Canticles in Candlelight Reflections

By: Rob Lynch, Director of Traditional Music

Advent Greetings, Church!

I have the pleasure of writing to you post-cantata, and what a weekend it was. This community’s ability to have multiple large-scale events take place all in the same weekend never ceases to amaze me. On Sunday alone, we had the cantata, the children’s Christmas musical, a huge breakfast, and caroling in the evening!

Allow me to take one more opportunity to thank the many, many people who helped make this weekend possible. The staff have been a pleasure to work with, helping me with everything from managing childcare during the Saturday evening service to Matt Cosgrove’s INCREDIBLE work ensuring everyone both in person and at home could experience the music-filled worship service we had prepared.

I owe a great deal to my predecessor, Maureen, for handing off an outstanding group of folks to make music with. It’s not common to ‘inherit’ such a well-established ensemble and I am very grateful for the work she has done to make this transition as seamless as possible.

And finally, thank you to the musicians you heard this weekend. As I mentioned at the end of the cantata, the people on the chancel were all volunteers from our congregation, and that is not a disclaimer, but a source of enormous pride for me, the choir, the orchestra, and hopefully you, the congregation. They sit among you in the pews each Sunday, working like crazy behind the scenes to make it all happen. God has blessed each of them with a talent for music – and when you’ve got it, you’ve gotta share it.

Thank you, everyone, for making me feel so welcome in this wonderful community of faith.