Most of you who know me, know that I have sung in a choir at church for 16 years. This isn't your everyday, ordinary choir, but a kind of evolution of sorts into a full blown commitment to memorizing lyrics (we don't hold books), attending every practice (we sing almost every week), and knowing many different types and styles of music. For me, it started innocently enough with a dear friend saying "Hey…let's try out for that choir" after the VERY first service at Cherry Hills Community church. I had just delivered my youngest 6 months prior and it gave me a nice break and a little bit of "adult" interaction during the week. In those first few years the choir varied from about 50-75…with a major showing if we had 100. Maybe some of you remember "voting" for the choir via questionnaire DURING a service! "Should we stay or should we go now???"…HAHA…I can't even imagine now that we did that!
This week is Christmas at the Ranch. We put in hours of singing, practicing, and memorizing, and it is a huge privilege to sing with about 250 every year. I have been in many roles during my time in the choir. For the past few years I have focused on my kids and have (for the most part) stepped out of leadership. The NUMBER ONE question I am asked is "Are you doing Little Drummer Boy?"… Let me explain…
A few years back (I was president of the choir at the time) we sang a version of LDB written by the (then) director. This particular director was himself a drummer. After a couple of years doing this particular song, my oldest was actively involved in his high school drum line and they were asked to be involved. Since I was on the planning team, I would coordinate "rides" for the boys to the church to practice, buy snacks, or whatever they needed. It was amazing to see these kids (many who had never walked through the doors of a church) become involved in what they were doing, invite their families and friends and take pride in the music and the performance. You see, for me it was never about "doing" or "not doing" LDB, but about the outreach to the local PUBLIC school and the influence we had on these kids and their families. The crowd stands and cheers EVERY time it is performed. These kids had NEVER experienced anything like this. One kid in particular I remember driving quite a bit. He was from a broken home, had very little male influence in his life, and looked forward to this every year. Another went to pick up a drum at school, slid on the ice, crashed his car into a fence, and came back to perform THAT night. I have been told we have performed this for the last time. Many different things are said…"time to move on"…"we want to keep the programming evolving and changing"…
My youngest is now on the drum line at the high school. This year (in Sept) we were attending a football game at Shea stadium. I sat next to another parent whom I had never met. We struck up a conversation and it went something like this:
Me: Is your son playing tonight?
Them: Yes…He is the kicker and we are always SO nervous
Me: Well…I am sure he will do great! We don't get as nervous because we just have a drummer.
Them: Did he ever play that Drummer Boy song at that big church up the street?
Me: (Still in shock!!)…uh..uh..well..my oldest son did for years.
Them: They skipped a year and we couldn't figure it out. WHY WOULD THEY EVER leave out LDB??
Me: uhhh…oh look the game is starting!
You see, it is not always about if the song "is getting tired or not as cutting edge"…it is about the people we reach when we sing the song. It is about the lives that are transformed during those "rides to church"…it is about the parents of the kids stepping INTO a church for the first time to watch their kids…Maybe drummer boy is gone, but I certainly hope the spirit is not. You see, at the Bronco games they sing the "Star Spangled Banner" EVERY week…it never gets old…if fact, to me…it gets better. Just a thought…
Have a great week!
CoffeeTalkMom
www.chcc.org for ticket info
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