Running in the Rain

The season in British Columbia in fall, can be rainy. Days can also be nice and sunny, but regardless of the weather, sports still continue. Our grandsons are competitive cross country runners, and the last couple of week-ends tested their endurance in the finals. First, the qualifying race for grades 9 and ten, and the following week, the provincials. Jaxon is 15 in grade 10 while his brother, Jeremiah is 13 in grade 8. In his qualifying race, Jaxon won in spite of the rain, and loved trying his sprint at the finish, although it wasn’t necessary.

His younger brother ran with the older boys for the fun of it, and to practice for his own up-coming race. To his satisfaction, he came in 6th. Competitors were a sight at the finish; covered with mud, but they didn’t mind.

The following Saturday, it was pouring rain, and the cross-country provincial race was on in Vancouver, for boys in grades 9 and 10. Jaxon said before and after the race that he loves to run in the rain. There were 226 boys in the group. When they came running down the first grassy stretch, the water was spraying upwards like it does when a bus goes through a puddle. As the group began to stretch out, they came to what seemed like a pond. That didn’t deter them. They plowed through it.

We watched at different points along the course, and it was a delight to see Jaxon building up his lead. His style of running is like he had wheels going round and round.

The last stretch was very exciting because a young runner from Victoria was bound he’d win. He was a sprinter and ‘poured on the coal’ towards the end, but didn’t quite make it. He fell in the mud just before the finish line. What a disappointment for him. Jaxon won the provincials, and it was the result of lots of practice and his ability to run in the rain and love it.

For him, the day wasn’t over, because he still had to play a near-final game of soccer. That was in the rain too. His team is “high performance” and did very well. We were there to watch, and were dressed to keep dry and warm.

A picture of Jaxon, his brother Jeremiah, and their dad, Jim, their coach, was taken by the interviewer and appeared in our newspaper. Julia, the boys’ eleven year old sister would be thinking her brothers were getting considerable publicity. However, about two weeks later, when she and her mother went to see what was happening at the fish hatchery, a news reporter took her picture holding a large salmon. The newspaper published it, to Julia’s delight. She enjoys some of the glory that her brothers have been sharing. We are delighted too.

The Power of Prayer

On Saturday, the 11^th of October, 2015, our Surrey Firefighters’ Pipe Band performed twice and we were very pleased with our success.  The first was for the Raspberry Festival in Ft. Langley.  Later in the day, it was in the Sheraton Hotel in Vancouver, for the Retirement Banquet of Firefighters and for their guests.  We had some concern for the weather at our first engagement, because the forecast was for rain.  However, it didn’t rain, except between engagements, and we were thankful.

At our evening performance, while tuning up, Tricia, one of our excellent lady pipers announced that she was recently diagnosed as having a cancerous tumor on her lung.  It would soon be removed surgically.  She was informed that it wasn’t aggressive.  She would however, require post-surgical medical treatment.  We were considerably stunned by her announcement and assured Tricia that we understood her need for prayer.  We can’t be certain when she will resume her piping and we’ll miss her in the meantime.

We were reminded of Steve’s recent accident, in which he was riding his bicycle and crashed over a ledge.  He broke his neck in three places.  Fortunately, he was given immediate expert care and hopes to be playing his side drum again in approximately three months.  We will pray that he recovers completely, and will be able to carry his tenor drum as easily as before.

We need competent pipers and drummers, and are confronted with these sad occurrences.  We must pray that God will provide healing for Trish and Steve, as well as for some new, competent players.

I believe in the power of prayer and God’s response by answering with a miracle.  When Bert, a dear friend was diagnosed with lung cancer.  His friends prayed for his recovery, when he was dying in the hospital.  Miraculously, Bert recovered and soon after he retired, he went back to university, to earn a Master’s degree in Theology.  He became the senior pastor of a church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.  I always remember him telling us about his amazing recovery.  He needed a drink of water to continue with his story.  He had been an inveterate smoker, but he certainly is not now. 

Having been a witness to Bert’s story about God’s healing, and to know that he is now striving to serve God, I have faith in the power of prayer, and will pray for healing for both Trish and Steve.  At the same time, I am praying that others who read this blog will be convinced to pray too, for Trish and Steve and also for themselves.  One should also remember to thank God for His loving care and not forget that in everything we do, we should do it as for God, and not for man. 

Renewing the Antiquated

A friend who is a fellow piper sent me an antiquated hymnbook. It’s about 50 years old, and he asked how I’d like to do some transposing and arranging to bring to life these hymns by rewriting them for the Highland bagpipes. Afterwards we could publish and share them with pipers who play in church. I liked the invitation, and yet, when I perused the pages, I realized this was going to be a bigger task than I had ever undertaken in writing music.

The music was written in an old style known as shape-notes, in which the notes were either printed as triangles, circles or squares, with each one mounted on a stem, making them appear not unlike little tulips, with their tails resembling leaves. These were eighth or sixteenth notes. Some had no tails, so they were either whole, half, or quarter notes, This style of writing was once considered useful for choirs, so sopranos, tenors and bases could readily identify their lines.

I began with a hymn I suspected would be the easiest, choosing to follow the triangles, and soon realized this was no ordinary undertaking because there were no beams to organize the notes into 4/4, 6/8, 6/4 or whatever time signature had been chosen. Besides, for bagpipes, the pitch is higher than today’s concert pitch, so the hymns had to be transposed. This would be a major undertaking.

My first approach to the task was to play a few of the hymns on the piano, to get the rhythm, and determine where to place the beams. I rewrote the hymns, following the triangles, transposing the tune into either the key of A or D, whichever was suitable. I realized that I wouldn’t be adding a key signature to the bagpipe notation, because the pipes don’t conform to familiar keys, but to a Pythagorean scale, also called a Myxilodean scale, for which there is no key signature.

Once the music was transposed and transcribed on paper, the embellishments essential to pipe music were added. Because the instrument is played with continual sound, and the notes need to be separated if two adjacent notes are identical, grace notes are an essential part of writing bagpipe music. The best choice of grace notes, doublings, grips and tuorluaths is remarkable in providing expression to the music. This has been an exacting task because embellishments must be chosen so the piper’s fingers will not get tangled up, but will automatically strike the natural embellishments.

Hymns are arranged in this manner, and reviewed days later, to permit a second look and some refinement. Successively more difficult transposing follows, with each hymn being resurrected from the old book where it would have decayed, never to be played. The music was obviously written by a musician gifted with the poetic muse in addition to that for composing, for he wrote two or three verses for each hymn, along with a Chorus.

My friend is an expert in engraving music, and uses the most sophisticated music program. The same program is used to engrave music for the Vancouver and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras as well as for The Church Piper. With the beams slanted according to the melody, sight reading is facilitated.

We are nearing the time when this especially prepared hymnbook for pipers will be ready, and we are longing to complete it for your enjoyment. Meanwhile, I shall write an article on the rules one should abide by when writing music.

A Fundraiser For Mental Health

My Father’s Day on Sunday, June the 21st, 2015, will be remembered as very special for several reasons; one being my participation in the Fundraiser for The Canadian Mental Health Association. I was invited as the piper, to play for a short while for each contingent of a large number of cyclists shortly after they began their tour from Swangard Stadium and through the city of Vancouver. Thousands of cyclists and runners were divided into many categories such as the 60, 20 and 10 km runs.

Their response to my pipe music was quite thrilling as they rode past, giving a thumbs up and waving. One fellow was so entranced by the music of “The Road to the Isles,” that he stopped to perform the Highland Fling. He gave it everything he had and it was wonderful to watch. Then, he continued on his walk. 

It was a beautiful day for dancing, cycling, walking and playing the pipes. I played all sorts of music, remembering it by categories, such as 6/8’s, 4/4’s, well-known Scottish selections and hymn songs. I figured that for those who knew those hymns, they would love hearing them, and for those who were not familiar with hymns, they would nevertheless enjoy them; ones like “I Sing the Mighty Power of God,” “Immortal, Invisible,” “To God be the Glory, “and “Take the Name of Jesus With You.”

Our daughter had a Father’s Day Celebration at her house in the afternoon, which included a BBQ luncheon and spontaneous entertainment by one of our grandsons and his soccer buddies. They made the most of a warm, sunny day by wresting on the slippery surface of the trampoline. We were happy to see them conclude their show of strength and agility without accidents. It was very rough!

There was still time in the day to attend a lecture on the Book of Hebrews given by our pastor at our Baptist church, and to have some interesting conversations afterwards with some of our friends who were there. Many wonderful memories will follow this great Father’s Day.   

What is Righteousness?

Would a person be considered pretentious if he or she claimed to be righteous? It is a word that describes a relationship with God. Some would say, I wouldn’t dare claim a relationship at all with God, for God is supreme and perfect and there can be no relationship with God. Another person might say, that is for God to decide, while someone else, who feels a close relationship with God would say, ‘without a doubt, I would describe myself as righteous.

Let us consider what righteousness is. It is definitely a quality to be credited to a person for how well he or she relates to God. One might say a righteous person is honest and avoids actions that would harm or exploit someone else. In the Bible, there are many who related well to God. There was Mary and there was Joseph, the one whose brothers sold him to some Egyptians. Also, there was Moses, and Paul for examples. The word divides the lost and the saved. In actuality, however, that definition is faulty because there is the question of how good a person must be to be righteous. The Pharisees said they prayed at least twice a week. Jesus, however, wasn’t impressed. Giving His life for the sake of being the sacrifice to God for the sins of all mankind, He was the only righteous person and He made it possible for anyone else to become righteous by accepting His sacrificial life as if it was that person’s own. Otherwise, it is impossible to know when a sufficient number of good deeds has been done to earn a relationship with God.

The only way to become righteous is by our trust in God. Righteousness is imputed or imparted to us. When our trust is in Jesus, perfect righteousness is imparted or credited to our account and it is a gift. Whether it is imputed or imparted, once a person has an implicit trust in God, he is made righteous. It requires believing that his or her sins have been forgiven by Christ’s sacrificial death and His resurrection.

There is a very good reason why I am mentioning this, for it is the relationship a piper must hold with God, for his or her music to be of significance when called upon to play for sacred engagements. This point was especially acknowledged by me one beautiful sunny, warm afternoon as I was playing at a funeral service in the cemetery. The family of the deceased person was gathered around the grave as the coffin was about to be lowered, and it was just after I had been looking into the clear blue sky, watching birds flying here and there, and I was thinking of God’s eternity as I played. I looked and caught the eye of a young lady who I think was the daughter of the deceased father. She nodded to me, indicating that the music was meaningful to her. I nodded back that I understood how the music touched one’s heart. I thought, I am actually the go-between person carrying her message of thanks to God, for the years she experienced her dad’s love. At the same time, I was carrying God’s love and His sympathy back to her and her family by my pipe music. I sensed that I had to be a clean vessel through which to carry that message.

I remember reading in the Bible that God isn’t inclined to listen to someone who doesn’t love Him. I located that Scripture recently, and it says, “But your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59: 2 So, God won’t even hear our playing if we don’t know Him. Why would He? 

I realize more than ever, that it would be presumptuous for a piper who did not know Christ, to accept engagements to play for any event that should require knowing God personally, for without that relationship, his or her music would not even be heard by God.               

Generally, it’s a Pleasure

Generally, when I’m invited to play my pipes for a special occasion, I’m happy to oblige. I’ve played for many weddings, celebrations of life, banquets and church services. For most, I’ve been paid to provide the service. For others, I’ve elected not to charge. I wouldn’t charge for playing call to worship at church, and I certainly would not set a fee for any close friend or relative. I understand that when a person pays for something, he or she expects to receive quality for the money spent, and similarly, I feel obliged to provide quality, whether it is to play in a head table, or play for a wedding or funeral service. It’s a different story when a piper is invited to play in the head table and advised there is no fee offered but he or she may sit down to dinner. One will not be properly appreciated. What doesn’t cost anything to accept, cannot be fully appreciated. Nor can the giver think how much satisfaction there is in giving.

Quite often, I’ve not charged for piping, and I’ve always had a good feeling when providing the service, because I’ve played for close friends and relatives. I felt great about being asked, and yet not expecting payment. It would be my gift to the newly married couple or to the bereaved family, if they were friends of mine. The situation was different recently, for I was asked to play in the head table and join the group for dinner. I would rather play well, and leave the group to its own associates, than be an extra person at the banquet. I questioned the organizer of this banquet, who represented quite an influential social organization, whether or not there would be a cocktail hour before dinner, where members could buy a drink. I was informed that there would be. I asked if those spirits were more important than enlisting the services of a piper and was informed that no, they were considered separately. I replied that I consider remuneration for the piping as important as the refreshments before the meal. Would they consider the piper?

The response to my request was that they have never paid for the services of a piper and didn’t wish to start now. I concluded the conversation was finished. The organization carried on without a piper. A drab sort of commencement. Pomp and ceremony attached to the banquet was lost.

If the organization, on the other hand, was just starting up and needed a piper, and could not afford his services, I certainly would have been glad to help out. It was entirely different, however, when members would be buying their cocktails before dinner, expecting free piping, not allowing for showing their appreciation for the piper’s well-practiced music and his attention to appropriate dress for the occasion.

Memorial at the Mission

One of our pipers assists at the Surrey Mission. After band practice, he announced that one of the regular attenders at the Mission, an elderly man named Doug, had died, and that there would be a memorial service in his memory. He planned to participate by playing a hymn on the pipes in Doug’s memory, and would anyone like to accompany him?

Immediately, our pipe-major volunteered, as well as another two pipers. I quickly responded. When we arrived on the Monday afternoon, the four of us in our kilted outfits were gratefully welcomed. Each piper’s kilt was of his own tartan.

Many who were associated with the Mission, told of their friendships with Doug, and that as rough a person as he seemed to be on the outside, he still had a kind heart and a humorous side which everyone liked. It was an interesting story when someone told of him hiding an amount of ice-cream behind other articles in the refrigerator, and then finding a time when he could share it with his friends, and receive the credit for his thoughtfulness.

A minister who knew Doug, gave a beautiful eulogy and others spoke of his friendship. Then, we played, “Amazing Grace,” and the Negro spiritual, “Goin’ Home.” It was really beautiful.

Afterwards, we were thanked by the lady in charge, and told how much our contribution of music meant to everyone. It was particularly touching for each of us as pipers, that in remembering Doug, who was everyone’s friend, we had gained immeasurably ourselves, strengthening the bond of friendship for the four of us, and for the other bandsmen who weren't able to be there. They could appreciate that our effort was also made by the band's Memorial at the Mission.