Thank you

Dear Friends, My deepest and most heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful celebration in honor of my 25th anniversary as Director of Music at the Hills Church! Such a well-orchestrated celebration must have required months of careful planning, and I hope I can adequately express my thanks to everyone who took part in it.

The party on March 14th was one of the happiest events of my life. I felt truly blessed to be surrounded by so many of the amazing people I have been fortunate to know during my (first) quarter-century at the Hills Church. The decorations were elegant, and the food was superb - including the beautiful cake which the Chancel Choir and I enjoyed again on Wednesday night! The speeches by Diana Strange, Matt Fitzgerald, Nancy Simons, and Craig Adams filled my soul with joy and gratitude.

The gifts I received were out of this world. The digital picture key chain will allow me to keep pictures of my beloved Hills Church close by wherever I go. The exquisitely bound copy of “Hymns of Truth & Light” is gorgeous (and its large-print is a welcome sight for my 54-year-old eyes!). The sonorous chime from the Bell Choir will always strike a special chord in me when I hear its deep and resonant tone. The generous check will allow me to travel to Paris this fall (where Jim Christie, our former Director of Music, will be spending his sabbatical).

The choir’s presentation of “Hooray for John Finney...” (complete with kick- line!) may go down in history as my all-time favorite performance!

The commissioning of a newly-composed anthem by Joel Martinson is a gift that will bring joy and splendor to our Easter services this year. The anthem itself is such a fine piece of music that it will surely enhance Easter services in countless other churches for years to come, after it is published later this year.

The beautifully-crafted Memory Book is something I will hold near and dear to my heart for the rest of my life. The letters it contains are of all sorts: uplifting, poignant, heart-warming. And the pictures are worth thousands of words. I’m planning to have the Memory Book at the church for the next few weeks so that you can see for yourself what a treasure it is.

As I tried to say at the party on March 14th, I feel “immersed in joy” whenever I am at the Hills Church. My work here has been one of the greatest joys of my life for 25 years, and I trust it will continue to be so for many years to come.
Thank you for being the Hills Church!

With deepest gratitude, 

John Finney, Director of Music