Yesterday was truly one of the most bittersweet days in my career as a church musician. I played my last service as Director of Music at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Waterloo. The congregation is amalgamating with two other congregations, and yesterday was the final service for St. John’s as a congregation. As of today, they are now Trillium Lutheran Church. These have been six of the happiest years of my life and it was nice to come together one last time to make music with this group of people whom I regarded as a family. Together, with the help from some friends, We sang Johannes Brahms “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place”, and John Rutter’s “The Lord Bless You and Keep You”. I can ho
nestly say that I have been so fortunate to have worked with these people. I have grown, not only as a musician, but as a person because of the People at St. John’s and Elevation. I wish them all of God’s blessings for the future.
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I’m praying for you, Mark, to feel the loving arms of God around you in this time of uncertainty. Call me any time if you need to talk.
Mark, know that you are not alone on this journey of endings and beginnings. These transitions can be traumatizing. You are in good company with your CM colleagues. These real life things make it even more crucial that we form a coherent and authentic community within our CM group. Sounds like we need to celebrate your years at St. John.