It’s that time of year! … wait, don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t mean the time of year when everyone spends all their money shopping, when gifts are given to every “good” child, nor that time of year when the electric bill doubles because of all the newly placed lights around the house. I mean, the time when a family of over 100 singers perform a spectacle of music that declares a joyful noise to a community who, maybe for the first time, wants to hear and remember the story of how a newborn child of Bethlehem could be the reason for more than just one season.
It has been my pleasure to experience this spectacle for the past four years, but not from the audience perspective. I learned a little bit differently of the colossal size of this event. Here’s what I found:
Choir members volunteer to meet every week to pray, sing, mingle, laugh, sing, and pray some more. I immediately felt a part of the choir when I joined my freshman year of high school. I was greeted by young and old, wealthy and poor, male and female. Hearing the stories and laughter of the older men (some with incredibly low voices) reminded me of my family’s traditions of crazy games and story-telling. These people became my family and provided support and encouragement in my academic and musical endeavors.
The greatest memories I have with this choir are the moments we take together when a member is ill or moving through a rough patch in life, and we pray. The sincerity and love spoken over one another is incredible. The members of this choir gather to sing together because of the atmosphere created by the individual identity we have with our Heavenly Father. We each have a desire to be with God and others, and express that desire through music.
Under the direction of Melissa Stock, this choir has performed the Candlelight Carols concert for a decade now. With dedication to and passion for the message that we bring to our community, Northwest Christian University’s Community Choir is proud to present this very phantasmal musical experience. When you hear the music, you will be dreaming of things both precious and everlasting.
by Jason Haggard
Editor’s Note: The 10th Annual Candlelight Carols Christmas Concert is scheduled for Thursday, November 29 and Saturday, December 1. For more information, visit the NCU Events Calendar.