Thursday, April 1, 2010
IHN Wednesday 3/31/2010
A quiet day and evening. Dinner was provided by Dawn and Bob Frisch. Tomorrow night's dinner with be with the First Presbyterian congregation, as our guests will be with us for the Maundy Thursday dinner.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
IHN Tuesday 3/30/2010
Things are going well. We have added a third guest family, so that our guests are now:
The only excitement was caused by a carpet company's truck that caused a traffic jam in the (currently tiny) church parking lot, requiring the IHN van and various cars to back out. This sort of problem will go away when the new building is finished and the parking structure is set up properly for parking.
I've invited our guests to join us for the Maundy Thursday service after Thursday's dinner, but I don't know if any of them will accept the offer. On Saturday, they are all going to the famous Easter Egg Hunt at Tom and Doris Granum's house.
Uneventful days are just what we want.
- Clay and Brandy, with daughter Nevaeh (2)
- Jessica, with twin daughters Jemyah and Jekyah (4 1/2) and son Jo'zeric (2 1/2)
- Brittany, with son Zaire (10 months)
The only excitement was caused by a carpet company's truck that caused a traffic jam in the (currently tiny) church parking lot, requiring the IHN van and various cars to back out. This sort of problem will go away when the new building is finished and the parking structure is set up properly for parking.
I've invited our guests to join us for the Maundy Thursday service after Thursday's dinner, but I don't know if any of them will accept the offer. On Saturday, they are all going to the famous Easter Egg Hunt at Tom and Doris Granum's house.
Uneventful days are just what we want.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
IHN Monday 3/29/2010
Two photos, not of IHN but of our new Fellowship Hall, still under construction. I took these on Palm Sunday. I think the timber-framed arched trusses are striking.
[The photos are links; click them to see larger photos.]
The first night went smoothly, and everyone was delivered to the proper places in the morning. The families came back this evening to dinner furnished by Leita Cobb and Kitty Donnan. Clay is doing some carpentry at a restaurant, and he went to work after dinner because the restaurant would prefer not to have construction noise while filled with customers.
We had thought that another family would be joining us today, but that did not occur. It may happen tomorrow, or later in the week, or not at all. We just have to be flexible.
When I left the church after driving Clay to work, everyone was already in bed. It should be another quiet night.
[The photos are links; click them to see larger photos.]
The first night went smoothly, and everyone was delivered to the proper places in the morning. The families came back this evening to dinner furnished by Leita Cobb and Kitty Donnan. Clay is doing some carpentry at a restaurant, and he went to work after dinner because the restaurant would prefer not to have construction noise while filled with customers.
We had thought that another family would be joining us today, but that did not occur. It may happen tomorrow, or later in the week, or not at all. We just have to be flexible.
When I left the church after driving Clay to work, everyone was already in bed. It should be another quiet night.
Monday, March 29, 2010
IHN Sunday 3/28/2010
Once again, our intrepid set-up crew converted the children's classrooms into guest bedrooms. Below are before and after shots of one of the rooms.
[The photos are links; click them to see larger photos.]
John Calvin (in the "before" photo) is now in seclusion behind the brown cabinet. With any luck, we'll remember to rescue him at the end of the week when we restore the rooms to their classroom use.
The beds belong to IHN and move from church to church each week. They are exactly like the roll-away beds that a hotel or motel would supply. They are a bit more comfortable than you might expect: IHN has recently purchased a new set of mattresses, and so each bed has one of the old mattresses under one of the new ones.
The beds, a set of large plastic bins with the guests' belongings, and some other furniture items are picked up from the church that's finishing its host week early on Sunday. Later that afternoon they are delivered to the next host church (that's us, today).
At the moment we have two families as our guests. One family is a mom and dad with a two-year-old daughter. The other is a mom with 4 1/2-year-old twin daughters and a 2 1/2-year old son. There's a strong possibility that we will have a third family with us before the week is out. As a result, we set up four rooms this time, three for the families and one for our overnight hosts. All of the classroom things are stored in Misse's storage room in the Children's Ministry Suite or in the "last resort" storage area underneath the church's front porch (you have to go through two sets of doors to get there).
Our guests and hosts joined First Presbyterian's youth group for dinner this evening, and will join the church as a whole for dinner on Thursday. On the other nights, dinner will be provided for the guests and hosts by some of our IHN volunteers.
Everyone was settled in when I left, and a quiet night is anticipated.
A good start to our host week. Stay tuned.
[The photos are links; click them to see larger photos.]
John Calvin (in the "before" photo) is now in seclusion behind the brown cabinet. With any luck, we'll remember to rescue him at the end of the week when we restore the rooms to their classroom use.
The beds belong to IHN and move from church to church each week. They are exactly like the roll-away beds that a hotel or motel would supply. They are a bit more comfortable than you might expect: IHN has recently purchased a new set of mattresses, and so each bed has one of the old mattresses under one of the new ones.
The beds, a set of large plastic bins with the guests' belongings, and some other furniture items are picked up from the church that's finishing its host week early on Sunday. Later that afternoon they are delivered to the next host church (that's us, today).
At the moment we have two families as our guests. One family is a mom and dad with a two-year-old daughter. The other is a mom with 4 1/2-year-old twin daughters and a 2 1/2-year old son. There's a strong possibility that we will have a third family with us before the week is out. As a result, we set up four rooms this time, three for the families and one for our overnight hosts. All of the classroom things are stored in Misse's storage room in the Children's Ministry Suite or in the "last resort" storage area underneath the church's front porch (you have to go through two sets of doors to get there).
Our guests and hosts joined First Presbyterian's youth group for dinner this evening, and will join the church as a whole for dinner on Thursday. On the other nights, dinner will be provided for the guests and hosts by some of our IHN volunteers.
Everyone was settled in when I left, and a quiet night is anticipated.
A good start to our host week. Stay tuned.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
2006 Southwest GA Mini-Tour - 3/19/06
Second Stop: Maranatha Baptist Church, Plains, GA
Arising early, most of the choir dined at the motel buffet for breakfast (with a few making their way to the Waffle House next door). Piling onto the bus after packing up the hotel rooms, we departed Americus and headed for Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, GA. When we got there, a line had already formed for people waiting to get in. After a bit of confusion about which door the Secret Service wanted us to use, the choir members eventually formed their own line at the front door. We received a variety of instructions even before entering the church: "Don't zip up your robes until you've gone through security"; "You may take books in but NOT books by President Carter"; "Once you go in, you cannot come back out"; "No pocket knives or knitting needles." Once we held our arms out for "the wand," we passed through the security checkpoint and were warmly greeted by pastor Jeff Summers.
The choir quickly got into place and ran through the morning's music - with Doris and Martha running through the planned solo for the first time! Though we expected a lot of down time after the rehearsal and before the Sunday school class began, everything moved very quickly. Following our abbreviated rehearsal, they opened the doors and started seating visitors. Two sections of the sanctuary were reserved for their own members, but the rest of the sanctuary filled quickly and they used their fellowship hall (equipped with a monitor) for overflow.
Miz Jan and Her Husband
"Miz" Jan Williams, who was our host for the morning, gave us detailed instructions on how we were to act, what we were to say (and not to say) and what we needed to do for pictures with the Carters after the service. Some examples of Jan's instructions:
* "When President Carter enters the room, no one is to applaud or stand, EXCEPT uniformed military personnel (as President Carter was their Commander in Chief)."
* "President Carter will ask, 'Are there any visitors this morning?' and you are to laugh as he thinks it's funny."
* "President Carter will ask what states are represented. Once a state has been mentioned, you don't need to mention it again. (And for those of you who don't know, Atlanta is NOT a state.)"
* "While going through the states, this is the only time you will be allowed to take photographs of President Carter. If you take a photo after this, your camera will be borrowed by an usher for the next two hours."
* "Then President Carter will recognize ministers and missionaries asking their denomination and residence."
President Carter Looks Over The Crowd
Once all the instructions were given (and there were a good many of them), they passed out the Sunday school curriculum (Uniform Lesson Plans), and before we knew it, President Carter and Mrs. Carter entered from opposite doors. President Carter took a quick look around without having heard the choir sing a note looked at us and said, "What a beautiful choir."
After the introductions, President Carter began the lesson and spoke about many thing including evolution, intelligent design, stem cell research, the psalms in general, and Psalm 139 (the focus of the lesson) in particular.
About halfway through the lesson, we learned (via a note from the Pastor) that the Carters needed to leave early and to accommodate the people who were expecting to have their picture taken, the service needed to be shortened, including the solo that Doris and Martha were planning. When the Sunday school class was over (at about 10:45am), we quickly made some adjustments to the upcoming worship service by shortening a lesson, moving a solo before the service, rearranging the order of worship and preparing to start a few minutes earlier than planned.
The choir began with the choral prelude: Mark Hayes' arrangement of Day by Day (Daniel Elder, soloist) and followed that wil Doris and Martha presenting the arrangement of Amazing Grace. We're not sure when, exactly, the Carters reentered the sanctuary, but it was President Carter who began the applause after Amazing Grace.
The service was less formal than ours and proceeded at a casual pace, but due to the time constraint, it kept moving. Our choir provided the three readers of the morning: Greg Price, Meg Granum and John Tsao. The choir also sang the offertory and the anthem. In fact, the title of the offertory is Offertory - a setting of Micah 6:6-8, which was the text President Carter used for his inaugural address. Then, for the anthem, the choir left their folders on their seats, stood and sang from memory: Gilbert Martin's exciting setting of Which I Survey the Wondrous Cross. It is a thrilling arrangement of what many hymnologists consider the finest hymn text in the English language. When the choir released the final "Amen," there was an audible positive reaction from the congregation.
Following the sermon, the pastor, Jeff Summers, surprised Tom by asking him to do the closing prayer. Tom (who will tell you that he's not an experienced extemporaneous leader of prayer and was a bit taken aback) made his way to the pulpit and blessed us all with a beautiful and heart-felt prayer.
Once the service was over, we packed up our music and made our way outside for a photo session with the Carters. We were encouraged to be the last group photographed with the Carters and the other sessions moved very quickly. After photos with the (non-robed) groupies (above) and with our choir (below), President Carter (who didn't have a lot of time for conversation) smiled and told us, "You are welcome to come back every Sunday."
Packing up our robes and loading up the buses, we did a quick drive around Plains (to the fenced "compound" where the Carters live and then out to see the "boyhood home" from the road), headed to Americus for a bit of lunch and returned to Athens (with an unintentional detour to Jackson, Georgia).
Arising early, most of the choir dined at the motel buffet for breakfast (with a few making their way to the Waffle House next door). Piling onto the bus after packing up the hotel rooms, we departed Americus and headed for Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, GA. When we got there, a line had already formed for people waiting to get in. After a bit of confusion about which door the Secret Service wanted us to use, the choir members eventually formed their own line at the front door. We received a variety of instructions even before entering the church: "Don't zip up your robes until you've gone through security"; "You may take books in but NOT books by President Carter"; "Once you go in, you cannot come back out"; "No pocket knives or knitting needles." Once we held our arms out for "the wand," we passed through the security checkpoint and were warmly greeted by pastor Jeff Summers.
The choir quickly got into place and ran through the morning's music - with Doris and Martha running through the planned solo for the first time! Though we expected a lot of down time after the rehearsal and before the Sunday school class began, everything moved very quickly. Following our abbreviated rehearsal, they opened the doors and started seating visitors. Two sections of the sanctuary were reserved for their own members, but the rest of the sanctuary filled quickly and they used their fellowship hall (equipped with a monitor) for overflow.Miz Jan and Her Husband
"Miz" Jan Williams, who was our host for the morning, gave us detailed instructions on how we were to act, what we were to say (and not to say) and what we needed to do for pictures with the Carters after the service. Some examples of Jan's instructions:* "When President Carter enters the room, no one is to applaud or stand, EXCEPT uniformed military personnel (as President Carter was their Commander in Chief)."
* "President Carter will ask, 'Are there any visitors this morning?' and you are to laugh as he thinks it's funny."
* "President Carter will ask what states are represented. Once a state has been mentioned, you don't need to mention it again. (And for those of you who don't know, Atlanta is NOT a state.)"
* "While going through the states, this is the only time you will be allowed to take photographs of President Carter. If you take a photo after this, your camera will be borrowed by an usher for the next two hours."
* "Then President Carter will recognize ministers and missionaries asking their denomination and residence."
President Carter Looks Over The Crowd
Once all the instructions were given (and there were a good many of them), they passed out the Sunday school curriculum (Uniform Lesson Plans), and before we knew it, President Carter and Mrs. Carter entered from opposite doors. President Carter took a quick look around without having heard the choir sing a note looked at us and said, "What a beautiful choir."After the introductions, President Carter began the lesson and spoke about many thing including evolution, intelligent design, stem cell research, the psalms in general, and Psalm 139 (the focus of the lesson) in particular.
About halfway through the lesson, we learned (via a note from the Pastor) that the Carters needed to leave early and to accommodate the people who were expecting to have their picture taken, the service needed to be shortened, including the solo that Doris and Martha were planning. When the Sunday school class was over (at about 10:45am), we quickly made some adjustments to the upcoming worship service by shortening a lesson, moving a solo before the service, rearranging the order of worship and preparing to start a few minutes earlier than planned.
The choir began with the choral prelude: Mark Hayes' arrangement of Day by Day (Daniel Elder, soloist) and followed that wil Doris and Martha presenting the arrangement of Amazing Grace. We're not sure when, exactly, the Carters reentered the sanctuary, but it was President Carter who began the applause after Amazing Grace.
The service was less formal than ours and proceeded at a casual pace, but due to the time constraint, it kept moving. Our choir provided the three readers of the morning: Greg Price, Meg Granum and John Tsao. The choir also sang the offertory and the anthem. In fact, the title of the offertory is Offertory - a setting of Micah 6:6-8, which was the text President Carter used for his inaugural address. Then, for the anthem, the choir left their folders on their seats, stood and sang from memory: Gilbert Martin's exciting setting of Which I Survey the Wondrous Cross. It is a thrilling arrangement of what many hymnologists consider the finest hymn text in the English language. When the choir released the final "Amen," there was an audible positive reaction from the congregation.
Following the sermon, the pastor, Jeff Summers, surprised Tom by asking him to do the closing prayer. Tom (who will tell you that he's not an experienced extemporaneous leader of prayer and was a bit taken aback) made his way to the pulpit and blessed us all with a beautiful and heart-felt prayer.
Once the service was over, we packed up our music and made our way outside for a photo session with the Carters. We were encouraged to be the last group photographed with the Carters and the other sessions moved very quickly. After photos with the (non-robed) groupies (above) and with our choir (below), President Carter (who didn't have a lot of time for conversation) smiled and told us, "You are welcome to come back every Sunday."
Packing up our robes and loading up the buses, we did a quick drive around Plains (to the fenced "compound" where the Carters live and then out to see the "boyhood home" from the road), headed to Americus for a bit of lunch and returned to Athens (with an unintentional detour to Jackson, Georgia).
Saturday, March 18, 2006
2006 Southwest GA Mini-Tour - 3/18/06
First Stop: Buena Vista United Methodist Church, Buena Vista, GA
After arriving in Americus, the choir checked into the Ramada Inn, changed into performance attire, and was back on the bus 30 minutes later to head to Buena Vista United Methodist Church. We were welcomed by a poster by the street announcing the choir's program for the evening. After finding our seats and an extensive warm-up, the choir was treated to a delicious and bountiful meal provided by the congregation of our host church. Three, yes three, kinds of barbeque were offered, representing three of the best known proprietors of barbecue from Macon, Gray/Clinton, and Columbus, Georgia. Many Georgians have strong opinions about the best barbecue and similar discussions were held about the desserts too!
After dinner, the Chancel Choir presented an hour-long program to a very receptive congregation. The program, based on phrases from the Wesley hymn O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, began with the hymn by that name and included anthems related to phrases from the hymn. Additionally, Doris Granum sang two solos, Tom Granum presented three organ selections, Kevin Johnson played euphonium on one piece, Daniel Elder sung a solo on another and special thanks to Martha Thomas for her accompaniment on the piano during the program.
Our program for the evening included the following:
* O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, Congregational Hymn
* Gordon Young: Now Let Us All Praise God and Sing
* G. O. Pitoni: Cantate Domino
* Jane Marshall: None Other Lamb (Kevin Johnson, euphonium)
* Michael T. Smith: Lily of the Valley (Doris Granum, solo)
* Beverly Terrell: Amazing Grace (Doris Granum, solo)
* Roger Hoffman: Consider the Lilies of the Field
* K. Lee Scott: Write Your Blessed Name
* John Ness Beck: He Shall Feed His Flock
* Charles Gounod: Sanctus
* Attr. J. S. Bach: Little Prelude & Fugue in C (Tom Granum, organ solo)
* Thomas Arne: Flute Tune (Tom Granum, organ solo)
* C. S. Lang: Tuba Tune in D (Tom Granum, organ solo)
* Jane Marshall: My Eternal King
* John Rutter: For the Beauty of the Earth
* Mark Hayes: Day by Day (Daniel Elder, soloist)
* Gilbert Martin: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
After the performance, the choir made it back to the Ramada Inn in Americus to rest up for the service morning.
After arriving in Americus, the choir checked into the Ramada Inn, changed into performance attire, and was back on the bus 30 minutes later to head to Buena Vista United Methodist Church. We were welcomed by a poster by the street announcing the choir's program for the evening. After finding our seats and an extensive warm-up, the choir was treated to a delicious and bountiful meal provided by the congregation of our host church. Three, yes three, kinds of barbeque were offered, representing three of the best known proprietors of barbecue from Macon, Gray/Clinton, and Columbus, Georgia. Many Georgians have strong opinions about the best barbecue and similar discussions were held about the desserts too!After dinner, the Chancel Choir presented an hour-long program to a very receptive congregation. The program, based on phrases from the Wesley hymn O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, began with the hymn by that name and included anthems related to phrases from the hymn. Additionally, Doris Granum sang two solos, Tom Granum presented three organ selections, Kevin Johnson played euphonium on one piece, Daniel Elder sung a solo on another and special thanks to Martha Thomas for her accompaniment on the piano during the program.
Our program for the evening included the following:
* O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, Congregational Hymn
* Gordon Young: Now Let Us All Praise God and Sing
* G. O. Pitoni: Cantate Domino
* Jane Marshall: None Other Lamb (Kevin Johnson, euphonium)
* Michael T. Smith: Lily of the Valley (Doris Granum, solo)
* Beverly Terrell: Amazing Grace (Doris Granum, solo)
* Roger Hoffman: Consider the Lilies of the Field
* K. Lee Scott: Write Your Blessed Name
* John Ness Beck: He Shall Feed His Flock
* Charles Gounod: Sanctus
* Attr. J. S. Bach: Little Prelude & Fugue in C (Tom Granum, organ solo)
* Thomas Arne: Flute Tune (Tom Granum, organ solo)
* C. S. Lang: Tuba Tune in D (Tom Granum, organ solo)
* Jane Marshall: My Eternal King
* John Rutter: For the Beauty of the Earth
* Mark Hayes: Day by Day (Daniel Elder, soloist)
* Gilbert Martin: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
After the performance, the choir made it back to the Ramada Inn in Americus to rest up for the service morning.
Friday, March 17, 2006
2006 Southwest GA Mini-Tour
First-Ever Overnight Tour!!
The Chancel Choir of First Presbyterian Church of Athens had its first-ever overnight tour Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19, 2006. With more than 30 choir members and about a half-dozen groupies, the entourage left Athens late Saturday morning and journeyed to southwest Georgia for meaningful performances in Buena Vista and Plains, Georgia. Everyone was excited about the 30-hour trip and it was certainly memorable for everyone involved.
Doris and Tom Granum played tour guide along the way and shared both meaningful and meaningless trivia about the area through which we traveled. Comments ranged from "Bill Arrington grew up two miles east of here (south Macon)" to "My favorite barbecue in the world is Fincher's BBQ -- just east of here. In fact, astronaut Sonny Carter took some Fincher's BBQ with him into space."
The Chancel Choir of First Presbyterian Church of Athens had its first-ever overnight tour Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19, 2006. With more than 30 choir members and about a half-dozen groupies, the entourage left Athens late Saturday morning and journeyed to southwest Georgia for meaningful performances in Buena Vista and Plains, Georgia. Everyone was excited about the 30-hour trip and it was certainly memorable for everyone involved.
Doris and Tom Granum played tour guide along the way and shared both meaningful and meaningless trivia about the area through which we traveled. Comments ranged from "Bill Arrington grew up two miles east of here (south Macon)" to "My favorite barbecue in the world is Fincher's BBQ -- just east of here. In fact, astronaut Sonny Carter took some Fincher's BBQ with him into space."
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