(Click on the pictures to make them larger)

Monday, December 9, 2019

Devotional for December 9

Amahl and the Night Visitors 
by Gian Carlo Menotti 


Not a carol or a song, but an operetta, Amahl and the Night Visitors will always be a special Christmas memory.  Son Bob sang the role of Amahl for 3 years, with the first wonderful year being at St. Paul’s. The entire choir played and sang as shepherds and townspeople. We had a children’s choir at the time, so it seemed like our entire church was involved in the production in one way or another. Our choir director then, Lorna Mount, was Amahl’s mother; her husband John and two of their operatic friends played the three kings. And it was then that our current choir director, Ron Revier, first “met” young 5th grade Bob. Ron was seated on the aisle, foot out, as crippled Amahl hobbled forward on his crutches, singing – and was nearly tripped. It all worked out. Years passed. Ron was subsequently one of Bob’s favorite teachers in high school and now directs him in our church choir. So many of our congregation from that period are now gone. But while time steals things and people away, as Viktor Frankl noted, time is also a “Trustee,” preserving those rich and precious memories. And so, another Christmas memory forms our deep, abiding connection with St. Paul’s.
 —Pat Muckle

No comments:

Post a Comment