Jennifer Wheatley Looks Back

FACE TO FACE

Jennifer Wheatley

You know you’re old when . . . you’re the only person left on staff who remembers bringing a floppy disk to work in the Brown House offices, hoping that a computer would be available! I began working with children’s choirs in 1990, and those early days in the church office, though a distant memory, keep coming to mind as my time working at College Church comes to an end.

It’s with a mixture of sadness and excitement that I share with you that a new chapter is unfolding in our lives this summer. Greg and I are retiring and moving to North Carolina to be near our daughter Stephanie, her husband and our son-in-law, Chris Blumhofer, and our two granddaughters, Chloe and Marika. Preparing for this big change in our lives has brought back lots of memories.

When the Brown House (situated along the north parking lot) was the church office, nearly 40 employees worked in that tiny space. The pastors (except for Kent Hughes) filled the upstairs rooms. Most of the non-pastoral staff occupied the basement. There was a rotating workstation that I could use when available. With my files stored in the back of our station wagon, I transported my work back and forth on floppy disks; I was doing remote work before it was trending.

Back then, the main methods of communication were telephones and voicemail. (Email eventually became free in 1996, when Hotmail launched the first free web-based email service). So, in the early 90s, every communication I sent to children’s choir parents was contained on a postcard sent by snail mail. When creating programs for our children’s choir musicals and concerts, I would photocopy clip art and layout my programs on a lightboard. The finished product would then be sent out for printing. It was such a gift when Herb Carlburg had the technology to print our programs and brochures in-house.

In my early days of ministry, I directed the Cherub Choir and was Paul Lusher’s secretary (the term “administrative assistant” wasn’t in vogue yet). Our part-time minister of music Paul was also responsible for our children’s choirs. As you can imagine, adding that to a very full music ministry schedule was difficult. As I began to help organize the children’s choir ministry, he asked if I would oversee the program. At that time, there were three children’s choirs and about 80 children involved. Our program has since peaked at nearly 200 children, and along the way, we’ve added a fourth choir.

The first musical I directed was Music Machine, a story about the fruits of the Spirit. My husband, Greg, innocently volunteered to help me by singing the song “Have Patience” sung by Herbert the Snail. It was Marge Gieser who created a huge foam snail with a cutout for the head. When Greg’s solo came up, he slowly lifted the snail from behind the choir loft, poked his head out through the hole and sang “Have Patience” at a snail’s pace. I’m pretty sure Greg had no idea that a snail’s body would be involved when he volunteered. Thinking about it still makes me smile!

Until the time of her illness, Marge faithfully worked with me on every musical we performed. An amazing artist, she would meet with my team each spring, listening carefully as we explained our vision. Then, we would step back and let Marge do her thing. Among our favorite musicals were Paul and Co. and Elijah. Some of you will remember the dramatic moment in Elijah when the great fireball falls from heaven to devour the altar. Marge led many hours of discussion coupled with trial and error to bring that fireball to creation!

One of our most meaningful musicals was one that we created ourselves. Forward by Faith told the incredible history of College Church. College Church member Virginia Hughes thoroughly researched our history and turned it into a script. We added music, choreography, dance and special effects to create a musical that poignantly shows the faithfulness of God through difficult circumstances. Tim Hollinger worked his techno magic and spun us back in time to the 1930s by playing the music and events that represented each decade. There is real value in showing the children of the church where we’ve come from and how God has provided for us, especially when times are difficult.

For many years now we have opened the choirs to families who want their children to have an opportunity to learn and grow within a children’s choir ministry but attend churches where there is no children’s music program. And with the limited amount of time given to music in our elementary schools, I feel that the church has a responsibility to train and nurture our children to become lifelong worshipers in the church by instilling in them both a love for music and the tools they need to worship well.

I am grateful that Pastor Erik Dewar is committed to finding the right person to oversee our children's choir ministries so they can continue to thrive. Children’s voices singing the truths of Scripture have a unique ability to touch the hearts of those who need to hear the gospel. I love the way D. L. Moody said it: “Singing does at least as much as preaching to impress the word of God on people’s minds.” I would add, all the more when it comes from the mouths of our children!

One of my greatest joys is to see children who were trained in choirs now leading in worship. Jeremy Taylor and Rebecca Wolgemuth are just two of my former choir members who not only help lead in music but also send their children through choirs. Jeremy’s oldest daughter, Bethany, recently spent some time assisting me in children’s choirs. How can I be that old? And recently, we enjoy seeing Emma Kuruppacherry and Ambar Mejia-Gautreau and other high schooler students help lead in worship during the morning services.

From the beginning, Debbie Hollinger has served in this ministry as director of the Alleluia Choir for older girls. She has volunteered her time and given of her musical gifts all these years and has worked beside me planning and executing 60 musicals and concerts, as well as other singing opportunities that have come along for our children and teens. In fact, most of my volunteer staff has been with me for more than 15 years, and they continue to use their gifts to further our children’s music ministry. This faithful service is an incredible gift to me and to the church.

As our season at College Church comes to an end, Greg and I will forever be grateful to this community of believers that has supported our family in training and nurturing us in the Lord. From the biblical training afforded our three children, where our kids came to understand the storyline of the Bible, the true gospel and saving faith in Christ alone to their HYACKs small groups to consistent expository preaching from the pulpit--we have all been blessed.

I’m a big fan of denial, and I don’t look forward to saying goodbye to you and the children I serve. We plan to put our house on the market this month and anticipate moving later in the summer. This has been our church home for more than 30 years and finding a new church home will likely be one of the most difficult parts of our move. We covet your prayers as we make this transition! Thank you, College Church!