We Love Our Choir
Article # 19.
It has become our custom to honor our choir every year in February, close to Valentine’s Day. We do this because we want to show how important we believe music to be in our Worship Services, and how much we love and appreciate the folks who bring music into our church.
This presents an interesting question: Is a well organized choir an important part of a Presbyterian Church?
Let me tell you the story of how an organ and piano and an organized choir helped one man to decide to become a life-long Presbyterian. In 1892, a young man from Statesboro, a member of a staunch Primitive Baptist family, traveled to Lexington, Virginia to attend Washington and Lee University. As a student there, he attended the Presbyterian Church. He was so impressed with the Sabbath School, the organ and the choir that he joined that church.
The young man completed his Law studies in 1896 and returned to Statesboro and established his Law practice. In 1897, he moved his membership to the little Presbyterian Church that had been established in his home town a few years earlier. This young man was indeed serious about his love for a good choir, because our records indicate that he soon became the Choirmaster! He also served the small church as a Deacon, an Elder, and a teacher in the Sabbath School. In fact, “Colonel” Ben Deal served this church as an Elder for fifty years!
He wanted the Sabbath School for his children, and all six of them joined the Presbyterian Church as children and themselves became life-long Presbyterians.
Do you think that it is safe to say that the choir played a part in that dedicated life?
We know that the church on Broad Street had a pump organ and a piano. Isabel Hall McDougald, Eunice Lester, Sara McDougald Williams, Ruth McDougald Beaver, Mrs William Deal, and Aline Whiteside Maxwell all are listed as having played the pump organ and the piano. We also know from reports from Worth and Don McDougald, that there were some very good singing voices in the choir - especially Miss Irene Arden, and Col Ben Deal was the Choirmaster!
The church on Savannah Avenue purchased a new organ in 1948, and the organists were Horace McDougald, Jack Broucek, and briefly, Gayle Hamilton and Mrs W,G, Wyatt. Choir Directors were Jack Averitt, Ronald Neil, Don Caughran, and Jack Broucek.
The Church on Fair Road purchased the organ we have now in 1972. Organists on Fair Road have been Jack Broucek and Pam Radford. Choir Directors have been Charles Forton, Pat Vining, and Edward Green. During the time between the service of Pat Vining and Edward Green, Beverly Presley stepped in and held the choir together. And now we are so fortunate to have Pam Radford as our Music Director. Music Director is a very grand title: it means that Pam does everything!
Our congregation has been so blessed! The Lord has always provided very talented people who love music whenever we needed them! We thank God for Pam, who has been our organist for nearly 20 years, and who works so tirelessly with our music program. We thank God for the dedicated Choir members who lend their voices to the praising of our Lord every Sunday.
-Dot Odom, FPC Historian