By Tom Ganser
Correspondent
Whitewater sparkles with annual traditions of all sorts during the Christmas season —“chestnuts roasting on an open fire” prior to the Holiday Parade, Breakfast with Santa sponsored by the UWW-Community Optimist Club, fruit baskets assembled by Whitewater Rotary Club with the assistance of Whitewater High School National Honor Society members, the “Family and Friends” and “carols sing-a-long” portions of the WHS Winter Choral Concert, and, recently, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk football team capturing the Division 3 national championship – to name a few.
On Dec. 15, during two services, the sanctuary of Whitewater’s First United Methodist Church resonated with a Christmas cantata showcasing the talents of a combined choir of 35 from FUMC, Lagrange United Methodist Church and Richmond United Methodist Church and bringing the message of the Christmas season to all in a beautiful, aesthetic setting.
“Oh, the joys of sharing Christmas music!” said the Rev. Susan Bresser, pastor of FUMC. “I think it’s important to share the obvious gifts of music that the United Methodists in Whitewater so highly value. And not everyone can attend a Sunday morning gathering, so it’s good to be able to open up the music to others [in the afternoon performance].”
Bresser also said that for the Whitewater Area Regional Ministry, “the Christmas cantata enhances the meaning and message of the Christmas story that God is with us.”
This year’s contemporary cantata – “The Heart of Christmas: Embracing the passion of those who lived the story” by Pepper Choplin – was directed by Christine Hayes and included James A. Athas’s piano accompaniment and narration by Kier Johnson, Lisa Otterbacher and Eric Runez.
“The Heart of Christmas” tells the timeless story in a creative, profound way, by probing the hearts of those most directly involved in St. Luke’s account of that first Christmas. The selections include a variety of musical styles from blues and bluegrass to the warmly melodic and chorally traditional. It includes a scripture-based narrative.
Read the rest of the story about the cantata and the choir members that performed in it in the Dec. 26 issue of the Whitewater Register.
