We just completed another great Sunday School year and wanted to thank everyone who participated. The Pajama Party was a lot of fun, as you can see by the pictures included here. We collected 57 pairs of pajamas and donated them to the Pajama Program that distributes books and paja- mas to children in need. We also finished up our Pennies for Peace project and contributed $225 to that organization.

On Sunday, our confirmands went to New York City for a "Breakfast Run" They prepped and cooked muffins and egg dishes on Saturday at Emanuel. Then set up and served breakfast to the some of the city's homeless on a bright and clear Sunday morning. They are looking forward to participating in this service event again in the future!

For those of you who have never attended the Hudson Valley Handbell Festival, you definitely have missed a treat. It started in September. You see Emanuel's bell choirs play during different times of the year, but each week at Bell Choir practice we are also practicing for "the Festival." When I first became a member of Emanuel's Adult Bell Choir and heard about the Festival, I was a bit skeptical. How can you get 20 bell choirs to play together and have them sound halfway decent? Well, it can be done, especially with The Festival is held at Nyack College. You can just imagine the mayhem with everyone arriving early in the morning the day of the Festival. We set up to begin practicing by 10:00 AM. Unbelievably, it is very organized. You walk in, and every choir's location is taped on the floor of the gym. We practice throughout the day. You have to realize, none of us have played this music together. And, you would never know that after listening to the concert in the evening. It's amazing how the choirs gel after practicing for just one day. Guest Director this year was Tim Waugh, and Nancy Strombaugh was Local Director. Tim started us off doing ex ercises. I enjoyed the back rubs very much, but the arm exercises were a bit confusing. He kept telling us that SAT scores are higher for students who practice these exercises. I, myself, am too old to worry about that, but it was fun. The music for this year's program was selected by a committee headed by our very own Eiko Cornelius. The selec tions were challenging but beautiful. In addition to our playing a number of pieces with 20 other bell choirs, the Emanuel Adult Ringers played a solo piece, "Prelude to Te Deum Laudamus" arranged by Martha Lynn Thompson. We did a great job; although I'm much more relaxed when we don't have to play a solo. A voluntary donation is taken up during the concert. This year the collection went to a group called White Lotus, which helps young girls in Cambodia. Poverty forces many families to sell their daughters while they are still children. White Lotus encourages spiritual stability, healthy social interaction and accountability through friendships and mentoring relationships. With the donation, Hudson Valley wishes to buy three octaves of hand chimes for these girls and take these instruments to Cambodia in January 2010 to set up a music education program. If you are interested in hearing our concert, CDs are available for $20. Maybe we can get you to come listen next I had a wonderful day, playing music with the other bell choirs and hanging out with my fellow choir members. The music was beautiful, the fellowship was wonderful. Can't ask for more than that. --Janet Horgan-Emanuel Adult Ringer