On May 19, 2008 we celebrated 30 years of service of Eileen and Bob Newton as
our organist and choir director. Below is a photo essay of a very special day for
Eileen, Bob and the entire congregation.
While Bob is not normally available during the service he managed to get away from the
Coast Guard chapel to join in the celebration of the luncheon that was being prepared f
or them. At the end of the anthem, Oh Come, Let Us Sing, written by Bob, Rev Mark
commented how nice it was to have the composer available to conduct the anthem.
After the benediction Rev Mark told Eileen and Bob that their work was over for the day
i.e. there would be no postlude.
Marsha talked about the significant contributions of the Newtons and that the choir
and congregation decided to move beyond a wall plaque to recognize their service.
Fred explained some of the considerations that went in to the commissioning of an
anthem in honor of their 30 years of service. The congregation commissioned
Ruth Elaine Schram to write an anthem that included an upbeat message, a flute
accompaniment and a cappella portion. To ensure that the choir got it right Ruth was
brought to Connecticut to conduct the primer performance.
Created
For Praise
Because I am Your servant,
Because I am Your child,
Because I freely give my life to You,
it is a joy to lift my voice
in honor of Your Name;
to do what I was meant to do.
I was created for praise,
designed to reflect Your glory,
to show the world Your grace,
to tell the world Your story.
You alone are the Potter,
and I am but the clay;
a vessel made by You,
created for praise.
Because You are my Savior,
Because You are my Lord,
Because You freely gave Your life for me,
It is a joy to lift my voice in
honor of Your Name,
in hopes that all the world may see.
I was created for praise,
designed to reflect Your glory,
to show the world Your grace,
to tell the world Your story.
You alone are the Potter,
and I am but the clay;
a vessel made by You,
a vessel made by You.
I have been touched by Your Spirit,
my heart responds, amazed
that I was made by You,
created for praise.
( a cappella) I was created for praise,
designed to reflect Your glory.
A vessel made by You,
created for praise.
Ruth Elaine Schram wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and her first octavo was published twenty years later, in 1988. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now has over 1,400 published works. Over thirteen million copies of her songs have been purchased in their various venues, and she has been a recipient of the ASCAP Special Award each year since 1990. In addition to her choral music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of which have been Dove Award Finalists) and numerous children's videos, including sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video. Her songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as "The 700 Club" and HBO's acclaimed series "The Sopranos".
Ruthie
began piano and theory lessons at the age of five. She studied music at
Her
current published works, with samples of audio excerpts and select pages of the
scores, are listed on her web site: choralmusic.com.
It appears that we caught the Newtons completely by surprise.
There were a few words at the end.
By both Newtons as well.
Ruth stopped for a picture in the reception line following the service.
Once everything was ready Rev Mark announced that lunch was ready.
And that we would have to follow Eileen and Bob.
In this case the head table was actually the center table.
It appeared that the shock is over and the joy continues.
Lynn had some additional comments to express our appreciation in words
At one point she asked people to stand in they had been affected by the music of the
Newtons by singing in the choir, playing hand bells, singing in the junior choir, parents
junior choir members, or had been moved by their music during worship. A majority
were standing before the following category.
Thank you
And thank you
Finally we got the cake.
