I was sitting in a downtown restaurant Friday night having a gin and tonic after a hellish day of plumbers in my bathroom and water on the bathroom floor and feeling pretty down. I started talking to a nice woman next to me, and as these conversations go she told me she was off to hear her sister sing in the choir at Trinity Lutheran Church. In the interest of full disclosure, I am and have been for a lot of years an atheist and try not to darken the doors of churches, but music was what I needed at that point.
I bundled against the cold and wet and found Trinity Lutheran on 39th Street. Lots of parking, cookies, warmth and light. And the music. A church choir to beat all church choirs that I’ve heard. Hand bells. Songs from the traditional to the unknown. Songs that bring tears to your eyes, like the lovely “Christmas in the Trenches,” which I’d never heard. We all sang. Free. And no praying. I snagged a chocolate chip cookie on the way out after I made a donation to their basket. I left a happier, more contented person.
Believers or not, we all need that dose of beautiful music for our inner peace. Thank you Trinity Lutheran for a lovely Yule experience.
