Moving Together in the SPIRIT

"A Quaker Church"

June 2004

On June 6 First Friends will celebrate the contributions of Bob Allen as our choral director of the past five years. Bob retires from the post this month (see his announcement in this newsletter) and we will miss him. "Choir Guy" is a nickname first coined by ten-year-old Hannah Basford, when she was trying to remember his name one day. And it stuck -- even as an official name plate on the door of his office! It fits well a man with a life-long passion for choral music and a genial willingness to find an appropriate musical approach to fit the worship styles of different religious traditions. Having worked with high-liturgical Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and other groups in the past, the as-the-Spirit-moves style of Friends was a whole new challenge. I enjoyed my conversations with Bob as he tried to plan music in advance with a pastor whose sermon planning can change drastically down to the minute of delivery. These were cheerful, even humorous, talks between two people taking their ministry at First Friends very seriously. Bob happens to be the same age as my father, who was choral director at First Friends in Indianapolis when I was growing up. Because I sang in that choir during some of those years, I have a perspective on the challenges, frustrations, and joys of being a "choir guy". I have been impressed by Bob's ability to "roll" with the ups and downs of the work--a good indicator of a true calling. We look forward to seeing where Bob's calling to ministry in music will take him next. Thank you, Choir Guy!

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