There we were on a Sunday morning in the summer of 1970.
The little church I was serving as a summer student minister
was full of people from the area of Vermilion Bay, Ontario,
and the summer residents from the United States
who had come up for the three W’s  ~  wine, women and walleye …
and the fourth W  ~  worship at our village church.

The soloist, whom I had never heard,
had just stood and was ready to sing.
She was a soloist at the Baptist and had been invited to our service
by a man named Harold Pain, an Floridian,
who had arranged it because, he said, of her lovely voice.

Now there’s something you should know about Harold Pain.
He had once upon a time been a Quaker
and had attended a Quaker College in the United States
but had been expelled  ~  the only one he ever knew of, he said  ~
for inappropriate behaviour at the college.
He had been a business man and was now retired  ~
wintering in Sun City Florida and summering at a northern Ontario lake.
He was an expert on bridge.
In fact, had written several books on the art of the game.
He was an engaging man … full of life … full of humour …
and on this particular day, unbeknownst to this young student minister,
was up to something.

Harold had parked his Lincoln Town Car beside the small white church.
The church windows were open to let the fresh air in
and the passenger window of his car was open just enough
to let his poodle, BoBo, get some fresh air,
and open just enough so that the dog could not get out.

The soloist from the Baptist church stood to sing.
The organist began her introduction to the music.
And as soon as she opened her mouth and began singing,
Bobo, with his head stuck out of the car window, began to sing as well.
It was not a duet made in heaven.
Her big, vibrato voice and Bobo’s high pitched howl made for some awful music.

And there he sat, Harold Pain,
arms folded across his chest
with a smile across his face as wide as Eagle Lake.
And there I sat, knowing, along with the others,
that we had been hoodwinked by this once-expelled Quaker
who was up to his old tricks.

Well, I can tell you that the soloist from the Baptist church
never returned to sing for us …
and I made darned sure that Bobo didn’t either.
Although Harold was there week after week until the fall came.

It was one of those days you wish had never come …
and it was one of those days you’re glad you didn’t miss.

Well, with Jim Leonard’s retirement after 33 years as Collier’s organist,
this is a day we wish had never come …
but it is a day we’re glad we didn’t miss.

The story of that singing dog reminds us
that there are all kinds of songs … and there are all kinds of singers.
There are all kinds of music ,… and there are all kinds of melodies.
There are all kinds of instruments … and there are all kinds of players.
There are all kinds of gifts … and there are all kinds of ways of using them.

So for a few moments, let me tell you about Jim Leonard
and the music and song and gifts that he possesses …
about the lessons he has learned and the blessing that he is.

This is one of the lessons learned.
From the earliest age Jim learned that he was loved:
loved by his mom and dad and brother …
loved by his extended family as he grew up in Weston.
It was in this love that he was nurtured and encouraged as he grew up.

This is another lesson learned.
Jim had a gift and his gift was music.
And so with his family  ~  who were all musical in their own right  ~
Jim was introduced to the keyboard.
And after the introductions were made,
he and the keyboard became fast friends.
The Leonard’s had a family orchestra
that played dances requiring  popular music and square dancing.
Jim’s job at the dances was to chord on the piano for the square dances.
Jim especially loved the Irish/ Scottish tunes
and tried different harmonies with each repetition of  the tune.
He was 13 years old at the time.
It was love that nurtured and encouraged him to use his gifts.

And here’s another lesson learned.
When he was 14 he joined the Riverside United Church choir in Toronto
as a young tenor.
He loved his involvement there.
When he was a little older, a new organist came to the church ~ Ashley Tidy.
Jim had left the choir and had begun studying piano with him.

And so another person came into Jim’s life …
a person he admired and respected as a church musician …
a man who brought new life to the Riverside choir …
a man who influenced Jim in such a way that Jim, too,
wanted to become a church musician.

And with Ashley Tidy’s encouragement
Jim earned his Grade 8 piano diploma before studying organ.
And study he did.

But he learned from his mentor that playing a service in church was not a performance.
He was taught about “being a servant to the service” …
to always see “The Big Picture”
so that the music would reflect the service itself.
It was love that nurtured and encouraged him to use his gifts,
not as a showman, but as a servant.

And here’s another lesson learned.
Jim embarked on his first position as organist at Weston Presbyterian Church.
He was 16 years old.
It was his mentor, Ashley Tidy, that recommended him …
and then recommended him to St. John’s Anglican Church in West Toronto.
Jim had earned his Grade 8 and Grade 10 conservatory diplomas in organ.
He was 20 years old.
Studies with Dr. Melville Cook from Metropolitan United Church
and the encouragement of William Wright pushed him even further.
It was love that nurtured and encouraged him to realize what others have learned:
“Lord, you give us everything at the price of an effort.”
Jim studied and worked hard to get to his place of excellence.

And here’s another lesson learned.
Being a church musician isn’t just about music: it’s about people.
At a young age Jim learned sage advice from his father
who knew that getting along has a way of moving things along …
that being respectful has a way of earning a person the respect of others …
that one needs to honour the work of volunteers, and in many instances amateurs.
An amateur, of course, is a person who does it “for the love of it.”
Being a church musician isn’t just about music: it’s about people.
It’s about honouring their gifts and their love of sharing them.
It was his father’s love that nurtured and encouraged him to
“Always be humble and try to see the other persons' point of view ~
even if at first you disagree."

And life unfolded.
Jim was in his first year Music History class at the Faculty of  Music,
University of Toronto.
The class was very large-110 students  ~
so Jim’s professor, who was very strict, arranged them in alphabetical order.
A young woman named Lenore with the maiden name Lehman,
was alphabetically right, and right in others ways, too,
and so the Lehman girl and the Leonard boy ended up sitting beside each other.
They ended up helping each other with the lecture notes
and spending time together outside of class.
The rest is history.  They married July 31 1971, almost 38 years ago.

And the years passed.
They were living in Keswick.
Jim was teaching there and Lenore was commuting to her job in Toronto.
Then in 1976, Jim saw the Ad in the United Church Observer for Collier Church. 
As a teenager, Jim used to check the ads for church music positions in the Observer
and dream …

Well, dreams come true.
Jim was the successful applicant.
Jim “won” the competition, so to speak, and so did we.

Well, those are the lessons learned …
and that’s part of the story.
But what have been the blessings?

Let me express them by reading a letter I wrote
on behalf of the Official Board
at the time Jim advised us he would be retiring …

“At the time of your retirement, you will have served this congregation as organist for 33 years  ~  almost  ~  a most remarkable accomplishment.  To say that your God-given and God-used gifts will be missed would be an understatement.  From your grand preludes and postludes to your sensitive accompaniment of soloists … from your improvisational skills at the keyboard when accompanying Jesus Walk to your precise mastery of Bach … from your Sunday morning leadership to playing for funerals and weddings and special services … we have witnessed your love for God shared through your love for music.  As it was for Bach, so it has been for you:  a ministry of pastoral care to the congregation, always “Soli Deo Gloria” ~ “To God Alone The Glory.”  And you have shared those abundant musical gifts with us in a spirit of collegiality and friendship and cooperation that has made your presence with us at Collier a joy.

And we thank your family for their place within the Collier family through the years  ~  Lenore and Raymond and Tim.  We have been blessed to have all of you participate in many ways.  As both you and Lenore look to retirement (next year), and moving to where the winters are shorter, we wish you good health and great happiness as this next chapter in your lives begins to unfold.

Thank you, Jim, for being you, and for sharing yourself with us.”

The blessings shared?
Through Jim’s music, as the psalmist writes,
                    we have been brought into the presence of God …
                             even as we have heard the applause from the sea
                                       and the wilderness turn cartwheels
                                                and the animals dance
                                                          and the trees sing.

The blessings shared?
Through Jim’s music, as the psalmist writes,
                    we have heard God’s message
                             of putting the world on a firm foundation,
                                       where God sets everything right and treats everyone fair.

The blessings shared?
Through Jim’s music
                    we have heard a brand new song  ~  God’s song in a new way.
                             How blessed we have been.
                            
Jim has given us many things:
the wonder of his music, but more …
the gift of himself,
a faithful servant of Jesus, His lord.

So, James Leonard, and Lenore, and Raymond, and Tim …
“May the road rise to meet you …
may the wind be always at your back …
may the sun shine warm upon your face …
may the rain fall soft upon your fields …
and, until we meet again,
may God hold you, and yours, ever in the hollow of his hand.”

 

SOLI  DEO  GLORIA

 

 

THE READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE     Psalm 96  -  from The Message
 1-2 Sing God a brand-new song! Earth and everyone in it, sing!
   Sing to God—worship God!

 2-3 Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea,
   Take the news of his glory to the lost,
   News of his wonders to one and all!

 4-5 For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.
   His terrible beauty makes the gods look cheap;
   Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.

 5-6 God made the heavens—
   Royal splendor radiates from him,
   A powerful beauty sets him apart.

 7 Bravo, God, Bravo!
   Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
   In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.

 8-9 Bring gifts and celebrate,
   Bow before the beauty of God,
   Then to your knees—everyone worship!

 10 Get out the message—God Rules!
   He put the world on a firm foundation;
   He treats everyone fair and square.

 11 Let's hear it from the Sky,
   With the Earth joining in,
   And a huge round of applause from the Sea.

 12 Let the Wilderness turn cartwheels,
   Animals, come dance,
   Put every tree of the forest in the choir—

 13 An extravaganza before God as he comes,
   As he comes to set everything right on earth,
   Set everything right, treat everyone fair.