July 22, 2022
This month’s Composer Corner highlights another favorite of the FPC Chancel Choir – Dan Forrest
 
Dan (b. 1978) has been described as “a composer of substance” (Columbus Dispatch), whose works have been hailed as “…magnificent, very cleverly constructed sound sculpture” (San Francisco Classical Voice), and “superb choral writing…full of spine-tingling moments” (Salt Lake Tribune). Since its first publication in 2001, Dan’s music has sold more than a million copies, and is already firmly established in the repertoire of choirs in the U.S. and abroad.

Dan’s choral works have received numerous awards and distinctions, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s Award, the ACDA Raymond Brock Award, a Meet The Composer grant, the ALCM Raabe Prize, and many others. His “A Basque Lullaby” for wind band has been selected for performance at numerous conventions and festivals in the U.S. and internationally. His commissioned choral works have been premiered in major venues around the world, ranging from the World Choral Symposium (Argentina) to Izumi Hall (Osaka, Japan) to Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and ACDA conventions. His music has been broadcast multiple times on American Public Media’s “Performance Today”. His new Requiem for the Living has quickly become his best-known work, having received overwhelming acclaim since its 2013 premiere, and is receiving hundreds of performances in the US, Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and multiple performances in Carnegie Hall.
 
Dan is highly active in the music publishing industry, both in concert choral music (maintaining a choral series in his name with Hinshaw Music) and in church choral music (serving as associate editor at Beckenhorst Press), and has published with more than a dozen publishers. He has adjudicated numerous regional and national composition contests. Dan keeps a full schedule of commissions, workshops, recordings, adjunct professorships, and residencies with universities, churches, and community ensembles, collaborating as accompanist, presenting his music, and teaching composition and theory.
 
Dan holds a doctoral degree in composition from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in piano performance. His academic background includes several years as a professor and department head (music theory and composition) in higher education. 

This biography is published courtesy of Santa Barbara Music Publishing, INC.

Click the links to enjoy music by Dan Forrest.
 
Blessings,
Cindy
Update on Pastoral Care
Please contact Dawn Skelly if you have any pastoral care needs. Dawn’s contact information is [email protected]. Dawn will be regularly checking her emails. During off hours, you can call 484-268-2919, which will be checked on a regular basis. 
There will be an on-call Pastor available for emergencies.  
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Our library contains both the New York Times best-selling novel and the movie starring Oprah Winfrey. This is a review by Kurt Holloway of the book.

Has any human ever attained Earthly immortality? Before you try to answer this question, you should read this captivating book.

Henrietta Lacks was described by friends and family as loving, fun-loving, devoted to her children and well-liked. In 1951, at age thirty-one she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She died on October 4, 1951, just eight months after her diagnosis. While Henrietta did not survive as a living person, cancer cells which had been removed from her body have
multiplied millions of times over, living to this day, appearing to be immortal. The uniquely aggressive cancer cells which took Henrietta’s life, later named “HeLa” cells by the a scientist, have been an extraordinarily valuable tool for scientific research and have become the most famous cells in the world. Among their contributions to medical science was their important role in the development of the Polio vaccine.
 
The book explains cell biology and cellular research history in a way that is easy enough for all of us non-scientists to understand and, in the case of HeLa, to marvel over. But, as amazing at the story of HeLa is, the book’s primary focus is not about science.
 
This story is about Henrietta, her family, and the effects of her early death on her children, especially her daughter Deborah. Once the author earns the guarded trust of Deborah, they spend years together seeking information about Henrietta and Deborah’s nearly forgotten older sister, Elsie. They discover horrible truths about Elsie’s short life. The story pulls us into Deborah’s desperation to learn about her mother. In one scene she tells Skloot, “You know what I really want? I want to know what my mother smells like.”

This is also a story of ethics. HeLa cells enabled many institutions and companies to make hundreds of millions of dollars while Henrietta’s children couldn’t afford proper health care. The cells were taken from Henrietta and used in thousands of research labs around the world without her knowing consent or her family’s. As I finished the book, both times I read it, I wanted to immediately discuss it with everyone I knew. The story is as full of life as Henrietta’s immortal HeLa cells.
Being the Church This Week

Sunday, July 24 
Service of the Lord’s Day 9:30 AM. Rev. Khristi Adams, preaching 
Adult Forum Steering Committee Meeting via Zoom – 12PM

Monday, July 25 
Troop 146 - 7PM

Tuesday, July 26
Yoga – 9AM – Community Room
Staff Meeting – 10:30AM
HENS Board Meeting – 7PM

Wednesday, July 27 
Yoga – 9AM – Community Room
Spiritual Formation Meeting – 7PM

Thursday, July 28 
Community Meals – 5PM – Fellowship Hall

Friday, July 29 
Yoga – 9AM – Community Room
Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all.  (James 1:17 CEB) 
 
At FPC Pottstown, we believe that our time, our talents, our earthly treasures are not our own; they are gracious gifts from God. God entrusts them to us, and calls us to use our gifts and our lives to make God's love known in the world.
 
We continue to clothe, feed, educate and uplift one another, and our neighbors in need.  This work requires offerings of time, talent and treasure. Your giving makes that work possible. Thank you!