God's call comes to each of us in a unique way. Looking over the first 25 years of my life, I see that God was busy preparing me for music ministry in numerous ways. My parents made church attendance a priority, and I was blessed to be nurtured in that place by strong, devoted Christians. My love of music developed early with the encouragement and example of my mother and grandmother. Singing together and playing the piano were fun bonding activities for us that brought joy to our entire family.

Playing for the chorus at my school became an important part of my Jr. and Sr. High years. Singing in my college choir gave me a life-long love of choral singing.

I began my career as an elementary school teacher, a job which I loved very much. After 5 years, however, I began to realize that the favorite part of my week was my time as an organist at a Presbyterian church in my hometown. The desire to go to grad school and pursue church music as a career began to grow within me and fairly quickly became a reality.

God led me very naturally and smoothly into the calling of music ministry, and it has been a great joy to live out such a large part of it with Holt here at First Presbyterian. God calls each of us to His work every day, in ways both large and small. During Lent, let us be keen listeners to His call for each of us for and our church.

About the Contributor

Marcia Andrews is the Associate Director of Music and Organist at First Presbyterian Church, where she and her husband, Holt, have served for the past 22 years. She is also the Director of Children's Music.