by Trish Blomquist
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Ah, spring! Our first thoughts of spring typically begin with Easter and the resurrection and the first sightings of flowers. It’s our season of hope, holding a promise that change is coming and often signifies the coming out of darkness. We move towards longer days and more light.  
An article I recently read stated that we shouldn’t take the power of spring for granted. The reward for expanding awareness to our greater environment, as it unfolds, is that it helps us anchor ourselves in time and place. We become more centered and connected. We come together around things we all value religiously and secularly; life, new starts, love, generosity, peace.  

Anne Frank advised those who could to “go outside, to the country, enjoy the sun and all nature has to offer. Go outside and try to recapture the happiness within yourself; think of all the beauty in yourself and in everything around you and be happy.”

Watching the tulips and daffodils emerge from the ground and watching the leaves starting to pop out on the trees also generates the desire to think of gardening. Many of us no longer have gardens as we did in our earlier years due to constraints on time and space or maybe the body just screams at us when we try to get down on our knees. There is a perfect answer for all of us (including you!) who love to dabble in the dirt: plant a few seeds in the community garden. You can watch God’s creation peep up out of the soil, grow, and produce fruit and vegetables, and finally begin to wither away, to begin to rest for the next year!

Christ the King has a “Community Garden” that welcomes everyone who would like to get their hands in some dirt and grow a few vegetables to not only share with the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf but enjoy themselves as well. This is our way of caring for creation in an extended way.
The “Gardening Crew” invites you (children included) to join us – we typically meet on Tuesday, late afternoon or early evening for about 90 minutes. All tools are provided, so you just need a pair of gloves and a desire to plant, hoe the unwanted vegetation, and harvest the bounty. We are not “all work and no play” – there is lots of conversation and long-term friendships are made which then makes the time fly by. More details on when we will begin the season and a schedule will be available in early May. Put “GARDEN” on your calendar and join us!

by Megan Crosby

I’ve had some recent conversations that have focused on my job title and how it seemingly lacks any description of what I do. I direct the Sanctuary Choir, the King’s Ringers; I play the organ and the piano, and I sing. I help plan worship along with Nate and Pastors Sonja and Sarah. Cantor doesn’t really seem to cut it, so why that title?

“Cantor” comes from the Latin word cantare or canere, which means to sing. It refers to the chief singer, the person who leads the people in singing. (Taken verbatim from Paul Westermeyer’s book The Church Musician, p. 13.) In essence, the cantor is the leader of the people’s song.


Sometimes I lead from the piano and sing with a microphone. That would be the most basic meaning of cantor. I love the word Cantor, though, for its vocational purpose: to help the people of the church lift up their own voices in praise. Worship isn’t a performance, it takes YOU! I always consider what would be the best way to present a song or hymn. Should I play from the organ or the piano? Is the song new? Should the choir, Nate, or I sing the first verse alone so everyone can hear it first? What would most support the people’s song and make a person comfortable singing out? Some people like having a strong singer up front to follow when they sing. Other people prefer the backing of the organ, with its colors and sounds and physical support. A pipe organ, like the voice, is a wind instrument.

I love to sing, but what I love most is encouraging others to sing. When you sing in a choir or as a part of the congregation, you don’t need to have a “perfect” voice or the “best” voice. Worship takes all of our voices. And when so much of our world is incredibly divided, singing together, with a common purpose, to the glory of God, is an outrageously hopeful thing to do.

Yes, I am a Cantor. I chose that title for myself, and it reminds me of my purpose and what I love.

Soli Deo Gloria
Megan Crosby