Music

The Kingston United Methodist Church loves music.

1.	The Senior Choir sings from September thru June. The Choir usually performs one Sunday a month during the worship service and at Christmas and Easter.
2.	The Gospel Group is relatively new. All are invited to join. They rehearse at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Just bring your enthusiasm. If you play an instrument, bring it along. Group is led by Jim Carroll on guitar.
3.	Special Music is done frequently by members and guests. In June, a musical extravaganza is put on with singing by the choir and various musical groups invited from the surrounding area. Professional singing groups have also stopped by to seranade us, including Groovelily and *The Moonlighters.*

Come and join us!

Listen to the Choir practice (wav file 653 Kb)

Thoughts on music
from John Wesley's Directions for Singing...

That this Part of Divine Worship [singing] may be the more acceptable to God, as well as the more profitable to yourself and others, be careful to observe the following Directions.

I.	Learn these tunes [in the hymnal] before you learn any others, afterwards learn as many as you please.
II.	Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all, and if you have came to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.
III.	Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can.
IV.	Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.
V.	Sing modestly. Do not bawl; so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
VI.	Sing in time, whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy and it is high time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
VII.	Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound; but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

From John Wesley's Select Hymns 1761 more on Wesley