Title: Disciples church continues a 'remarkable institution'
Date: April 8, 1999
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.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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