Canada Choir Tour, Day 2

We began our day worshipping God in a Taizé style of worship, focusing our hearts and minds as to the true purpose of our trip. After breakfast, we headed over to the Mount Royal United Church of Christ where we helped to lead the musical aspect of worship. Our Celebration Singers sounded like angels! I wish you could have been there to hear it! The soloists sang out strong and the choir blended its notes wonderfully! The congregation was excited we had the opportunity to worship with them this morning. We then had lunch and games with their youth group, getting to know some new friends.

In the afternoon, because of the cold and raining afternoon, we stayed at the hotel, napping and playing in the pool, but not both at the same time. After rehearsal, we headed out to dinner at an Ethopian restaurant where we ate with our hands. (Finally, I can't get in trouble for doing that at the table!) As a sign of friendship, it is customary for someone to feed their friend, still using their hands. This made for an interesting dinner, to be sure! We closed out our dinner with a trip to Ben and Jerry's, sponsored by Bertis Downs.

Our discussions continued in the evening on the liturgical year, focusing on Christmas and what that means to us personally. A great ending to a great day on our Choir Tour!

For more pictures from our Choir Tour, check out our Facebook page.

Canada Choir Tour, Day 1

What a day it has been! We met at the church before the sun came up to begin our journey to Canada. Chris Griffin and Doris Granum graciously agreed to help get us to the airport in the church vans. After boarding the plane (only one bag was checked out of 14 people!), we were off! Several young people had never flown before, sharing their first flight with us!

When we arrived in Canada, we made our way through Customs with no problems. We traveled to the hotel where we are staying (Hotel Maritime in Montreal) for an afternoon of practice and rehearsal, then we hit the pool to relax.

Before dinner, we had our first of several devotions based on the church's lectionary calendar, beginning with Advent. Following dinner, we headed out to Notre Dame Basilique for the show "Et la Lumieré Fut" ("And Then There Was Light"), which details the construction of this amazing church.

2010 Celebration Singers Tour to Canada

A Message from the Director:

Celebration Singers (grades 6-12) will leave Saturday morning for an eight-day tour to Montreal and Quebec City. They will sing for worship services (including an English-language service celebrating the 85th anniversary of the United Church of Canada – and a French-language service with an Evangelical Baptist congregation), for tourists in several major cathedrals, basilicas and churches in Montreal and Quebec City, and for an adult “blind academy.” As if that weren’t enough of a multi-cultural experience, they will also experience the Ethiopian area of Montreal as well the Hassidic Jewish neighborhood.

Each day begins and ends with worship, and they will have other opportunities for spiritual growth. Visiting the historic churches gives them the opportunity to learn more about the Old and New Testament men and women portrayed in statues, stained-glass windows and other art media. Their musical programs will emphasize scripture-based anthems, music of the liturgical year and sharing hymns of our culture with other cultures. Fellowship and developing lasting friendships among the Celebration Singers is also important. Busy days include time for recreation and sight-seeing.

Participants for our 2010 Celebration Singers Tour to Canada include:
Youth – Evan Arrington-Tsao, Emily Cox, Addie Downs, Mary Winn Granum, Daniel Harrison, Grace Magrino, Maddy Magrino, Jordan Osborne, Elizabeth Simmons, Cameron Walters, Hannah Walters and Wesley Walters

Adults & assisting college students – Bertis Downs, Tom Granum, Cheri Griffin, Christiana Griffin, Adrian Martin, Chelsie McIver and Peggy Randolph

IHN Sunday 4/3/2010

No sleeping in this morning, everyone was up bright and early (6:30 on Easter Sunday morning), packed and ready to go to the IHN Day Center. The van left the church at about 7:05, and our take-down crew staged all the beds and bins in the hallway near the door, ready to load the IHN truck. The truck arrived at 8:00 and was away again at 8:10. After that, it was sweeping, vacuuming, and putting the classroom things back in place. We were ready by 9:00, well before the start of the church's Easter Festival.

Two of our guest families came back from the IHN Day Center to attend the 11:00 worship service with us.

Our volunteers manned the Day Center from 1 to 5 today, our next to last IHN job for the week. The last job was driving the families to their church home for the next week, Holy Cross Lutheran.

We've finished a very successful Host Week, thanks to our large corps of volunteers. Thanks also to our guests, who were some of the best and easiest to deal with families we've met in some time.

We'll do it all again three months from now. See you then!

IHN Saturday 4/3/2010

Our guests slept in today, and enjoyed a fancier breakfast than on weekdays, supplied by Susan Boatwright. Workmen were spray painting on the rear of the building. When Susan left, she found that they had "gift wrapped" her car in plastic sheeting to protect it from overspray.

The big event of the day was the Easter Egg Hunt at the Granums'.

[The photos are links; click them to see larger photos.]

Our guests are in the last photo above. Standing are Jessica, Brandy, and Clay. Seated are Brittany and her son Zaire, and Neveah, daughter of Brandy and Clay. Jessica's three children could not join us at the Easter egg hunt. Neveah is also in the second photo.

I think everyone at the Easter Egg Hunt had a really good time; I certainly did.

Tonight is the last night our guests will spend with us. Dinner was provided by Lisa Oelke.

No sleeping in in the morning -- we must take them to the IHN Day Center about 7:00 so that we can convert the rooms back into Sunday School rooms and set up the large room for FPC's Easter brunch.

IHN Friday 4/2/2010

Good Friday, the last weekday of our IHN host week.  Dinner was provided by Kathy Bangle, and the guests were tucking in when I left.  Brandy was at work at Buffalo's, and will return to the church late tonight.

Tomorrow is sleep-in day, with a fancy breakfast cooked by Susan Boatwright.  I think both things are attractive to the families right now.

All our guest families want to attend the Granums' Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow.  I'll try to take a few pictures.

IHN Thursday 4/1/2010

Maundy Thursday

I don't know whether all of the congregation members present noticed, but our IHN guests were having dinner with us this Maundy Thursday evening. They and their children were at the first table, nearest the entrance to the Childrens' Ministry Suite. I think they enjoyed the dinner, but it was probably noiser than the smaller children were comfortable with.
When the new construction is complete, we will have a different space for large church gatherings, including dinners, and this problem won't arise.
A quiet day, and anticipating a quiet night.