building and of Christianity, and provided part of the context that the Central
Bucks East singers were excited to experience.”
The choir also had the experience of singing in the Old North Church in
Boston a week previously as part of a performance tour.
It may have seemed unusual for a public school choir to be singing sacred
music, since it seems that anything religious is discouraged, if not outright
banned, in public schools these days. But, Graham says, “Sacred music is a
huge part of music history and there are certain composers, approaches
and music forms that don’t even have secular counterparts. So a study of
music without studying sacred music is like taking a history course about
Pennsylvania without mentioning the Quakers, or studying medieval history
without mentioning the Catholic Church. It would be a blatant omission,
leaving the story incomplete and incorrect.”
He notes that, “There isn’t anything expressly forbidding sacred music
in public schools, though from school to school it can vary in terms of how
restricted it is. It seems that Central Bucks east is open to the value of studying
sacred music in its context – a powerful way to understand its motivation and
function. For that, they should be commended.”
Graham says he is hoping to invite groups from our schools – Bryn Athyn
College, Secondary Schools and Elementary School – to sing each year in the
Cathedral. “I think we at the Cathedral could offer the students a valuable
experience,” he says, “and I know that they would enrich our worship.”
The CB East choir sang for 20 minutes prior to the service, plus the
interlude and postlude. They were acknowledged in the Choir Hall after the
service to prolonged applause. Many people thanked them individually. The
students obviously loved the experience. One beaming mother said the choir
is like a sport to these students; they practice every day. And she added that she
liked the service itself so much that “We’ll be back!”
bonny hills camp in australia
While we are gearing up for church and school summer camps in North
America, they’ve already had their mid-summer camp in Australia – in early
January.
The Rev. Todd Beiswenger, pastor in Hurstville, just outside of Sydney,
reports that the Bonny Hills Camp in Port Macquarie was a great success. It
attracted more than a hundred people from all over Australia – New South
Wales, Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory – plus a few
international visitors.
Todd says there were a wide variety of offerings, including seven ministers
leading worship and offering presentations. “Others kindly volunteered their
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