Robby Hassell with wife Eloise
Each November, the season of thanksgiving calls us to reflect upon the gifts which we have been given that in turn we may give to others. This year, we are celebrating the 200th anniversary of First Presbyterian Church, and reflecting upon the gifts this community of faith has been given and in turn has contributed to the life and civic fabric of the city of Greensboro; and this November, we are highlighting the history, role, and gifts of our music ministry. I am honored to serve on our FPC Bicentennial Committee, along with many others who have served and given of their gifts to FPC and to our larger community in many capacities.
I have been a member of the FPC Chancel Choir since 1987, shortly after my return to Greensboro from law school. However, music and choral singing has been a driving spiritual force throughout my life, and it began more than half a century ago in the rehearsal rooms then beneath our sanctuary. As I noted in my faith statement to new elders upon my most recent service on our session,
The truth is, worshipful singing isn’t just something I happened upon or decided to try….As our church approaches its 200th year, I can look back at the generational arc of my family’s choral worship life: where my great-grandfather and namesake would pause from his sermons to hear his wife sing in the same Eastern North Carolina sanctuary a young Sid Batts would preach in a century later; where my grandmother, a daughter of FPC and inspired by its music ministry, would become a music educator and voice teacher and serve as a soloist in the choir at Myers Park Presbyterian Church; where her son, my father, would settle in to Frank Pethel’s chancel choir here as I and my brother and sister would also sing as children; and where Eloise and I would sing together for decades as we built our life and family here, including the gifts given and given back by our own daughters Molly and Bayly, who would grow up in the choirs of Tom Shelton, Lindsay Owen, and a young John Alexander.
As referenced and demonstrated throughout this commemorative month, music and worship have been intertwined throughout the life and history of our faith and faith community. The Psalms exhort us to “make a joyful noise,” and were meant to be sung. The God-given gifts of musical expression and opportunities to serve and give back have afforded me a lifelong experience to give and share with others. In the words of my favorite hymn: “My life flows on in endless song…. I hear the music ringing; it finds an echo in my soul – how can I keep from singing?”
Robby’s daughter Bayly after a children’s musical. Her mom Eloise, far left, and her Grandpa have sung in FPC choirs. Her maternal grandmother, next to Eloise, received her master’s in music from Columbia and was a longtime choir member (50+ years) and occasional organist at FPC- Wilson.
Molly, Robby & Eloise’s other daughter, receiving a choir certificate from former children’s music director Tom Shelton.
