Glenmoore, Pennsylvania

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

Denomination: Episcopal

Organ: Aeolian-Skinner Reproduction by Rodgers

Last Service: 2nd Sunday of Advent (December 10th, 2017) December 10th, 2017

Presider: Rev. Elsa Mintz / Rev. Robert Smith, Interim / Rev. Tommy Thompson

St. Andrew's, Glenmoore, Pennsylvania

This is the institution were I became a choirmaster/cantor. In the north German Lutheran tradition, the choirmaster/cantor was the person who was responsible for the music (voice) of the church. The choirmaster is not just a job - its a philosophy. Luther said that the pastor of a church was not above the people but was the first among equals - a choirmaster should follow that same philosophy. St. Andrew's was where my philosophy of being a choirmaster became solid: its about caring for people, teaching, setting an acheivable standard toward which people can reach or as Johann Sebastian Bach said: performing a well regulated church music program to the glory of God and for the edification and refreshment of my neighbor's soul. I did not change the way I performed my duties but now I saw a deeper meaning in my work. Before I was just a performer - now I was a choirmaster. (This sounds overly dramatic - I don't mean it like that. It is my way of thanking the people and choir for allowing me to lead them and in so doing to grow).

St. Andrew's didn't have a fine organ - a three manual Rodgers, which was a computerized Aeolian Skinner reproduction - so it wasn't all that good. The historic church would have been better served with a small pipe organ. I was there when St. Andrew's built the expansion onto their sanctuary. The church went from being a small country church to being a beautiful modern structure without destroying the intrinsic nature of the building (In fact, the architects won awards for the design and work that they did). I spent 11 years (to the day) on the bench at St. Andrew's.