WEDNESDAY YOUTH MUSIC MINISTRY
Updates and news!
This update includes a slight schedule alteration for our weekly rehearsals and more details about what is coming up this season for our program. The fall is often a busy season for our families and we want to remind you that the door is always open even if you can’t manage the commitment for a full year. Our hope is to be a safe place to gather, be with friends, work hard as a team, and have some fun together. Music and theater are the vehicles we use to grow in this way. Never hesitate to jump in or ask questions if anything is unclear, we are here for you! (Contact me, Ashley Wade, Director of Communications and Children’s Ministries)
After a wonderful first rehearsal, and some feedback we received from families, we are shifting our timing slightly on Wednesdays for Choir School arrival time, snack, and dismissal times. This is a very minor shift which should make things easier, we hope. I am so thrilled to have an amazing staff of music and choral experts to work with, as well as dedicated volunteers to help create a warm and supportive environment for our kids each week.
Here is our Wednesday plan beginning September 27, 2023:
4:00pm - Gathering time and snack for ALL STUDENTS
4:15pm - Elementary students peel away for musical games and voice work with Christina
4:30pm - ALL STUDENTS in rehearsal together
5:30pm - Elementary students dismissed, middle school students remain in rehearsal
6:00pm - Middle school students dismissed (5th graders are invited to join the 'middle school' group)
(Elementary students from Portsmouth are also eligible to participate in our Tues/Thurs Choir School program run at Dondero Elementary school. A great option for local elementary kids! You can learn more about the full choir school program here.)
WHAT WE ARE DOING THIS SEASON AND BEYOND:
Choral singing is our focus throughout the fall season ~ making a beautiful sound, learning new music, gaining trust in our voices and confidence in our skills. Kids are scheduled to perform at a St. John’s service once in October and November, with a dress rehearsal on the preceding Saturday. All are welcome to St. John’s and the services are live-streamed, so friends and relatives can cheer on from afar!
Sat. Oct 14 Dress Rehearsal at 9AM
Sun. Oct 15 Gather at 9AM before 10AM service
Sat. Nov 4 Dress Rehearsal at 9AM
Sun. Nov 5 Gather at 9AM before 10AM service
CHRISTMAS SEASON PREPARATION:
Preparation for our Advent and Christmas seasons begins in November. Lessons and Carols is an evening service that includes all the choirs of St. John’s in a special telling of the stories from long ago surrounded by mystery and music, ending in a celebratory reception in Thaxter Hall. The Christmas Pageant is our annual winter theatrical experience, complete with speaking roles, singing roles, and support roles ~ there is a role for every body!
LESSONS AND CAROLS: Sun. Dec 10th at 5PM
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: Sun. Dec 17th at 10AM
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: other programs that you might be interested in learning about at SJC:
CHERUB CHOIR:
For those with younger siblings, or younger children in your life, we are so happy to offer Cherub Choir on Sunday mornings. Children age 4 through 2nd grade gather in the Choir Room on the lower level of Thaxter hall from 11-11:30 beginning Sun. Oct 1st. The Cherubs will sing in church on Sun. Oct 29th (Costume Sunday!!) and participate in the Christmas Pageant on Dec. 17th. Again, all are welcome. Children never have to be a member of the community to join a group!
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH: https://www.stjohnsnh.org/youth
Our Youth Ministry has some amazing opportunities coming up to serve, completely unrelated to music and theater. Some of our young musicians and thespians are of the age when they start looking for activities outside of what serves them directly, but branches out into action to improve the community and world they exist in. Our Youth Cooking Ministry focuses on providing meals for residents at Dover Children’s Home and Cross Roads House. Again, all youth (middle and high school) are always welcome to participate in service opportunities). This Sunday they’re going Apple Picking and pressing cider!