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PJ Burkhalter retrieved these framed music sheets from Handel's Messiah, which had been located in the hallway near the choir room at the back of the sanctuary. The framed music sheets were given in memory of Mary Thaleen, our first Minister of Music. The Messiah was her favorite music, and ironically on the evening of December 22, just hours before the church was destroyed by fire, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
performed Handel's Messiah in a sing-along to a packed house at the church, in a benefit concert. It was the last music ever played and sung in our sanctuary, and somehow this framed tribute survived the fire, although it was wet from the water used in fighting the fire. I had the pleasure of being the Bass soloist for this concert and was the last soloist to sing in the Sanctuary as I performed the aria "The Trumpet Shall Sound" in the final moments of the performance.