“AngelS Away” Choir Send-Off Concert- 7 p.m. this Monday, June 3

The 2024 Angel Touring Choir

Row1: Meredith Needham, Nyah Painter, Ri Jones, Joy Hire, Caroline Schehl, Sophia Shinka

Row 2: Anna Belt, Evie Rhodes, Ruby Goodwin, Bella Jhordan, Izzy Busack, Chloe Thatcher, Sydney Eggert, Lydia Sturgeon

Row 3: Max Holtsberry, Connor Hare, Evan Schehl, Jack Fallon, Jackson Lough, Andrew Busack, Danny Hussey, Josh Vickers, Ian Hageman

Also traveling will be: Michael Crum and chaperones Katie and Todd Belt, Eva and Andy Shinka, and Jack Hire.

First Presbyterian’s Angel Choir is looking forward to the first program on our 2024 Summer Singing Tour — our 7 p.m. “Angel’s Away” concert this Monday, June 3, in our church sanctuary!

After two years of anticipating our return to New York State, New Hampshire, Maine, and Maryland, the departure date for the Angel Choir’s Summer Singing Tour is now less than a week away! Anthems and other pieces are crystallizing, excitement is building for both the members of the choir and those hosts and audiences on the receiving end of our trip, and all plans have been made. We have beds and restaurants awaiting us along this 1,726-mile adventure.

For those of you who are reading about this tradition for the first time — and others who have followed our traveling minstrels' journeys since the first tour in 1998 — early Tuesday morning, we will pile into three 12-passenger vans loaded with luggage, boxes of music, a keyboard and various other percussion instruments, robe bags, first aid kits, activity boxes, colorful umbrellas, Dramamine, and snacks. LOTS OF SNACKS! Our first stop will be near Rochester, N.Y., at Summerville Presbyterian Church, where we will pile OUT of the vans, rehearse, be served a delicious supper, perform, and then be whisked away to host family homes for sleep and breakfast until we meet at the church the next morning. Then we'll gas up. drive to Hollis Congregational Church in Hollis, N.H. — where my father belonged and our family worshiped during the summers — and do it all over again. 

Thursday morning, we’ll stop at a welcoming retirement community in Kittery, Maine, sing for the residents, and then be on our way to Ogunquit. Located on the southern coast of Maine, this early fishing village in Perkins Cove became a popular artist colony because of its charm; the name “Ogunquit” from the Abenaki language means “beautiful place by the sea.” We’ll stay at a cool resort, walk The Marginal Way with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, and eat seafood at Fox’s Lobster House where I worked one summer long ago (and where we must sing for the owner every time we visit), go to the beach, splash in the hot tub and relax for two days. Saturday morning, we’ll depart for Annapolis. That evening we’ll walk around the historic capital of Maryland and get to bed early (?) to be prepared to sing for worship the next morning at the United States Naval Academy Chapel. This beautiful and impressive sanctuary has incredible acoustics and is always a high point for me and the choir. To be able to sing in such a sacred space is an honor. This will be the fourth time the Angel Choir has helped lead worship there. After the service, we will head home, after six days of singing, fun and unforgettable experiences.

Thanks to everyone who has supported our Angel Choir through the years. We invite you to come to our concert to once again send us out on our musical adventure. See you Monday at 7 p.m.!

Joy Hire, Fearless Leader