Laudate and Miscellaneous
Shane is singing this week with Laudate, an ensemble singing under the direction of Ken Nafziger, a music professor at Eastern Mennonite University. Here is a link to the group and to their scheduled performances: http://laudatemennonitensemble.com
While Shane is singing, Dorcas is staying with her parents, who live nearby.
John Miller, the tenor prodigy from here, in the wee hours of last Friday morning, boarded Shane and Dorcas' vehicle traveling east from CO to VA. He is also singing with the group.
Shane and Dorcas had traveled here in two cars, one destined for sale and delivery to the Joe Yoder family.
Shane is awed by the acoustics in the church in which they are practicing and in which they will later perform and make a recording. He thinks church building committees should take note of this element when they plan church buildings.
I have almost no knowledge of how to create a structure with good acoustics, and I suspect that is also true of many builders. However, some people study this, and know exactly what works and what doesn't. When we're spending many hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new structure, it seems to me that paying a bit of that money for professional advice or design services might be a very good long-term investment.
**********************
The funeral for Stephanie Wingard is underway in Oklahoma right now.
One of the things I like about how this event is being handled is the way various neighboring communities are contributing to the effort of feeding the large crowd that is descending on this tiny church community for the event.
From the Kansas churches: 50 loaves of homemade bread, from Lott, Texas: 5? electric roasters of prepared food, from Illinois and/or Arkansas: meat and cheese (can't remember which, but both are helping), and food from other Mennonite churches in the Thomas, OK area. Food gifts are small offerings, but it's one brotherhood ritual that helps spread the burden of logistics that sometimes adds to the burden of grief that is already being borne.
My sister Lois remembers that when they had a funeral in their small VA church a number of years ago, the ladies on the food committee labored through the funeral to prepare for feeding the crowd. Some of these ladies were age mates and close friends of the deceased, and should not have had to miss the funeral. For them it was a lesson to remember for another time.
Ironically, within 12 hours travel of that VA community are many, many similar church groups, who would have no doubt helped if they had been asked. But here, where our numbers are small, we know that, if we don't help, no one will, so we make ourselves responsible, even if we live 12 hours away, as the Illinois people do.
*********************
I don't claim to have extracted a lot of deep meaning from the tragedy that took Stephanie's life, except a sober reminder that we live without guarantees that we will be spared misfortune, pain, or death. We have only the guarantee of God's presence throughout. But I am persuaded about a few things related to motorcycle use:
1) Every rider should always wear protective gear. A helmet is the minimum. Leather jackets are not just fashion statements. On a motorcycle rider, they can be important protection from scrapes, etc.
2) A second rider necessitates reduced speed. Even an experienced handler will find the dynamics very different from handling a machine with one rider only.
3) Bad things can happen even at reduced speeds on a motorcycle. The lack of physical insulation from surrounding objects is inherently fraught with hazards. Hiromi recently visited with a former co-worker who spent 90 days in a hospital after an accident that happened on a motorcycle when he was going 20 MPH. He looked around to check on nearby traffic, and accidentally rode up on a curb and then fell over, breaking two vertabrae, one at either end of his spine. He had no medical insurance, lost his home, has taken bankruptcy, and is still partially disabled, after a number of months have gone by.
4) Thrill-seeking is not a good enough reason to do something. (My boys would disagree, I'm afraid.) I am not risk-averse, in general, but where physical safety is unusually precarious, I think the reason to proceed must be morally compelling or it just doesn't make sense. I have survived just fine for 57 years without a single motorcycle ride--not because I've resolved never to ride one, but because there's never been a sufficiently compelling reason to do so. I am aware that compelling reasons may exist for some people, but I don't count thrill-seeking as being among them.
Having said all that, I have no wish to add to the grief of anyone involved in the events that ended in Stephanie's death. I am all too aware that I have done things that could have resulted in harm to me or someone else, and so far, I have mercifully escaped the most dire consequences. At the same time, and at the risk of belaboring the obvious, I can't help sounding a warning to those that I love: Be careful with motorcycles. If you must ride, take appropriate precautions. Never combine thrill-seeking and motorcycle riding.
While Shane is singing, Dorcas is staying with her parents, who live nearby.
John Miller, the tenor prodigy from here, in the wee hours of last Friday morning, boarded Shane and Dorcas' vehicle traveling east from CO to VA. He is also singing with the group.
Shane and Dorcas had traveled here in two cars, one destined for sale and delivery to the Joe Yoder family.
Shane is awed by the acoustics in the church in which they are practicing and in which they will later perform and make a recording. He thinks church building committees should take note of this element when they plan church buildings.
I have almost no knowledge of how to create a structure with good acoustics, and I suspect that is also true of many builders. However, some people study this, and know exactly what works and what doesn't. When we're spending many hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new structure, it seems to me that paying a bit of that money for professional advice or design services might be a very good long-term investment.
**********************
The funeral for Stephanie Wingard is underway in Oklahoma right now.
One of the things I like about how this event is being handled is the way various neighboring communities are contributing to the effort of feeding the large crowd that is descending on this tiny church community for the event.
From the Kansas churches: 50 loaves of homemade bread, from Lott, Texas: 5? electric roasters of prepared food, from Illinois and/or Arkansas: meat and cheese (can't remember which, but both are helping), and food from other Mennonite churches in the Thomas, OK area. Food gifts are small offerings, but it's one brotherhood ritual that helps spread the burden of logistics that sometimes adds to the burden of grief that is already being borne.
My sister Lois remembers that when they had a funeral in their small VA church a number of years ago, the ladies on the food committee labored through the funeral to prepare for feeding the crowd. Some of these ladies were age mates and close friends of the deceased, and should not have had to miss the funeral. For them it was a lesson to remember for another time.
Ironically, within 12 hours travel of that VA community are many, many similar church groups, who would have no doubt helped if they had been asked. But here, where our numbers are small, we know that, if we don't help, no one will, so we make ourselves responsible, even if we live 12 hours away, as the Illinois people do.
*********************
I don't claim to have extracted a lot of deep meaning from the tragedy that took Stephanie's life, except a sober reminder that we live without guarantees that we will be spared misfortune, pain, or death. We have only the guarantee of God's presence throughout. But I am persuaded about a few things related to motorcycle use:
1) Every rider should always wear protective gear. A helmet is the minimum. Leather jackets are not just fashion statements. On a motorcycle rider, they can be important protection from scrapes, etc.
2) A second rider necessitates reduced speed. Even an experienced handler will find the dynamics very different from handling a machine with one rider only.
3) Bad things can happen even at reduced speeds on a motorcycle. The lack of physical insulation from surrounding objects is inherently fraught with hazards. Hiromi recently visited with a former co-worker who spent 90 days in a hospital after an accident that happened on a motorcycle when he was going 20 MPH. He looked around to check on nearby traffic, and accidentally rode up on a curb and then fell over, breaking two vertabrae, one at either end of his spine. He had no medical insurance, lost his home, has taken bankruptcy, and is still partially disabled, after a number of months have gone by.
4) Thrill-seeking is not a good enough reason to do something. (My boys would disagree, I'm afraid.) I am not risk-averse, in general, but where physical safety is unusually precarious, I think the reason to proceed must be morally compelling or it just doesn't make sense. I have survived just fine for 57 years without a single motorcycle ride--not because I've resolved never to ride one, but because there's never been a sufficiently compelling reason to do so. I am aware that compelling reasons may exist for some people, but I don't count thrill-seeking as being among them.
Having said all that, I have no wish to add to the grief of anyone involved in the events that ended in Stephanie's death. I am all too aware that I have done things that could have resulted in harm to me or someone else, and so far, I have mercifully escaped the most dire consequences. At the same time, and at the risk of belaboring the obvious, I can't help sounding a warning to those that I love: Be careful with motorcycles. If you must ride, take appropriate precautions. Never combine thrill-seeking and motorcycle riding.
posted by Mrs. I at
8:08 AM
5 Comments:
One thing about grand acoustics and the "Mennonite Hour" after the Amen: that conversation buzz can get a bit overwhelming. Perhaps there are ways to have the "best of both of those worlds" with architectural design? --Linda Rose
By
Anonymous, at 7/30/2009
I have long had an aversion to motorcycles, especially when they are ridden without helmets, and husband has not agreed (no tension involved :)). But interestingly enough, the other day when I told my 5 year old that "he is NOT allowed to have a motorcycle EVER", his dad chimed in to tell him how dangerous they can be. They both know that my statement was out of reaction, but still.
I read once where a surgeon resident on his trauma rotation said he wouldn't so much as get on a parked bike.
By
Anonymous, at 7/31/2009
I didn't know Stephanie but her death has been heavy on my mind because it shows how dangerous it is to be young. One impulsive decision, made in the heat of the moment, can have such horrible consequences. I have also been lecturing my children about motorcycles and safety, but the deeper lesson is about rashness and immaturity, characteristics that could have killed some of mine several times over.
My SIL says it's not just dangerous to be young, it's also dangerous to be a mom of someone young.
By
Dorcas, at 7/31/2009
I realized, afew days ago, that my brother, Kyle, is singing with Shane. It is so nice to see people from distinct times and places in our life merging like that. I hope they get to know each other a bit.
Jolynn
By
Jolynn, at 8/03/2009
I saw Kyle's picture on the website and remembered hearing Andrew talk about him--and deer hunting, as I recall. I thought it must be your brother, but there wasn't an address or anything so I could make sure. This is a great opportunity for that singing group. It sounds like they're having a wonderful time. I love it too when diverse pieces of our world come together.
By
Mrs. I, at 8/03/2009
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