who came on a regular basis to make recordings who are not members of our church were Rosemary Downs, Mary Christ, and Adam Cave.
When the protocol allowed, we were able to enlist our own members in singing and playing for our services. Our own choir members gave of themselves unselfishly as they were allowed to come and sing. Our own youth sang and played for us for several services. We even talked former members like Emma Laskarzewski into sharing her considerable singing talents with us via long distance technology.
Life has continued, even though a year ago, I was doubtful as to whether we would ever be able to worship together again. I have been in a church music program, either as a singer, an organist/pianist, or a conductor since the age of eight. My first organist gig was at the age of 12 in Salmon, Idaho. I had my first organist/conductor church job at age 19. And I have had church “jobs” since that time, conducting or playing. This past year and a half have been the most disheartening in all of those years since my pre-teen years. Life without singing was unbearable. The only thing that made it bearable was the thought that I might leave this life by disease, leaving children and grandchildren and so we tried to take it all in and make the best of it. Giving music back to the church in spite of no in-person worship like I was used to in those many, many years of my life was made tolerable by working with musicians who still cared about our worship experience enough to help out with their singing and playing talents. Absolutely ALL of their efforts were donated to our congregation.
Our women of Good Shepherd choir met during the third week of May to put together three hymns for our Zoom Worship. They were so glad to be back, vaccinated and safe, and making music together once again. We sang, shared our stories of the last many months, and made music for you to praise the Lord. It was joyous and amazing! All of us felt the love of God and the musical art he has bestowed upon us.
We are excited to get together again and serve this congregation of Good Shepherd. Thank you all for your support and love during these past months and your prayers for a good future in our church.
MorningSong & EveningSong
DeeDee Atwood, Director
datwood@gshep.org
Making music during the pandemic was certainly challenging for our Contemporary Musicians, but we found new and exciting ways of connecting and creating. We stretched our musical talents to include learning how to use new audio and video editing software, and we found new synergies in our ability to blend our individual instruments. Most of our members sing as well as play an instrument, so I gave them each the liberty to decide how to arrange their personal recordings.
It works like this: Every week I would send out a recording of me and my guitar as a backing track for each of the group members. They in turn would put on headphones and listen to my recording, while they sang and/or played along with the backtrack, all the while recording their performance on a smart device. This would ensure that everyone was in sync. Some group members would make several recordings for me - one of just vocals, and other tracks of their instruments. From there, I would gather the recordings and mix it all down in our audio software to create the final product. Voila! Ensemble music made without any of us ever getting together.
In addition, we started experimenting with doing video preludes with some of our anthem songs. This was especially rewarding for me and Marge Pegula as it challenged us to find new sources for free video images which helped enhance the beauty of each piece of music we recorded. It is a new way of making music, and it is fun! Of course, nothing can come close to the energy created when we get together as a group and make music.
Now that we are all vaccinated, we are looking forward to getting together over the summer to get back in the swing of playing together as a group. We are all dedicated to Good Shepherd's music program and we are excited about new technologies that will enhance our worship experience.
We are a welcoming group, and we hope some of you will dust off that old guitar/bass/keyboard or drum kit and join us. Vocalists are also welcome!
Bell Choir
Tricia Hartman, Director
hartmanpe@me.com
Like everyone else, the bell choir has not been able to meet for over a year. We began the pandemic isolation period meeting in groups of three to four people ringing two bells each with masks on and recording the pieces for the Zoom services. That approach ended quickly, and the bell choir stopped ringing completely. However, you did continue to hear one bell piece a month at the Zoom services as I rang solos or duets with my daughter, Amy McLaughry. Now we are again able to meet in small ensembles and plan to offer pieces in July and August. I anticipate that the entire bell choir will resume meeting in person in September. We are very excited to be able to resume ringing as we have done for so many years, a fact that we certainly appreciate much more now than we ever did before. While we are eager to return to the old, much appreciated, normal, the pandemic has led to new approaches that we will continue. The biggest new approach for bells is that a lot of composers have arranged pieces for small groups of people, each person ringing only two bells. That means all of you can try ringing bells for one or two easier pieces to find out if you would like to join the full bell choir. Please contact me if you would like to try ringing—with only two bells and only a commitment to two to three rehearsals.
Black Sheep Choir
Kees Corsmitt, Chair Black Sheep
cscorssmit@gmail.com
What’s Up, Doc?
Our volunteer choir of adult male and a few female singers “supplementing our Tenor I” section have soundly survived this scary COVID period. Interestingly enough, only one of the 20+ singers and organist had a minor bout of the virus. Minor because the youngest singer in the group lost his sense of smell and taste for a few days but nobody else was diagnosed with the COVID-19. That does not mean that none of us had other health issues going on in the past 16 months or so, but we all came through in flying colors, even though our voices did not get a lot of practice. With the recent progress on the COVID front we just hope to soon rekindle our singing talents for not only spiritual but also for fellowship reasons. This has been a long slog…
With the improved outlook we hope to get together this summer for our traditional summer outdoors evening “rehearsals” before starting up in earnest our weekly rehearsals in church this fall. If you have an interest in trying us out and becoming a Good Shepherd Black Sheep, please contact our founding member accompanist Marti Diehl, David McLaughry or myself. May the Lord be with You!
Singing to the Lord is Praying Twice!
Kees Corssmit David McLaughry Marti Diehl
Chair Black Sheep Vice Chair Pianist/Organist Black Sheep