The Gift of Song

The Gift of Song

The cookies are now mostly gone, and the spice apple juice isn’t warm anymore, but you can still have a taste of some of the music that was on offer at last Fridays’ Cookies and Carols at CCS…

Thanks to our special musical guests – Dorcas Windsor, Bev and Laurie Simpson, Rachel Landrecht and her daughter Miracle.  Thank you to Lori Stewart for all your organizing and to Maylanne Maybee for facilitating the carol singing.  And thank you to everyone who came.  You make the season joyful.

A bit more info about our musicians:

Dorcas Windsor has served as organist, pianist and accompanist for the various choirs at Westworth United Church since 1975. She has taught in Winnipeg schools and is a piano collaborator with numerous choirs in schools and in the community for concerts, musicals and the Winnipeg Music Festival. She also serves as one of Westworth’s Presbytery representatives; sits on the Presbytery Executive as a Member at Large and chairs the Education, Students and Church Vocations Committee of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. She has been called a leader and role model. The church is for her like a family, a support system, which is very fulfilling where she had been able to work with some wonderful people.

Bev and Laurie Simpson have shared their lives and ministry for a long time. They met as students at St. Andrew’s College. Both were baptized into the church as babies and were raised steeped in the Christian faith. Bev has several close relatives who were ministers. Bev’s immersion experience growing up led to her own call to ministry. Laurie discerned God’s call in the countercultural milieu of the 60’s when he realized that nothing is more ‘countercultural’ than Gospel. They have served in multi-point rural pastoral charges their whole ministry, retiring after 35 years at Manitou/Kaleida/LaRiviere this year. They would describe their ministry as an incarnational ministry, seeking to be one with the people and together to share the good news of their faith. A huge part of their life and ministry is music, which has been generously shared in the family, pastoral charges, communities, Presbyteries and Conferences where they have found themselves.

Rachel Landrecht is a versatile and accomplished singer who has appeared with the Vancouver Philharmonic, Victoria, Vancouver Island, and New Westminster Symphony Orchestras, the Portland Opera, as a guest soloist with ensembles including The Canadian Tenors and Winterharp and performed for political and spiritual leaders. Also an inspired songwriter and lyricist, Rachel believes deeply in our responsibility as artists to use talents and platforms, whatever they may be, as an agent of personal and social change, through the uplifting of consciousness and echoing the strength of our shared humanity. She has been particularly inspired by the writing of Bruce Sanguin. Rachel and her partner Neil are the co-directors of the World Village Gospel Choir where they inspire members to find their voices and work for change.

Rachel was also joined by her daughter Miracle and we were very happy to have her share a song.