Celebrating Neal Hamlin

Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.

-Ephesians 5:19

We celebrate Neal Hamlin’s

retirement and his service to the Lord and HPCUMC as our Director of Music of 27 years

What do you look forward to doing the most?

Spending time with our seven grandchildren and friends and family throughout the country. I anticipate traveling to places we have only imagined, including our National Parks; and, while we have happily spent Christmas here for better than forty years, Dee Dee and I look forward to sharing some holiday celebrations with family back east or perhaps out west. And yes, I am excited about my newfound ability to take my boat and go fishing…any time…for as long as I wish!

Looking back on any events or happenings while you were at HPC, would you share a

favorite memory? I have been blessed to serve under seven senior pastors, one interim pastor and at least twenty associate pastors, all of whom have contributed to the legacy and present vision of this steadfast church community. I will always remember the day I was asked to become the Director of music in 1993. For all of my life God had been grooming me for this, and I realized it then. I remember performing the Mozart Requiem to a packed church, two weeks after 9/11, with only two brief rehearsals. I recall conducting a musical tribute to retiring Sr. Pastor Rev. Don Dixon in an afternoon concert which convened the entire ministry of music: the Carillon Choir, the Hyde Park Community Brass, the Sunshine Singers, the Youth Choir, along with the Wesley and Cathedral Choirs. The concert ended with all of the ensembles presenting “This is My Song,” a large work specially commissioned for the occasion. And among numerous performances of choral masterworks with orchestra, there were three memorable “Messiah” presentations.

What aspects of work will you miss the

most? Every day I’ll miss working alongside a staff that is congenial and passionate about the church and its ministries. I will miss the unwavering support of leaders who always offer encouragement and who participate in the music ministry. I will miss the collegial friendship and musicianship of our organist, directors, choristers, handbell ringers and perennial guests including the Canterbury Brass. I will miss rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and worship service offerings of choral music on Sunday mornings. I will miss the joy of taking a group of enthusiastic singers and building a choral instrument, and cultivating great friendships in the process.

What is the best part of growing older?

Continuance of a great partnership with the love of my life, Dee Dee; the gifts of children and grandchildren, of honest perspective for establishing priorities, of great family gatherings, wonderful memories and storytelling.

Who has had the greatest impact on your life?

God has guided me all of my life; family has always been my rock and my homing place. Dee Dee and I both came from families rich in clergy, missionaries and church music, all of whom seasoned our upbringing and spiritual heritage; we know that God led us to each other fifty-three years ago, and still leads us today.

What is something most people don’t know

about you? I love cooking, photography and winter. Having grown up in upstate New York and Vermont, it was more profitable (and necessary!) to embrace winter rather than complain about it. Thus, I love the change of seasons as they come and go, and I welcome each season of every year.