aha

Friday afternoon, partner and I drove to Waycross, the conference center and camp for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, for our annual choir retreat. This summer we go again to England, and the retreat is an opportunity to work on music and get to know each other better.

I am excited about one set of preces and responses that we will be singing written by Richard Webster, former Choirmaster and Organist for St. Luke's, Evanston. They have a wonderful color to them. Our alternate preces and responses is by Smith, a set that we've used before. We also began learning three poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins set to music by Ned Rorem (the one Hoosier composer, from Richmond, IN, whose work we are taking on our trip. I am not sure that Rorem considers himself a Hoosier).

On Saturday morning, we woke up to a world covered in snow. I'd never been at Waycross in winter. The camp is located in the middle of a hollow in Brown County, a hilly part of southern Indiana that feels alpine like after living in the flatness of Indianapolis, 30 some odd miles to the north.

The trees and hills were covered with a fluffy, wet snow. The drive back through the backroads (through Morgantown past Trafalger to a road that passes through Whiteland to I-65) was peaceful.

Sunday morning's service was a grand celebration of Epiphany, included 5 baptisms and a reception honoring Michael Messina, our Music Director. He has been at Trinity for 10 years. We sang Howells' Behold, O God, Our Defender.