New Community Choir in MT Kicks Off

New community choir to present concert Dec. 12

By Bill Vander Weele

SIDNEY, MT — As the holiday season approached her for the first
time in Sidney, Pastor Vicki Waddington felt something was
missing.

While in Forsyth, the way to kick off the holiday season was a
community choir concert. It’s a tradition of 35 years in that
community.

“I missed that this year,” Waddington, the pastor at Lonsdale
United Methodist Church, said.

So, she brought up the community choir idea to Charlane
Lines, associate pastor at Pella Lutheran Church. It turns out
Lines had the same thought of forming a community choir.

Lines, who is also in her first year in Sidney, has a strong
musical background in both choral and instrumental groups.

“It was in the back of my mind when I came here,” Lines said of
a community choir. “We’ve been working together to make it work.
We’ve been ecstatic about the response.”

When the first rehearsal took place in October, a “fabulous”
response was experienced. Now, a group of 30-35 singers practice
each Monday night at Lonsdale.

“We have a bunch of fun, but we work hard,” Waddington said. “We
really think it’s going to be an enriching experience for the
community.”