By Ron Sinclair
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
~ Rev. Frederick Buechner
I am privileged and incredibly lucky to have spent the majority of my adult life doing work that brought me joy. I’d like to think that my work met part of the world’s “deep hunger.” It certainly met mine.
I sing from my soul. As a little boy life was like a musical. I thought it was normal to sing while riding in the car, cleaning my room, helping with outside chores like mowing or raking leaves. Dad sang a lot, and I picked it up as an essential part of life.
As I grew older, music provided a safe way to let my emotions out instead of letting them boil up inside me. It helped with my teenage angst, and helped me find an identity with my peers. If the truth be known, it helped me to make my way to graduation. Without the music classes offered in my school, I honestly worry that I might not have finished high school. Think about that while your school board is cutting the arts from school curriculums. Fortunately, mine went overboard to offer opportunities for creative students like me to immerse ourselves in what brought us joy. They considered it part of equipping students for a lifetime of learning. I’m thankful for their wisdom. I took every class offered, including music theory, form and analysis and a brief introduction to conducting. And of course, I sang in choirs.
A high school friend one year ahead of me was hired by a church to direct their choirs. I figured, “why not? I’ll try it too.” I was hired to direct my first church choir while still in high school.
I went to college to become a music teacher. I fell in love. Not with college. I really fell in love. I found my soul mate who is still with me 57 years later. And I directed church choirs until I started working a “REAL job” in order to make ends meet.
For a decade or more, I worked in sales, marketing and management, including starting and running my own company. I was good at sales. I am an empathetic person, and like people. I was a lousy business owner who didn’t understand that we were undercapitalized, and that one could outsell the capital invested in any enterprise.
I’ve written before about how I returned to directing church choirs. I won’t go into that story here with any detail, but I will reiterate that God answered my cry for help when a kind elderly gentleman named Nelson Parker walked into my office and asked me if I would be willing to talk with his church about directing their choir. Their director had left, and they couldn’t find a replacement. That church was First United Methodist Church in Marion. Despite my lack of college degree, they hired me. I was there for nine really good years in a part-time capacity. I grew my skills, and more importantly grew in faith.
In 1993, Rev. Thad McDonald, my first pastor at First UMC, Marion, mentor and friend, let me know that St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Hickory was looking for a full-time director of music. He was serving as a “Pastor Emeritus” at St. Luke’s, and he suggested I apply. Once again, I figured “why not,” even though they were looking for someone with at least a bachelor’s degree in music and five years of experience. I had more than enough experience, but only about 40 hours of college credit. I wanted that job, but realized my chances were slim. But if I got it, I would be reunited with Thad.
My interview was with a room full of people. It went better than I had anticipated. My years of working in high pressure sales situations had helped me feel at ease during the interview. Still, I figured I only had an outside shot at getting the job.
Saint Thad McDonald made the difference. I was told later that he told the committee that if they wanted the entire church to sing, they should hire me. They did.
I had a lot to prove and set about the joyful task of building a large music program at St. Luke’s. Children’s choirs, summer music camps, traveling youth choirs, multiple adult choirs including one for senior adults, orchestra, handbells and more became part of the music program at St. Luke’s within just a few years. My “deep gladness had met a deep hunger” at St. Luke’s. I was there for 25 years until I retired on December 31, 2018. During those years, God worked on me. Making great music in a huge program became less important than doing ministry through music and the arts. I felt a call to serve more deeply and became a Licensed Local Pastor in the UMC. For three years, I was offered an opportunity to lead a small congregation, but realized that the ministry at St. Luke’s was having a greater impact than I could have experienced in a smaller congregation.
Only a few weeks after retiring, I was approached by First UMC in Newton about coming to their church on a part-time basis. It was farther away from home than I would have liked. But for a number of reasons, I chose to go there. I spent five years with some really great people, and loved every moment of working there. But in June of 2024, I had grown really tired of driving an hour each way to worship and rehearse. So I retired again.
Since retiring, I split time in the pews between First UMC, Marion and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Marion. Earlier this year, I moved my membership back to First UMC, Marion. It’s home for me.
Two weeks ago, the choir director at First Marion made the decision to retire for health reasons. She is the same person who took the job when I left 32 years ago. She has done a fine job over those years, and is well loved by the choir and the congregation. I have joined her choir since returning, and have thoroughly enjoyed singing under her direction. Replacing her will not be easy.
The church has asked me if I would serve as an interim director of music at least through the end of 2026 to give them time to search for someone. The retiring director told me that she needed to retire before now, but felt guilty at leaving the choir without someone to lead them. Knowing I am there made her decision easier.
I’ve never been an interim before. My mode of operation has always been to go all in with whatever the church has needed. At the age of (almost) 75, I can’t afford to do that. And as an interim, I don’t feel the urge to do so. In 1985, this church took a chance on hiring me as their director, and my life changed. I came as a wandering, struggling singer. I return with music and a heart for ministry. Music and ministry are a way of life. With God’s help, I’ll do my best.
My first rehearsal is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2nd.
© Ron Sinclair, August 25, 2026. Sinclair is a retired church musician and solo performer. Sinclair writes about aging, retirement, ‘the church,’ his farm, family and anything else he considers of interest.
Appalachian Chronicle 
Music is a language of the heart. A choir joins hearts.
Thank you for sharing. —Allen