Dr. Glenn Miller Sr., pastor of the chapel, and his wife, Betty, led a tour to Europe of chapel members last summer and visited St. Petersburg Theological Seminary in St. Petersburg. Glenn Miller is entertaining an opportunity to return to the seminary as a guest lecturer soon.
“St. Petersburg is a long way from Kiev, it is true, but one thing is evident as one visits the vast nation of Russia, and that is that Christianity is vibrantly alive and sweeping across the country in a remarkable way,” he said.
“The chapel financially helps to support the seminary through our missions program, and investing in these young students who are preparing to serve God as pastors and church leaders throughout Russia and Ukraine and in other parts of Europe is thrilling to us. To have these young people come and stay in the homes of our members gives our congregation a taste of their culture and their exciting Christian commitment as well, as their musical ability which they have dedicated to the Lord.”
John W. Shannon, director of music and organist at the chapel for 20 years, is also part of the “Russia/Ukraine Connection.”
Shannon had the opportunity to work with Roger McMurrin, former director of music at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft Lauderdale, Fla., on several occasions. Shannon describes McMurrin as a Christian man committed to spreading God’s word through music.
“Roger and his wife, Diane, arrived in Kiev in 1992,” he said. “With no one to greet them and 400 of Handel’s Messiah, they quickly made contacts with the local musicians to prepare this magnificent work with a handful of singers and instrumentalists. The following year they returned to Kiev and have lived there ever since, doing many of the great sacred works with people who are beginning to know Christ through the works of the choral masters.”
The Kiev Youth Orchestra and Chorus is directed by McMurrin’s son, Matthew, who studied music in Montreat. “While there,” Shannon said, “Matthew met his wife, Tricia. The couple returned to Kiev and founded the youth orchestra and chorus. They have made recordings and done several performances of thrilling sacred choral literature. We feel honored and blessed at the chapel to have such a wonderful group of excellent musicians who have come to know the Savior through the vision and mission of Roger McMurrin, his son, Matthew, and their wives.”
Bob Vetter, chairman of the Missions Committee at the chapel and former president of WORLDTEAM, USA is the third member of the chapel’s “Russia/Ukraine Connection”.
Vetter traveled to Kiev with the Co-Mission, a mission agency collaboration of 50 mission groups and denominations that conducted an exchange program involving 12,000 teachers who served in the former Soviet Union during the 1990s.
“After my first trip to Ukraine and Russia, I could not get the people there out of my mind,” he said. “Their hunger to learn more about their great Christian heritage and the great religious musical classics of that nation haunted me, and when I was given the opportunity to return to the nation two more times, I visited again. My love of the people and their commitment to Christ grew even more.”
Vetter received a call three years ago from a representative of “Music Mission Kiev,” asking if he would coordinate a visit to the Pinehurst area for the group in 2001. “The Pinehurst Rotary Club agreed to be the host for that event, but then 9/11 cancelled all plans for the Kiev Youth Orchestra and Chorus to come to the United States at that time,” he said.
“It is really amazing the way this opportunity to have these young people at the chapel in March came about. About a year ago we canceled our local Internet dial-up connection because I went to cable on my computer. But when my wife decided to set up a connection on her laptop she said she would use the old modem line. The minute her machine was hooked up we received close to 50 messages that had been stored on our old connection, and one of those e-mails was from the McMurrins, asking if we were interested in scheduling a concert in Pinehurst.”
The Kiev Youth Orchestra and Chorus is the only group of its kind associated with the Orthodox church. In Orthodox churches, there is music from children and professional adult singers, but there is no instrumental music, and teen-agers are not utilized in church music.
The Church of the Holy Trinity, home of the Kiev Youth Orchestra and Chorus, is therefore unique for its music: an orchestra in worship almost every Sunday, with classical selections and three choirs (children, youth and adults) that often perform with the orchestra.
The tour group includes 35 singers, 22 orchestra players, 3 choreography students, 3 staff members and the conductor. The performers range in age from 15-23, and about 20 of the group are high school students.
Besides music, the members study linguistics, printing, sociology and mission work. Most in the choir speak English.
The Village Chapel concerts are scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m., and Wednesday, March 1,9 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available in the chapel office (295-6003).
June Vetter is a freelance writer living in Pinehurst.
