Choir Practice & Stained Glass

To paraphrase Mr. William Blake......"When I grow up and can do what I please, I think I'll visit churches in Iowa and gaze at lovely stained glass windows!" I love colored glass, whether it be in windows, or suncatchers, or paperweights, or old canning jars.

The window in this photo is from Memorial Lutheran Church in Ames, Iowa. My son attended there when he was student at Iowa State University just across Lincoln Way.

Truly, I could be very happy spending time driving around and stopping at churches here and there. I'd start here in lower northeast Iowa, and work my way further northeast into the scenic hills of that part of Iowa. Probably every state in the Union can boast many old church buildings with lovely windows.

When my camera gets fixed, or better yet, a new camera comes along, I hope to snap some photos of the windows of my own church.


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On the subject of church.......I attended our mid-week Lenten service Wednesday evening. Not surprisingly, the crowd was sparse. Arriving late, I sneaked up the steps to sit in the balcony with the rest of the "sneakers". If you are late or, for some other reason, wish to sneak into and out of a church service without being seen, then the balcony is the place to go. And actually, I feel very much at home amongst the "sneakers".


After the service, there was choir practice, and we had a blast, even though there were only five singers present, not counting the director and the organist. We had two sopranos, two tenors, and me stuck alone in the middle on alto. Being able to sing soprano or alto, I go where needed, and lately, that has been in the alto section. Of course, the alto part is buried in between soprano and tenor and is sometimes not easy to hear, especially in a new song......at least not for me. I have to hear the alto part played alone once first, then its fairly easy to latch onto the harmony of it.

Even though we were only a quintet, all of us are strong singers, and we can make quite a bit of sound if we have to. The choir director is ever the good-natured, patient leader and that helps. She is a good friend, and she's the mother of SEVEN daughters!! I think of her as "Our Lady of the Seven Joys" (as opposed to "Our Lady of the Seven Dolors", which is the name of a Catholic Church at Festina, Iowa. "Dolors" are sorrows, and that description certainly does not fit my friend and her daughters!)

Our organist, too, is very gifted with keyboard ability and a great sense of humor. Just being around such people is inspiring and uplifting! Hence, my willingness to return as a choir member.......it can be fun!! Yonder many years ago when I joined this Lutheran Church, we had a very large choir, and we sang on a regular basis, and did cantatas for Good Friday and Christmas. But, with the few choir members we have now, ambitious singing projects like that are out of the question.

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If anyone reads this.......leave a comment if you're a member of a church choir or another type of singing group!!