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This is a Significant Time
We are in a significant time. I remember thinking as a kid that it would have been amazing to live during the revolutionary time of the 1960s. I was always surprised when I asked my mother what she was doing then to hear her say, “not much”. When I was too young to see it, I watched a movie called Cry Freedom.
Choral Listening Series - Recording #5
About the performers: Voces8 is an eight-voice group that performs a variety of music, from 16th-century renaissance music to modern pop music, and everything in between. Their group sound is warm and rich, but incredibly clean and pure at the same time.
How We Are Staying Connected
As I write this note I am reminded of the changes that have taken place over the past three months. We have all experienced the Covid-19 crisis in one way or another and for many of us, it has meant a significant shift in lifestyle.
Choral Listening Series - Recording #4
Okay, time for some pop music. What a great arrangement this is. Pentatonix is one of the world's best a cappella groups, originally forming to compete in The Singoff, a televised a capella competition.
Verna & Gordon 70th Anniversary
Verna and Gordon G. will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary on June 11.Verna was a choir member for many years, and her wonderful sewing skills have created costumes, table runners, stoles etc for McDougall. Gordon’s church carpentry contributions
The Acadia Food Pantry and the new Brown Bag Lunch Program
McDougall recently started a free Brown Bag Lunch Program for the Acadia and surrounding communities.
Dear Families
I have written and re-written this letter to you over and over. I don’t have the right words.
Choral Listening Series - Recording #3
This is the first example of a multi-tracked recording that we've seen. This method is one of the only ways to make group music in times of social isolation. All four parts here have been recorded by the composer, then mixed together by an audio engineer to create the piece we hear.
A Prayer by Rachel
May we take this as a sign that everyone here and at home is connected by your love.
Dear Families
Okay, whew. So that whole mourning piece from last week really opened me up in ways I was not anticipating. I hope you are all okay. I think God and our intuition are like that: always nudging us further and asking us to open up a little more and let go of a little more.
Choral Listening Series -Recording #2
Listen to it once with your eyes closed, and at least once looking at the score. What a stunning work of art. This is the most famous of Whitacre's many choral pieces, but I encourage you to listen to other works of his as well.
Have You Mourned
Have you mourned? During this time, this COVID-19 time, we have heard all the media terms; unprecedented, uncertain, unimaginable. In my news app, there is a daily feature called “Good News from Around the World.”
Queen Ann Ruler of the Universe
The writer of this short story is Murray who is a student of Ann Gardner’s Extending Education (EE) class. This program has been meeting at McDougall for the past three years and serves the educational and social needs of young adults with all abilities.
Finance Update During these Challenging Times
Regular offerings have stayed strong. PAR givings have not changed and non-PAR givings have only gone down by a small amount.
Rudy’s 80th Birthday
The quiet serenity of a Willow Park neighborhood was suddenly disrupted on Sunday afternoon by an explosion of loud, raucous sounds. A parade of 22 cars, filled with folks from McDougall, lined up to drive by Jean and Rudy’s home honking horns, ringing cow bells, and generally making as much noise as possible!
It’s Not the Same as Being Together
This pandemic is much more given to Lent than Easter. Lent is a time of self-reflection, of sacrifice, of giving up something to make space for spiritual deepening. Easter is supposed to be about new life and celebration. Death has not conquered – God is still at work among us!
Keeping in Touch
Many of you are wondering how are we going to keep going with the Covid-19 virus going around. I have been keeping in touch with the children and their families by making phone calls, emails and having Zoom sessions.