wfn.org | Disciples church continues a ‘remarkable

["Disciples Off. of Communication"<wshuffit@oc.disciples.org>]

institution'
Date: April 8, 1999
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
Email: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

99b-23

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- In 1994, tiny Perry (Mo.) 
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) began a 
classical concert series that has since become a 
"remarkable institution," according Mid-America 
Regional Minister Stephen Cranford. 

	Each year since 1994 Perry Church has been host 
to a major choral-orchestral performance on Palm 
or Passion Sunday. Organizers fittingly call the 
annual event -- "The Perry Passion."

	Works presented in recent years include 
Mendelssohn's Elijah, Haydn's The Creation, and 
Handel's The Messiah. In 1998, the group 
presented the German Requiem by Johannes Brahms 
in recognition of many personal losses 
experienced by members of the community.

	The 1999 performance marked the third 
presentation of  G. F. Handel's oratorio, The 
Messiah. The performance was given by an 80-voice 
chorus, accompanied by a 20-piece chamber 
orchestra featuring musicians from 12 states. 

	The music groups were directed by the Rev. Dale 
Jorgenson, minister of Perry Christian Church and 
a former music educator. He taught music at 
Bethany (W.Va.) College  and at Truman State 
University, Kirksville Mo. 

	Many of the musicians are former students and 
faculty colleagues. Singing in the 1999 chorus 
were the Rev. Peter Morgan, president of the 
Disciples of Christ Historical Society, 
Nashville, and his wife, Lynne, who studied under 
Jorgenson at Bethany College.

	The annual concert is a community event, 
involving the village's four churches (Baptist, 
Disciples, Catholic, and Presbyterian), the 
Chamber of Commerce and many local businesses. 
(Perry's population is 770.) The City Council and 
the mayor have proclaimed Palm Sunday as "Perry 
Passion Day." 

	According to the Mid-America regional minister, 
the musicians gather at 1:30 p.m. to begin 
rehearsals for the 7 p.m.  performance. An hour 
before the concert begins, virtually every pew 
and chair is full, he said.  The sanctuary barely 
holds all of the musicians and the audience.

	"It is amazing that a small community can create 
and support these events, and it is amazing that 
Dale and the musicians can pull together works so 
massive in scale in such a short time," said 
Cranford. He usually preaches during morning 
worship on Palm Sunday to allow Jorgenson to 
concentrate on the task ahead.

	"What really makes ‘The Perry Passion' truly 
amazing is the quality," Cranford said following 
the group's performance. "The music is stunningly 
beautiful. I was in tears."    

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