User Profile

First, my username: in full, it is Castanea dentata, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_chestnut American Chestnut tree. I grew up in the middle of its natural range, but have never seen a full-grown specimen. I have seen only long-dead stumps in the woods, still resisting decay many decades after their death. I honor the memory of this species, and I hope that it might one day resume its place as an important tree of the southern Appalachian forests.

I became active on a Tolkien messageboard some years ago. Of all the free peoples of Middle Earth, I most admired the Ents, so I wanted to choose an “Entish” name; after long internal debate, Castanea it was. I have used this name in all of my Internet comings-and-goings, wherein many have shortened it to "Cassi."

Nowadays, I live well outside the range of Castanea dentata, in the Corn Belt of the American Midwest. I like to think of myself as an Ent, walking far from home to the very edge of forests, where the harsh winters and tornadoes and (formerly) prairie wildfires combined to keep the trees at bay. I hope to go home someday, back to the mountains.

But for now, I am on a mission. I am an organist/choir director in an Episcopal church. I teach children (and others) to sing. I play Bach, and Messiaen, and Mendelssohn, and Brahms, and Sowerby, and Distler, and much more. Sometimes, I improvise. Most of all, I play the hymns, hopefully with imagination. There is no greater privilege for a church musician than to help the congregation give voice to its prayers and praise.

I sing the Daily Offices: Matins at the church most mornings, Evensong mostly at home, the little offices as I can – more on these elsewhere in the journal. The constant flow of Psalmody, Scripture and prayer are the foundations of my life. As I like to say, they keep me grounded in the Story (more on that, too). I am married to my best friend and true love. She would prefer that I not write about her in this venue, so I'll leave it at that.

I look “for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). I hope to follow him as long as this life lasts, and be granted mercy when I see him face to face. I hope to sing his praises forever, alongside the choristers I have worked with in this life and indeed alongside every creature in heaven and on earth.

“Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the LORD when he comes, when he comes to judge the earth.” (Psalm 96:12)

Another chestnut link: http://ipm.ppws.vt.edu/griffin/accf.html

Most of this journal relates to my life and work in church music, and my relationship with Christianity more generally. I will likely touch on various of my interests, noted below.

Why "Cassi, a servant of the Lord?" I worry that this is presumptuous. But I say this partly in honor of "Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord" (Joshua 24:29), and "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:1, and a similar statement by James at the beginning of his epistle). Whether I discharge my duties poorly or well, I am likewise a servant in the household of faith.

Friends (6):

Mutual Friends (6):