Here are a couple of pictures of Anna's last choir rehearsal:
I'm really proud of Anna and the ground she has covered with this choir. We've done some incredibly difficult pieces of music, and I think that the choir is in terrific shape for the incoming director. As I've said before, there is a wealth of musical talent in Henniker--from opera singers to bluegrass buffs, and Anna has done a great job of putting all the pieces together to create some great musical experiences. I'm also particularly proud that she taught proper singing technique without sacrificing the emotional qualities found in the music. Well done, Anna!
At the end of today's service, the music committee presented some farewell gifts to Anna. Dr. Bob thanked us for our music, and then Marcus (one of Anna's children's choir members) presented Anna with a gift certificate to the spa in Pembroke. Henniker's resident quilter (and owner of Quilted Threads--awesome store) Becky created a quilt that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. My picture below isn't the best for seeing the details, but she has pieces of fabric with choir members' names placed into a quilt with songbird fabric. The piece is framed and ready for hanging in our new pad. We can't wait to tell people the story behind it.
An added bonus to the quilt is that there is a sonnet written by Henniker's resident poet (lyricist to "Austin and Anna" in previous post) attached to the back of the frame. Tom gave us a reading of the sonnet during the service today, and I snapped a picture for you to see:
It's another one of those things that we'll share with our children and their children. I'll probably have it memorized like Tom after I show it off to a few people.Jack Bopp (member of The Prodigals, Pierce Pettis fan, and an incredible musician) and company hosted a coffee hour reception after the service with sweet treats, including an awesome punch! Here's a picture of the cake (delicious):
When Anna told me that she wanted to work in Henniker, I told her that I had never heard of the place. When she told me that she wanted to work at a Congreational church, I had to look it up in my denominational handbook. Now, after only three, quick years, we have friends and memories that we'll never forget. We'll miss you, Henniker.
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6 comments:
Sweet post, Austin. You guys have been blessed for sure, and they were certainly blessed to have you guys too!!
P.S. Try not to write such sweet, sentimental posts in the future, please. It's hard to be a smart ass when you do so.
Julie, you know that I use sentiment sparingly. But it is an important plot device for our blog. It keeps the chicks reading.
Austin and Anna, it is nice to be in touch with your lives and witness God's goodness to each of you!! What a blessing to be part of such a wonderful church family.
Austin--Remember, now that you have family in Henniker, you have to visit us. Dr. Bob
Dr. Bob, you can be sure that we will visit our family up north. That's why we got buots.
As I was sitting in church on Easter Sunday, I was reminded of Easters in my youth where, for me, the biggest fun was checking out all the different hats the women wore. Some were big floppy hats with lots of flowers while others were mostly netting and feathers and resembled bird nests. Sadly, there was but one hat in church this Easter.
Thinking about hats in church reminded me of the time I was asked by the Music Committee to come up with a few words about our music program. I donned my Uncle Albert’s turn-of-the-century genuine beaver skin top hat and made my way to the lectern repository. There, I went David Copperfield. Giving credit to our music committee, I said the magic words, tapped the top hat with my magic wand and managed, like them, to pull Anna out of the hat. Pretty neat trick I would say. Actually, I used a fold out banner than spelled A N N A. I then folded that banner back up into the hat and put the hat back on my head. I fuddled the next couple of lines and stumbled and stammered a bit to indicate having lost my train of thought, before finally admitting that “I just couldn’t get Anna off my mind”.
Well, these past three years has brought both Anna and Austin into our church and into our lives and into our hearts. And like then, I just can’t seem to get them out of my heart. That’s OK, because there will always be a place for them right there.
I will miss you both, and I will always cherish the fun and fellowship we shared while making wonderful music together.
Thank you.
Love,
Tom Weston
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