Third Sunday of Advent, December 17, 2023 – Evening

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth!  

Psalm 96: 1

Illustrated by Caeden Myers, age 6

The Weinheimer family loves to sing!  When Kurt and I were first married, we always had the radio on and would sing along. First just the melody, and as we became more familiar, we would harmonize.  We loved to sing songs by Billy Joel and the Beatles.

Years passed, the kids grew, but our love of singing never changed.  Lisa, Jenny, and Kristen sang in children’s choirs at church, vacation Bible school performances, and school choirs.  Our first church as a young family was Tower Hill Presbyterian Church in Red Bank, New Jersey.  Every December, families gathered for the ‘Round the Table Sing’ to eat cookies and sing carols.  “Joy to the World,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” and it always ended with the lights being turned off so that only the candles were flickering on the tables as several men carried in the flaming figgy pudding: “Oh bring us some figgy pudding, oh bring us some figgy pudding, and bring it right now!”

Music was always playing in our house, but especially when dinner was being made or cookies were being baked.  Jenny would often grab a spoon or spatula and start singing into the handle.  Her sisters would join her and the kitchen was filled with song.

For many summers, we rented a beach house for a week on the Outer Banks.  It’s a long drive from New Jersey to North Carolina and many hours were spent singing together.  Garth Brooks, Broadway shows like Les Misérables and the Indigo Girls, which is especially good for harmonizing.

One of my fondest church memories was attending the Christmas Eve service at First Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.  During “Silent Night,” as the church grew dark, the flame was passed from person to person, just like we do it at SMPC.  I loved looking down the pew, seeing my girls’ faces and hearing their voices.

And this year almost the entire Weinheimer clan lifted their voices together for the Festival of Carols with Zach Bowyer as director.  Lisa Weinheimer Kuszmar and Kristen Weinheimer Angerer sang alto with me while Kurt sang tenor behind us.  Hannah and Caroline Angerer and Katherine Kuszmar sang with youth choirs.  It filled my heart with joy.

Dear loving God, thank you for the joy that comes with singing.  The Weinheimer family will remember, “If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.”

Rose Weinheimer

SMPC Note: If you missed Festival of Carols last week, you can still watch it online and share it with friends and family! Click here.