Joyful noise: On the road with William Carey
- Monday, December 17, 2018 10:58 AM
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Music
Michael Belcher of Meridian is a mass communications major. He performs with the Carey Chorale and the Carey Worship Choir.
Winters School of Music & Ministry Studies performers tour all over the state on a schedule that starts in the fall and doesn’t end until graduation.
Freshman Michael Belcher is a member of the Carey Chorale and Carey Worship Choir. As the son of a pastor, Belcher has been singing in church and youth choirs since he was 11 years old. His parents are Thomas and Anna Belcher of Meridian, where his father is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. Here are Michael Belcher’s travel notes from a recent road trip with the Carey Worship Choir.
By Michael BelcherWCU student When you've been in as many choirs as I have, choir trips can all feel the same. But they aren’t. Here’s what made a Worship Choir trip to Jackson different. Such moments, shared with friends, are special.
- Biscuits make it better: We got up at 5 a.m. Many of us were tired and sleepy as we reported to the buses. None of us had eaten, but choir director Jim Armstrong was there with sausage biscuits.
- Jelly banishment protocol: Most of us loaded on the buses to eat. The driver didn't allow jelly on the bus. Understandable, with all that upholstery. So those brave enough to attempt defiance ate outside, stalling the departure. No one blamed them, because jelly is good.
- But seriously: We spent the time talking together, sharing a sense of comradery and oneness. After all, a choir is not every voice singing a part, it's all the voices becoming one.
- On the road: Ninety minutes to our destination. Water was chugged with reckless abandon as students desperately attempted to awaken The Power Within. I downed a bottle in two swigs. It hurt, actually.
- First arrival: We unloaded at First Baptist Church Jackson for a service that would be three and a half hours long. Accompanied by other choirs and choir directors, we readied ourselves, grimly determined. Several students were hungry again.
- Lunch: After it was over, we made a quick trip to an unsuspecting Cracker Barrel. The poor shop was flooded with so many students wearing black attire, bystanders probably thought it was Goth apocalypse.
- Drive time: After lunch, we had a few stops to make. Over the long drive, students rested in patterns a cryptologist would find fascinating. I saw three sleeping students in a perfect row in the exact same position. Some were taking the time to cram desperately for finals the next day. Mine were over the day before, yes, all of them! So I had time to relax.
- And then there's this guy over here: This guy was me. With a 3DS. Playing Terraria. Yes. I spent more than an hour preparing to fight a giant mechanical worm. Then I died at the hands of a giant mechanical worm.
- Another meal: Chick-Fil-A. There were leftovers. I kindly took the extras, storing them securely in my backpack.
- Back at FBC: We unloaded again. One final song. We sang again between words spoken. There was one guy who took off his outer suit jacket to reveal a glow-in-the-dark Spiderman T-shirt. Hmm.
- But seriously: In the end, though we were all different people doing different things, studying different majors, and focusing on different careers, we were the same. We were all members of the William Carey Worship Choir, all on the same trip. Many students, but just one voice.
- Going home: Back on the bus, I took the salvaged snacks from my backpack, passing them out like a benevolent king. We celebrated; it was finished. Then everyone remembered finals. Oh dear, here we go again...