Church to hold singing service

The Church of the Crossroads sing-along celebrates Epiphany

Church of the Crossroads, a United Church of Christ, will sponsor an Epiphany sing-along and evening prayer Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.

The community is invited to join in the singing of a folklike musical score by com- poser/theologian Marty Haugen at the church, at 1212 University Ave. near the Varsity Theatre. The church has been presenting this work annually since 1998.

Everyone who attends will receive a copy of the "Holden Evening Prayer." The Crossroads choir will be seated among the congregation to support the singing. Those who just want to listen are also welcome.

A calabash offering to support the Crossroads music ministry will be collected. Don Conover, minister of music, will conduct.

Players will include Celtic harpist Claire Rivero, who has been composing and performing music for more than 30 years. She has released several CDs.

The Rev. Neal MacPherson, Crossroads' pastor, will be cantor; the Rev. Barbara Grace Ripple, United Methodist minister, reader; Linda Rich and Eldon Wegner, vocal soloists; and Kathy Maddux, liturgical dancer. Instrumentalists include Dr. Tom Poole, Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church, piano; Paul Bornand, Crossroads organist; Shelley Johnstone, guitar; Lance Culnane, bass; and Jan Matuseski, percussion.

The score was written by Haugen in 1985 and '86 while he was musician-in-residence at the Lutheran Retreat Center at Holden Village, a year-round ecumenical center in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington state, a release said.

Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 6 and extends until Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent, leading to Easter. It is the climax of the Advent/Christmas season and the 12 days of Christmas, which are counted from Dec. 25.