Dear siblings in Christ,
I write to you today with additional details pertaining to Church of Our Saviour’s long, methodical, and prayerful discernment toward its future . Among the many ministries within our community, COS’s music program finds itself at a significant and exciting step. In addition to continuing to offer music reflective of our beloved Anglican tradition, COS is working to rebuild a music program that is inclusive, inviting, and centered in community.
To that end, I have made the decision to hire Taylor Vasquez-Reyes as COS’s new Music Minister and Choir Director. We know Taylor well from her excellent work as COS’s children’s choir director, and from her more recent work as part-time interim music director during most of the pandemic (all those wonderful outdoor and live stream music offerings are but a taste of what Taylor will bring!). This position is a substantive change in that I have tasked the music minister and choirmaster with building an intergenerational choir that focuses primarily on fellowship and community and secondarily on technicality. Taylor will also interface with A Child’s Garden School, our immediate neighborhood, and beyond to build a children’s choir and early childhood music program that is funded sustainably. Last, Taylor will schedule and coordinate organists and other musicians for all COS services, including the 4 pm Garden service.
Taylor does not begin this position in full until July, but we would like to begin to share this exciting news! Have you ever considered singing in choir? Has your teenager or child ever considered singing in choir? More information and opportunities for sharing music together will be coming soon!
If you have any questions or comments whatsoever, please do not hesitate to contact me. Many announcements, written and spoken at church, seem to begin with this lately. It makes it seem like it’s a very BIG THING, this discernment toward the future. And of course it is, but I get the impression from reading this many times now that there is some huge, formalized process under way and that it is all-enveloping. Is that the case? If not, maybe just begin with something like “I’m writing today to share some good news about COS’s music program. We’ve reached a significant and exciting step.”
Faithfully,
Jeff+