I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And in my church, no one is paid for the service/time/effort they offer. Not the bishop, not the activities committe, not the nursery leaders (bless them!), nobody. Yes, we function and fleurish based on what are affectionately (and not so affectionately at times) known as "callings." Callings are chances to serve and help in the church. We are encouraged to accept and welcome new callings as opportunities from the Lord to grow and develop or strengthen our talents. At the heart of all our callings is service. What better way to show love for our fellowman and for God than by offering our service freely and (as best we can) cheerfully :)
Thus when the Bishop at my church asked me to be the Primary (children's sunday school) Pianist...I said what I've always said to callings big and small - SURE!! But I think I somehow forgot to say the first part of my response, cause what I really meant to say was "ARE YOU SURE?!" haha
Nevermind that I haven't played the piano (excluding "The Entertainer" that I've had memorized all these years) since 6th grade. And don't worry that my mom made me quit lessons after the only music coming from the piano bench was a roaring rendition of a tortured animal whose pain was that of practicing. Or maybe she made me quit because somehow I thought sneaking out of the house instead of practicing would be a good idea. Hmmmm...when the music stops coming from the piano, it's a little obvious who made a run for it, huh? Needless to say, I wasn't always as delightfully bright as I am now. lol
So yes, I'm sure God is utterly tickled that He's called me to tickle the ivories. But in the end, I suppose I really do think it'll be good for me. I'm not really looking forward to playing in front of our whole congregation when it comes time for the primary program at the end of the year, but that's still months away, right?
In the meantime I better work on the basics. You know - like using more than just my right hand to play the songs. Still, I wonder how John will handle my complaining from the bench. But isn't that what lawyers do too...complain at the bench? (I just couldn't help myself on that one...)
You don't suppose one of the children's songs is "The Entertainer" do you? ;)
Kim, that's my current calling and I absolutely LOVE it. The kids don't care how well you play; they just love the songs so much. Singing Time is the best part of Primary. Trust me, you will do fine! You're a rock star!
ReplyDeleteP.S.~ The Entertainer, while an awesome classic, is not in the Children's Songbook. But maybe you could sneak it into the prelude somehow ... ? Kidding. (Only kind of.)
That was my absolute favorite calling of all time! I was sad when they switched me to be the music leader. Ahh! Kristen and I do the calling together, so it's not too bad. Those little kids are adorable. :D
ReplyDeleteYay Primary!!! What a great opportunity to bring an old talent back to life! :) And coming from a primary chorister without a pianist, trust me when I say that whatever music you can pluck out is absolutely perfect! All of your efforts will be SO very appreciated!!! You're going to do great...just like everything you do!! :) :)
ReplyDelete