The last time I sang in a formal, organized four-part choir I was a senior in high school. That was forty-three years ago! I was a semi-jock in high school – the starting 3 guard on the basketball team – so my singing in the choir was a bit of a surprise to some of my peers. Athletes and artsy folk didn’t mix too much in our school.
But I had grown up learning to sing in our church choir, sort of absorbing how to read music and sing bass next to my older brother, Dad and some of the other men of the church. I liked it. And with a free period in my senior class schedule, joining the high school choir was a good choice for me. I still remember some of the choral anthems we sang, and I appreciated our high school choir teacher. He picked good music and led with enthusiasm.
As a pastor I always found singing was my way of worshipping. I enjoyed preaching, but that was my work. Singing was my chance to participate with the congregation in worship. I would usually stand behind the pulpit and the song leader and add my voice with gusto to the congregational offerings.
It wasn’t always a great contribution. I became a bit of a freelance singer over the years. I was even known to sing a few measures in a sermon if the mood struck and song fit my theme. I had watched a former preacher of ours do this with great effect as a child.
Singing is a vulnerable thing for people – myself included. Not many of us as adults have the confidence we did at age three to belt out a song. I remember once when our Minister of Music gently told me that I held onto some of the notes too long. Apparently, she’d been listening while I “sang with gusto” from behind her. On another occasion someone remarked that my voice was “a little like Willie Nelson’s”. I’m not sure that was a compliment. I knew that my singing voice had faltered after so many years of preaching. Still, I kept at it. No one was going to steal my joy and opportunity to freely worship.
As the prospect of retirement from the pastorate and preaching drew closer I always said one of things I wanted to do was sing in the choir. Fortunately, in a day when many congregations no longer have choirs, ours still does. In fact, I have great respect for our choir. Over the years this group of amateur singers has led the congregation in worship with sincerity and skill. I can remember many a Sunday when I felt that the choir anthem tied together worship or carried worship on that day. I was always more than happy to stand aside and let the choir share a special message in song for Christmas or Easter.
Still, the thought of joining these folks was a bit foreboding. Who was I to assume I had anything to add? What would my squeaky, squawky, Willie Nelson nasal voice possibly contribute?
Graciously, several of the current choir members invited me to join them in singing as my wife and I returned to the church as participants in worship. I assumed they were just being nice, and to be honest I wasn’t sure I was ready to be in front of the congregation again in any capacity. I feel former clergy, if they are not careful, can be something like in-laws who can overstay their welcome in your home. I intended to be careful.
It’s weird trying to find your place in a congregation you once served, among a people you know so well. Maybe, I thought, nearly three years removed from that pastorate, I could just be another guy in the back row of the choir. Wouldn’t it be nice to sing with a group, and to be part of something that brought personal joy while adding a small contribution. “We are all members of one body”, Paul wrote. Why not give my well-used and sometimes abused vocal cords another go?
So, I joined the choir. My first rehearsal was rather a hot mess. As we read through five choral anthems that night, I thought to myself, “What are you doing here?” I struggled to find the right note and wanted to apologize to both Willie Nelson and everyone else by the time choir practice was over.
But something else happened as well. I felt joy. I felt that I had moved forward toward a retirement-like goal and stepped out in vulnerability to join something bigger than myself. Research says that singing in a church choir brings several benefits to participants. It can improve your mental, physical and social health, as well as bring a deeper sense of spiritual fulfillment. It improves posture and breathing, releases endorphins, reduces stress and anxiety, improves mood, and reduces loneliness and isolation. This must be why my wife kept encouraging me to join the choir!
I’m not sure about the science of all that, but I do know that driving home from choir practice I’ve had a sense of peace and contentment. I’m still a hot mess on the back row, sliding around in search of the right note and most likely a bit flat tonally much of the time (thanks Willie), but it’s been good to come as “a little toe” and join with the other “members of the body” as we seek to make a joyful noise unto the Lord.
If you’ve ever thought about joining the choir, I’d say, “Give it a go”!
© 2025 Daniel M. Cash
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