As we have been talking about in church for weeks now, the choir room has been undergoing a transformation of its own. For many years, the legacy of Buck Coursen, the choir director here (and Deacon) filled the entire space. The very large plaques with the names of the Honor Boys & Girls from decades past, and the scores of photos of Buck and his choir, dominated the room. Yet, all of it was from a long ago period, and the dates of the honor boys and girls names seemed to indicate that the church stopped suddenly in 1992 (something our bishop noted on more than one occasion). What is more, we called the room The Choir Room, and yet it was used by the choir only twice each week, but by the Nursery School and other groups several days each week as well.
While wanting to honor the legacy of Buck Coursen, we also wanted to update the space to reflect Christ Church as we are now – a living, vibrant faith community that did NOT stop in 1992, but is joyfully moving forward to love and serve our community in the name of Christ. So, we took all the plaques down, but our very own Frances Myrill lovingly recorded all the names and dates on parchment in beautiful calligraphy. Those are being framed for display. We also removed all the pictures, and will scan them for our archives. Then the Men’s Group got to work, painting the entire room (see picture at left). It looks so new and fresh! They deserve such a note of thanks from us all.
Finally, the names inscribed by Frances, along with a picture of Buck and one of his choir, as well as the plaque that honors Buck (currently near the organ in the church), will be hung on the wall, and the room will be blessed and named in a ceremony following a worship service in June. The new name will be: The Buck Coursen Multi-Purpose Room (or for short, The Coursen Room). This is just one way Christ Church is transforming. Come and see!