Gifts of Voice and Song

By Mary Layton, Stewardship Co-chair

The Stewardship Committee met in late August to discuss stewardship issues. Mary has met with Reverend Bruce, Joan Nierenberg, and the Board of Directors to discuss how the stewardship process can become a more year-round presence that includes all of our Members and Friends. It is somewhat daunting as stewardship is so central to the reasons that people are part of a faith community. It is very exciting for the same reason. There is a theme: Conversations that Matter. In the spring there will be a reception for Fair Share and Lead Givers as well as a Kick Off party that will include desserts, entertainment such as a skit, and table conversation between Fair Share givers and members. Pledges will be solicited at these events, hopefully after “conversations that matter” have occurred. For those unable to attend these gatherings we will arrange to have one-on-one encounters. The goal is to give everyone a chance to have a conversation about UUCUV that touches upon what really matters.

Those are the “bones” of what the Stewardship effort will be this year. The flesh and blood have to do with the gifts that each person brings and the gifts that we each take away from being involved in this community. I am hoping to solicit and share testimonials from interested members and friends. To begin, I would like to share a bit of my own experience.

I have been a UU for only four years and I have received a tremendous education, made many friends, have had a chance to serve the community, and have been led in new directions that I could not have known were possible. It has been a very productive time for which I am very grateful.

In particular I have enjoyed my experience with music. At coffee hour of the first service I attended I was very touched by the warm welcome and an invitation to join the choir. Music is something I have come to late in life, having taken piano lessons for three years starting at age 48, and starting with voice here at UUCUV. The choir experience has been a “learn by immersion” process, with unfamiliar hymns, struggles with sight-reading, and the unending patience of other choir members. The instruction and guidance provided by our former choir director, Elizabeth McCrae, and our current choir director, Linda Hoover, have also been invaluable. I have gained further experience by singing with the Summer Revels under the direction of Maureen Burford and with the Valley Singers, a community chorus led by Mary Cay Brass. In the way that one thing leads to another, the latter connection has given me an opportunity to be part of a Hospice Choir: the Evergreen Singers. We sing for the residents of Brookside Nursing Home, Genesis Health Care, and Kendall, in some cases at the bedside of dying residents. This is a joyous process. At Brookside recently, after the main presentation in the dining room, we shifted to the hallways and sang softly for people who were unable to leave their beds. Residents in wheelchairs who “wanted more music” followed us. It did not feel like the end of the road. It felt like people in community, more so than in most normal circumstances where we are cut-off from each other by our busy schedules and the roles we must play. I was born with the gift of voice, but the gift of song was nurtured by the tolerance, support, knowledge, and direction of the UUCUV community. It has enabled me to give back to the greater community in a way that is helpful and enjoyable. I am grateful for both the process and the results.