“My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.” Psalm 108:1

Dear Friends,

So many of my childhood memories with my dad center around music. Neither of us are musicians, but we wish we were. We love good soul music that gets down into our bones. Whenever we were in the car together, the radio was on Oldies 96.3. I grew to love Tommy James & The Shondells, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, and so many others. My dad is a pretty reserved guy, so I knew he was really into a song when he turned up the volume and drummed on the steering wheel with his fingers. I paid attention to those songs and filed them away: “Someday We’ll Be Together” by Diana Ross and the Supremes, “What Does It Take” by Junior Walker, and “When Doves Cry” by Prince, to recall a few. I especially love The Beatles and remember listening to their albums at home through the Pioneer headphones. By the time I was in middle school, we figured out how to transfer songs from albums onto cassettes.  Some nights I listened to them under the covers on my Walkman when I was supposed to be asleep. Several years ago, my parents called me from a Paul McCartney concert in Nashville and let me listen to “Hey Jude.” It was a spiritual experience being able to listen with them, like a single moment was spanning so much time.

I grew up faithfully going to church, and Sunday mornings in our home smelled like the muffins my dad was baking as the smooth sounds of Kenny G floated from the speakers through the house. I can feel those mornings in a heartbeat when I hear “Silhouette.” My dad often drove me back to church on Wednesday nights and, at my request, quizzed me on Bible trivia so I would be ready to dominate the games and win candy during our Wednesday night children’s class. 

We also spent a lot of time together on the softball field. He coached nearly every team I played on for twelve years. One year, we came in last place in our league. Determined to turn things around, he brought us together, believed in us, and pushed us. As we warmed up before each game, “Gel” by Collective Soul was playing on a stereo he brought to the park. We were undefeated that season. 

I was listening to the radio in the car last week, and a Richie Havens’ song came on. I started laughing, thinking about my dad waking me up some mornings with his lively (and untrained) accoustic guitar renditions of “Freedom.” I love the power music has. These little surprise moments are so full of memories, and they remind me how much I am loved. There are so many experiences and lessons to relive, packed into three or four magic minutes. They are all there, forever a part of me, like grooves in a record. Music to my soul. 

Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30am and 10:00am. It’s Father’s Day with sweet treats to celebrate dads and all who father! It’s also Trinity Sunday, a time for us to ponder the mystery of the Holy Trinity. There is no Sunday School this week as we take a break before transitioning into Summer Chapel, beginning on June 23rd. 

See you Sunday!

With love,

Dana Hale