A Letter from Luke, Director of Worship and Music

Greetings to all of you in this New Year! It’s hard to believe that by the time this reaches you we will all be wrapping up January and hopping into February. The quietness of January brought rest and renewal for the staff as many of us took some time to recharge our batteries. While I was on vacation, I was blessed to have a number of folks help out with worship; a huge thanks to Margaret McMillan, Linda Zimbelman, Lise Yellen, Jacques Williams, and Janine and Dave Rush for your time while I was out of town. One of the great joys of this community is the ability to share our time and talents with each other. I’m constantly reminded of that generosity each day that I have the privilege to come here and share time and space with each of you.  

February is shaping up to be an exciting month! Both the choir and bell choir are quick on their way to sharing more meaningful music with you for the Lenten season and beyond. The choir will be preparing their second virtual choir for Ash Wednesday. This has been such an exciting time for the choir to connect in a way that we’ve never done before. At the start of pandemic, we would meet weekly for about an hour or so, talk about some different topics and then we’d be on our way. As Christmas approached, we wanted to change that. Bill Kees and I began to explore the possibilities of doing a virtual choir and what it would take to put it together. Bill Kees’ son, Matt Kees, graciously gave of his time to assist us in the process, answer questions, and edit together the finished audio product. The choir all came together and did a fantastic job and are ready for their next big project which we have already begun. This next virtual choir project will be unveiled on Ash Wednesday.  

I’m so thankful to all of you for your generosity during these COVID times and for your cheerfulness! We will continue to find new and innovative ways to create and share together. I’m grateful for each of you and for the beauty that you bring to this community, this city, and to the world.  

Here’s to a wonderful new year!

Luke Nicolay, Director of Worship & Music