Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
- from "Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns
Now is the time for New Year resolutions and reflecting back on accomplishments during the past year. We’ve been having a wonderful time creating a variety of music since we started in our position in June 2025. Let’s "…take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne" and pause and reflect on how grateful we are by recognizing some people and groups who made 2025 such a positive experience for us:
- Rev. Sian and the Music Committee (Amy, Maureen, and Nancy), for entrusting us with this opportunity to lead the Music Program here at OCUUC, and helping us to succeed in our new role. We thank Rev. Sian and the Music Committee (which has since been expanded to include Amelia, Sophin Zoe, and Ginny) for their guidance, direction, and assistance.
- The Congregation, for being so enthusiastic and supportive of what we have been doing with the Music Program. We appreciate the helpful, constructive feedback when we have needed to make adjustments. We are constantly trying out new ways to present music during our services, so your feedback is important to us.
- Sarah J, for skillfully coordinating all our different music group meetings and events, in the various rooms and on Zoom, on the church calendar preventing any scheduling conflicts.
- Nina, for publicizing the many opportunities for people to participate in our Music program.
- The Choir, for all their dedication to music and to each other, and for being so patient with both of us as we are still learning. And especially for going outside their comfort zones by walking around the Sanctuary to sing, or leaping and making animal sounds while singing, or…, all while making our rehearsals fun and productive.
- The Song Leaders, for their willingness to share their talents in front of the congregation and on mic. Did you know that over three-quarter of the Choir members have been song leaders at least once over the past four months? We’re very happy that we have been able to showcase so many of our singers.
- Carrie, for being a fabulous pianist and accompanist. Her musical expertise helps the Choir and all of our song leaders to sound so much better!
- The Drummers and Strummers group, led so capably by Susan, and featuring our many gifted guitar/ukulele strummers and the many different drums that have been gifted to our Music program. The Drummers and Strummers group, formed in June, has performed several Sundays, especially over the Summer when the Choir was off.
- Our congregation’s other talented musicians–Amelia and Aaron; JoLynn, Joel, and Chance; and Sarah K.--for sharing their musical talents and bringing so much variety and vitality to our worship services.
- Our Audio Visual (AV) Staff–Avery and Liz–who are consistently the first people in the Sanctuary every Sunday morning to set up all the AV for each service. We are also grateful to all the AV volunteers–the Slideshow Creators, the Virtual Ushers, the Camera Operators, and the Slideshow Operators–who, together with Avery and Liz, create beautiful slideshows and operate the AV seamlessly so that our Roomers and our Zoomers are able to enjoy the service without technical issues that could otherwise detract from the experience.
- The Sanctuary Construction Committee, who worked with the architects, building contractor, and sound system contractor to create a Sanctuary with great acoustics and an outstanding sound system. It is such a joy to sing in our Sanctuary! Best of all, we still have room to add more Choir members, and the AV system infrastructure can support the addition of more mics, musical instruments, monitors, and cameras, so we are well-positioned to support our congregation’s growth.
In Scotland, during the last verse of Auld Lang Syne ("And there’s a hand my trusty friend! And give me a hand o’ thine!"), the singers join hands, connecting with their neighbor. Our choir, before the pandemic, used to end each rehearsal in a similar fashion, holding hands in a circle as we sang our farewell song. We have adapted different traditions since the pandemic, but the music we share continues to connect us all and we look forward to building on this solid Music and AV foundation in 2026!
Happy New Year!
Susan Shaw and Steve Morihiro, both longtime choir members, are the Co-Directors of Music Ministries.