Skip to main content

Hearing the Call: David Spanagel, Minister of Music

By

“I am an atheist— yet my decision a dozen years ago to join the choir at First Unitarian has opened a gigantic window of personal (dare I say, spiritual?) growth for me, and, though I shudder to hear myself say it, I think that I have become a ‘minister’ of music as a result”.  David Spanagel


My family began attending worship services at First Unitarian when our son reached kindergarten age.  Having been unchurched myself, the weekly Sunday ritual started out very much as a chore that I had little desire for.  The one dimension of weekly worship services that did really brighten my whole outlook was the music I heard and shared at First Unitarian.   I gloried in the power of the organ chords as they penetrated the entire space of the sanctuary, and I marveled at the ambition of the choir’s classical music repertoire.  

Occasionally, I even felt a transcendent chill of beauty and truth in the sounds that emanated from the soloists’ voices, or from the collaborations I witnessed among extraordinarily talented instrumental musicians who seemed to “live” in this place.  [Transcendence is an unusual feeling for me in part because I am an atheist, and therefore not particularly attuned to any such spiritual sensations.]

After about four years of just sitting and singing along with the congregation in the pews, I showed up at a choir rehearsal one night and was astounded to learn that there was no audition required or expected!  Whoever feels like singing with the choir is welcomed, regardless of their ability to sight-read, reproduce intervals flawlessly, or sustain a long phrase without taking a breath.  How was it possible that this collection of singers I had admired each week were not all professional-caliber musicians?  Here was a genuine miracle!  [“Miracle” is not a word I ordinarily include in my vocabulary.]


In sum, my rash decision a dozen years ago to join the choir at First Unitarian has opened a gigantic window of personal (dare I say, spiritual?) growth for me, and, though I shudder to hear myself say it, I think that I have become a “minister” of music as a result.  The Music Program compels me to want to be at First Unitarian week after week, regardless of weather or other surmountable obstacles.

Comments

  1. SeamusApril 8, 2014 at 8:50 PM

    I remember your solo - bel canto, from the pulpit. You were great. JCD

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Outstanding Day One for the Annual Pledge Drive

By
" It is rare indeed that people give.  Most people guard and keep. "  If this observation from James Baldwin, one of our contry's most respected philosophers and novelists, is true, then the opening Sunday of our Annual Stewardship Pledge Drive was a rare one indeed.  Consider these day one  statistics : Total amound pledged: $96,628 (32% of our $300,000 goal !) Number of pledges: 62 (6 of these were first time pledges !) A whopping 56% increased their pledge over last year ! Let us keep the momentum going!  If you have not yet sent in your pledge, do so today.   This is truly a wonderful beginning, and it was made even more special by our interim minister's homily.  If you missed Tracey's message, what follows are a few of her memorable and moving insights.  We come through these doors in search, in need, in hope, in prayer. We come looking for something to make our lives better; to make the lives of our family, our friends, our neigh
2 comments
Read more

This Community Surrounds My Life

By
I am always inspired and touched by the efforts to build a better world. Seth Popinchalk, Vice-Moderator Last week Scott Hayman told me about a 5K road race to benefit Abby’s house. Abby’s House is a family shelter for women and children and provides them with “a safe place to stay, regroup, and rebuild.” I am in fair shape, so when I woke up Saturday morning I laced up my shoes and drove out to West Boylston to find the starting line. I found Scott and Maddie at the registration area. I also ran into a handful of other familiar First U members wearing race bibs and supporting the event. There was no plan among members to connect with our First Unitarian community this Saturday morning, but we found each other among the crowd of about 300. I was reminded that I am surrounded by our special community. What brings us together? We are a community because we choose to be one. We find a connection with something the church offers: the Sunday services, the sermons, the holi
1 comment
Read more

Hearing the Call: Rudy Cepko, YRU2 Mentor and Advisor

By
“I believed that my day job as an RN in the Pediatric ICU at UMass would make it easy for me to handle a bunch of teenagers.  However, I was surprised to encounter teens willing to gain more knowledge in their spiritual quest and to learn how to use this in their everyday lives.”   Rudy Cepko   For many years I had not stepped into a church except for weddings and funerals.  In the mid-1990s, my wife, Alesia, started attending church to sing with UU choir.  She was impressed by the message that she heard from Barbara Merritt and suggested that I try the church.  I felt I was in a place that spoke to me, and our son Stefan was enrolled in the Sunday school programs. I had some involvement with church stewardship as a volunteer in the Garden committee.  Mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, planting and laying yards of mulch were part of my contribution to the church. Then when my son, Stefan, was in YRU2, he asked if I would be interested in becoming an assistant during the Sunday m
2 comments
Read more