This coming Sunday, July 18, you’ll all be treated to the luscious voices of the Weddle Twins, Marissa (Weddle) McNeilly and Kelsey Weddle! They’ll be doing their version of Paul McCartney’s Blackbird and either I Have a Dream from ABBA or Michael Jackson’s Heal the World. It is always exciting to have the gals sing for us, and the “match up” with this week’s sermon on Restorative Justice makes this one BIG Sunday pairing! So come to church or drop in online for the stream, but DON’T miss this one!

On another front, I want to say a few words about our choir and the dilemmas still facing us regarding COVID-19. Three weeks ago I decided that I had better slot in regular choir rehearsals in our church calendar — something I usually do in December for the following year, but hadn’t because of the pandemic. I also decided to reserve Thursday nights through July and August just in case it was safe to rehearse this summer. Most of you know that the Mixed Choir always takes a break for June, July and August, but the choir members and I have been really missing singing and I was hoping that we could at least do some singing together even if the group did not perform until September.

As I thought more about it, there are several challenges to overcome. I had already checked with the choir earlier about their vaccination status and people were either already vaccinated or waiting their turn to get a shot. This was heartening. However, I do know that choirs are particularly susceptible to spreading the disease because of their close proximity in the choir loft and the extra force it takes to project their voices. (Many of you may recall that a church choir in Washington was hit hard with COVID because they chose to rehearse and then sing on Easter Sunday in 2020. I believe four of those in that choir died.) And now the delta variant, which is easier to transmit, is on the rise. Also, the CDC still thinks that choirs need to be masked in order to sing. And, I have to say that it is not easy to sing with a mask on! I used a special “Broadway” mask a few times at church while song leading. It was definitely easier to use than a regular mask, but still difficult to enunciate — and especially to breathe! And so the question still remains — is it safe to convene the choir for singing? What is the ethical thing to do? I honestly don’t know.

Deb Jacquemin
UUCS Music Director