An invitation I’m glad I accepted

By Father DAVID EPPS
Contributing Writer

Father David Epps is Rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church which meets at 8 and 10 a.m. Sundays at 4881 E. Hwy. 34. He may be contacted at 770-252-2428, or at frepps@ctkcec.org

One of the facts of life about being a pastor is that every day holds the possibility of something different from the day before. While certain things may be expected, one cannot count on the day being routine. For example, several weeks ago, a gentleman named Mike Midas contacted our office and requested that I join a group of people to sing on the Square in downtown Newnan.

While there are endless activities than ministers can become involved with, I have learned over the years to say "no" to most of them. There was a time when I agreed to every request to become part of a board, or ministry, or worthy charity, which is why I now have a ten-page resume. These days, I usually ask myself a few questions:

• What's the point? There has to be a worthwhile result than justifies my time. A couple of hours for this advisory board, another few hours for this charity, and pretty soon, I am out of hours.

• Is this something that I, myself, ought to become involved in? For example, there are a lot of "interdenominational" gatherings going on. These are mostly good things, but is there a reason I personally need to jump in? I do attend a weekly pastor's breakfast when I can but I have found most other meetings can do just fine without me.

• Does this help my church and congregation? My people are my first priority and if I am unduly distracted, I will probably need to pass on the invitation.

But the invitation from Mr. Midas intrigued me. The group that would be signing on the Square as a part of the "Box Lunch Series" was a group from Georgian Place called the Georgian Mixed Ensemble. The average age of the 13 singers was 88. The theme was to be a salute to "the Greatest Generation," a reference to the generation that fought and won the Second World War. After delaying my answer for a week or so, I decided that I would accept the invitation.

I reported to the East Court Square in downtown Newnan at 11:45 a.m. on the Wednesday appointed and met Mr. Midas, a very energetic, personable man who led the group. He was also an excellent musician and played the keyboard as he directed the singers. I met each the singers, who had a collective age of well over 1,000 years, and felt warmly welcomed. I met a man who landed with the invasion forces on D-day and who fought his way all the way to Germany. I met a lady who was from Port St. Joe, Fla., where my wife and I vacation each year. One after the other, I heard brief stories from each of the singers about where they were from, what they had done, and who had relatives who had come to hear them sing.

Other people joined along to sing, including another pastor, a few members of the singer's families, several children, and even a couple of young U. S. Marines in full uniform. Several members of the Knights of Columbus from St. Mary Magdalene were on hand to assist as needed. A small crowd gathered and the hour-long program began. The first songs we sang brought a lump to my throat. They were the "old songs," as Mr. Midas said. Songs like "How Much is that Doggie in the Window," and other songs that my Dad used to sing to me while I was a small child. He would have been 77 if he had lived. Mom died last year. She would have been 78. I was singing with their generation and hearing the songs they sang when they held me and tried to get me to take a nap. How I missed hearing their voices!ÊI had to wipe away a few tears.

We sang some songs of World War II, songs that my parents would have known and sung as teenagers. We sang a tribute to the Armed Forces by belting out the anthems of each military service. Mr. Midas asked me to stand next to the two young Marines as we sang "The Marine Corps Hymn," also known as "From the Halls of Montezuma." I was honored to stand next to them. Oddly, they seemed just as honored to sing this proud hymn with an old Jarhead.

The program ended with the singing of several religious songs, which all of the members of the Georgian Mixed Ensemble seemed to know by heart. The group's performance was dedicated to Marguerite Brock, a member of the ensemble, and the group's biggest advocate for singing publicly. Mrs. Brock died this year at 79. Her daughter was in the audience. When a young Cub Scout sang the song that was always sung by Mrs. Brock, her daughter cried. So did a lot of other people. I did, too, and I never even met Mrs. Brock.

I almost didn't accept the invitation to sing with the group. It really didn't fit all of my guidelines; yet, I "felt" as though I should. I'm glad I did. I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, got reacquainted with songs that I hadn't heard in decades, and, in a very meaningful and mysterious way, connected with my Mom and Dad. These were their songs, this was their generation. I thought I was doing the Georgian Mixed Ensemble a favor by joining them on the Square. I was wrong. I was the one who came away blessed. God bless the men and women of The Greatest Generation!

[Father David Epps is Rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, which meets at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sundays at 4881 E. Hwy 34. He may be contacted at 770-252-2428, at frepps@ctkcec.org.]