Children's Choirs

Our choir programs for children three years old through sixth grade (with the possibility of singing assistantships through eighth grade) are led by Stephanie Miller and accompanied by Kevin Miller. These choirs are structured to be meaningful and fun avenues for growth in the children's spiritual lives. Here is a statement of the philosophical beliefs which are at the foundation of these two choirs. Details regarding each choir follow below.

We believe that God is glorified by vocal and instrumental music which expresses and interprets Biblical truth. As music has power to reach a wide variety of people on emotional, as well as intellectual levels, it is the responsibility of music ministry to assist in creating an environment which helps people encounter God.

Young people have been a part of this worship environment since early in the history of the Christian church. Choirs which were formed to sing the music of the great masters had children and youth as important members.

Today we look to the scriptures, as well as to our heritage for guidance in training our children and youth to lead in worship through music. Our continuing obligation is to help them grow in the Christian faith by singing hymns, anthems and songs of the Church to guide their understanding. As Christian musicians and educators, we are dedicated to helping young people appreciate and understand the words they sing and the musical language through which they communicate. We strive to enable them to make their worship participation their best possible offering to God.

The Joyful Noises choir is comprised of young people from second through sixth grades with singing assistantships possible through the eighth grade. This choir rehearses each Sunday, September through mid-May, from 10:15 -10:58 am between worship services. All young people in these grades are invited to join us as we prepare and present music as an offering for God in worship, develop a deeper understanding of music as a ministry through worship and service activities, experience a variety of creative activities to increase musical skills, and participate in special events and concerts throughout the year. This choir helps lead the 11:00 worship service the second Sunday of each month October through May.

The Angel Choir is a developmentally based music program for children three years old through first grade which rehearses as part of the 9:15 Sunday School classes September through early June. This choir uses songs and a variety of activities to reinforce the Sunday School curriculum, encourage active participation in worship, and to teach some music fundamentals: recognizing and using the "singing voice," group singing, fast/slow and high/low as they apply to music, moving to the beat, and an introduction to the world of the staff. Activities are structured and songs selected so that our youngest through our oldest members can enjoy them and learn at a level and rate appropriate for them.

While this choir does sing during church services roughly four times per year, our goal is not a polished, professional "performance," but an experience that every child feels good about. Our director works closely with parents to introduce all of these new experiences to each child at a pace that is right for them. As a former speech-language pathologist, she also has an extensive background in working with children with special needs.