Preaching To The Choir

Mrs. Kline was the youth choir director. When my mother and aunt told her they were going to enroll Kit and I in the choir she pretended she was happy. After all, my aunt was the superintendent of the whole Sunday school.

My mother taught Sunday school at the Oakhurst Methodist Church. My cousins Kit’s mother was the superintendent of Sunday school at the same church.

There was no way my cousin Kit and I were going to escape singing in the youth choir when we turned 8 years old.

Mrs Kline was the youth choir director. When my aunt and mother told Mrs. Kline they were going to enroll Kit and I in the choir she pretended she was happy. After all, my aunt was the superintendent of the whole Sunday school!

Choir practice was between 6:00 and 7:00 Wednesday evening. No one knew whether to eat dinner before or starve and eat after. I think they planned it that way to make the kids in the choir behave. The kids that had already eaten would be tired and quiet and the ones that hadn’t probably would be bribed by their mothers to, if there were no complaints by Mrs. Kline, maybe stop at McDonalds down the street because the rest of the family had already eaten.

Kit and I sang for Mrs. Kline that Wednesday. I think I did well — Kit, not so.

We tried our best to behave and fit in with the other kids in the choir. It helped that my girl friend sang in it too. She didn’t know that she was my girl friend.

The youth choir sang every Sunday in the big church not Sunday school. The big church service was right after Sunday school. Whereas Sunday school was held in the church basement, the big service was held upstairs in the nice part of the church.

In the big church, when we sang in front of everybody, all 11 kids in the youth choir stood in front of the altar. The real choir stood in back of the minister the whole service.

Each kid in the choir got a chance to sing a solo verse of a hymn on different Sundays. It was suppose to be a big honor.

On about the 10th Sunday, I got a chance to sing my solo.

Mrs. Kline gave me the 2nd verse of “Faith of Our Fathers” She said she felt that it was a good hymn for my voice. I don’t know about that. Seemed to me, we all sounded the same, even the girls. All except Kit. His voice sounded lower, no matter what song we were trying to sing.

Although Mrs. Kline said it was a privilege to sing a solo, I didn’t feel it. It made me nervous.

I practiced the 2nd verse of “Faith of Our Fathers” all week, especially on Wednesday night at choir practice. Mrs. Kline said that I would do just fine.

I was a little nervous all week but on Sunday morning I was REALLY NERVOUS.

My mother tied a tie on me. She said it would look good with my choir robe. It choked me a little.

I didn’t go to Sunday school that morning. My mother dropped me off at church in time for me to get my robe on and march in the processional. The youth choir sat down in their normal place in the first pew. When it came time to sing our hymn we had to get up and face the congregation with everybody’s mother and father there and everybody else.

I was scared as heck when the 2nd verse came. I closed my eyes so I couldn’t see anybody and pretended I was singing alone. Around the end of the 1st line I felt someone’s fingers digging into my ribs trying to tickle me. It actually hurt; like digging in. I kept singing although it was harder.

It was Kit, he was trying to make me laugh.

All of a sudden I heard the congregation sort of gasp and Kit stopped.

I finished the 2nd verse with no mistakes.

The rest of the hymn was easy because I just moved my lips but made no sound.

We took our places in the first pew to listen to the rest of the service. Kit’s left ear was all red.

After it was all over, my mother said that I did well. My aunt was mad at Kit.

I heard her speaking in her superintendent voice, “ Kit, if Gail Hopper hadn’t whacked you in the ear in front of everybody you would have spoiled the whole Sunday.”

Hey Gail Hopper, that’s my girl friend!