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June 20/20-Neighbour Day
Many community and congregation families joined together (at a distance) to enjoy each other's company and create amazing chalk creations in the parking lot of the church. It was wonderful to see so many people.
Choral Listening Series - Recording #6
This is one of those unicorn recordings that seems to get better each time you listen to it. Absolutely stunning musicality on display here, and I encourage you to take the time to listen to this one a few times to absorb the mastery of both the arrangement and the performance.
A Strong Community of Friends
It has now been three months since the world changed for all of us. Who would have guessed what changes we would see? At first, it seemed as if this would just be a temporary interruption of our lives but as time has continued we have realized that so much of what we have always taken for granted may never be the same again.
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.