☀️Sun of Festivities

Friday, December 9, 2022 - Vol. 01 No. 29

Sean Higgins

Dec 9, 2022

Only fifteen days on the countdown to Christmas!

Tim Daniels @ohmetimothy

Well done @WA_Marysville

☀️A Gift That Keeps on Giving

I had an incredible idea to come up with a Marysville-centric recommended gifts list here in the Sun. But I don’t have a list like that, yet, Ho Ho Ho!

In the meantime, I’ll give one special mention. It’s a gift that is practical, shareable, educational, and would last for generations. And you can get all of that for under $20!

It’s a book—Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

Battle is about education and schools, about the trajectory of teachers’ unions for a century, about what chaos happens in classrooms across the country. But it’s more than that. It’s about civilization and culture and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The key term in the book is paideia. Its from a Greek word referring to the culture of a society, how a people understand the “good life,” and how they share it with their kids and equip their kids to live and love according to what is really good.

There are three paideias distinguished in the book: 1) the Western Christian Paideia (WCP), 2) the American Progressive Paideia (APP), and 3) the Cultural Marxist Paideia (CMP). The WCP was predominant in the West until about a century ago, the APP took over, and the CMP started to displace and destroy the remnants of real objective virtue just after the year 2000. And the results of the CMP are not pretty.

Here is the first part of the report card from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Marsyville School District:

The problem isn’t money, spending almost $17k per student. The problem isn’t rookie teachers, as the average for years of experience is 14 (see for yourself on the rest of the report card). So then, what is it? What can we do? That’s why you should buy a copy of Battle for the American Mind. Buy a box of copies; the box might be easier to wrap. Give a copy to your pastor, a copy to your local state legislator and/or city council member. Give a copy to yourself! It comes in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audio versions. It will look great under the tree, better on your bookshelves, and best when put into practice for your grandkids.

For what it’s worth, don't forget the Open Position for the Marysville School District Board - applications accepted through today, December 9.

☀️Community through Choir

by Maggie Rothenberger

Regardless of when you start playing Christmas music, everyone who celebrates the holiday agrees that now is the time for jingle-belling and rocking around your respective Christmas trees. Individuals open their streaming apps, carefully selecting the Christmas songs they would like to hear, and retail workers prep for Mariah Carey bombardment. While occasional groups of carolers make their rounds, communities do not often gather to sing, and most Christmas concerts consist of professionals or kindergartners. What we’re missing is the joy of community choir concerts!

Comeford College, featured in an earlier issue of the Sun, is doing its part to remedy this. With a community choir composed of highschool freshmen all the way up to their grandparents, the weekly rehearsals are an outlet for those who love singing together. Their Christmas Concert takes place at Trinity Evangel Church on Thursday the 15th, at 7:00pm, with free admissions, and you all are invited.

Comeford College @ComefordCollege

The 2nd annual Comeford College Community Choir Christmas Concert (C6) will be a don't-want-to-miss event: Thursday, December 15, 7:00pm 9015 44th Dr NE, Marysville

Sonja Sarr, the director, says this about the choir, “The first purpose [of the choir] is to create independent musicians who glorify the Lord through song. We first started a ‘community’ choir because the actual students of the college at the time only made up a quartet. I wanted to create a fuller choral experience for the college students so I got permission to open the choir to 9th graders and older who could sign off on our statement of faith. It was great because some people who had never had a choral experience were drawn in along with many who were involved in choirs during their schooling years, but didn’t have a current musical outlet. We have a mix of novices to members with music degrees and everything in between.”

Community singing provides a lot of benefits to its participants, but a lot of choirs have limits on who can join, requiring a certain level of skill before entrance. This is not true for Comeford; the only requirements are that members agree with a simple statement of faith, and are at least a highschool freshman. Sonja leads exercises in sight reading and vocal range, increasing skill while also practicing pieces for an end of semester of concert. She said this about the benefits of group singing, “What is so great about singing in a group is that you can be a part of something that is so much bigger than yourselves. There is also nothing like creating beautiful harmonies next to someone else. Literally, I think it’s one of the best things in life. And we are practicing for heaven!”

When I asked if community choirs are in a unique position to bless their towns, she said, “Ooo, yes! There’s nothing equivalent with sharing the gift of song with others. Music brings joy to people, and that is something that uplifts a community.” As it regards Marysville in particular, she not only loves the green of the PNW and some new stores (we have an Old Navy now), but Marysville is where her family set down roots and has found a tight knit community, saying, “You don’t just find that anywhere.” One place you can find a tight knit community is Comeford’s choir, as the singing brings everyone together!

So, whether or not you would like to join the choir (the second semester rehearsals start January 26th), you should at least consider coming to the concert next week for a good, jovial time. I asked Sonja what her advice is for those who want to keep improving our town, and she said, “…it starts in our hearts. Our outsides mirror what’s inside. We have to be lovelier people, to love our neighbors and to steward well the small plot of land we call home whether it’s an apartment or it’s palatial. Invite neighbors over. Host a neighborhood movie night. Pick up garbage when you are outside. Loveliness begets loveliness.” As we seek to make Marysville more lovely, we must first engage the people around us, and maybe a community choir is the place for you to start!

☀️Shopping on State

Our city has its own YouTube channel! And this highlight on Hilton & Company just dropped. Watch the video, then read an interview as well as other local updates in the December issue of Best in Business.